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As a vehicle for building confidence and skills, the arts have a lot to offer to those looking for a job. Lizzie Carter describes a project that did just that

Finding a job is never an easy task, especially in economic climate when the opportunities seem to be ever-dwindling. For people looking for work who simply don’t have the skills appropriate for an interview situation or have never even had an interview, the task of finding work is more daunting still. Whilst many of us take for granted the basic skills required to deal with a call to interview: the confidence to present oneself, understanding what is being asked of you, being aware of protocol and procedures etc., for others, the very thought of it can lead to sheer panic. Of course we all get nervous and that’s only natural, but what if those nerves are stopping you from getting employment despite being qualified for the post?

At Oldham Coliseum Theatre our Outreach Department has recently delivered a project in partnership with Remploy, using drama techniques to increase participants’ employability. Remploy is a nationwide employment service for people experiencing complex barriers to work. Working with leading employers and through its own businesses, it enables individuals to identify, develop and make the most of their abilities to enjoy rewarding and fulfilling employment.

The project first came about after we delivered two taster sessions at the local Remploy centre. These focused on role play in interview sessions and how to develop positive body language. Based on the success of these two workshops, Remploy decided to embark on a much more thorough project. This extended project was then picked up by the Social Enterprise Unit at the University of Huddersfield. Tracy Pottinger, a lecturer in the unit, approached our outreach officer and project leader Carly Henderson to explore ways of evaluating the positive impacts projects like these have on participants. The University then funded the whole project and produced a report on the impact it had on the individuals involved.

Remploy’s group of willing participants, who were of varying ages, were already accessing its services. The main objectives of the project included:

to introduce participants to key drama skills
to develop team working, and through role play and improvisation, improve specific employability skills
to build confidence and self-belief of participants
to emphasise ‘cognitive acceleration’, developing analytical skills, higher order thinking skills and reasoning skills which can be applied in real life.

A variety of activities were designed to develop the confidence of everyone in the group, take them out of their comfort zone and challenge them both physically and psychologically. These included learning stage directions, understanding voice projection and vocal techniques, improvisation, and actually learning lines from the John Godber play ‘Teechers’.

Most important of all was to make sure that all the participants understood what they were learning and how this was relevant to getting a job. None of them had ever engaged in any theatrical work before. They were all unemployed, lacking motivation, money and confidence, but importantly, they were willing to challenge themselves to better their future. The group came from a range of backgrounds with a variety of different experiences of trying to gain employment. The drama work helped them understand that they already possess the qualities needed for a successful interview; they just have to approach the situation with a different frame of mind. For example, one participant had had several phone interviews but found the whole experience so overwhelming that she was not able to demonstrate that she was the best person for the job. After working one-on-one, she was able to learn breathing exercises to help cope with a stressful situation.

At the end of the project the group performed an extract from ‘Teechers’ in front of students from Huddersfield University and Remploy staff. The evaluation from the University concluded that the work delivered had surpassed the expectations of the people involved, and that the participants had clearly come a long way since their first sessions and were equipped with a variety of skills that would greatly increase their chances of employment. On top of this – and maybe most importantly – the participants had fun while they gained these skills, making them proud of what they had achieved by stretching the boundaries of what they felt they were capable of doing.

This has been one of the most successful partnerships that the Outreach department has been involved in, in terms of the achievements of participants, but also in terms of the partnership and relationships with the staff that were developed with both Remploy and Huddersfield University. The work with Remploy has produced a sustainable and supportive on going working relationship for the Coliseum. Remploy valued and nurtured the work that we provided and this has paved the way for a great future working together. It has proved to be a fantastic way of connecting with people who are least likely to know about – or visit – the Coliseum.

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