Ambassador Theatre Group has launched a scheme that will combine a business foundation with specialist placements to give graduates industry-specific knowledge and experience.
Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0)
A pilot scheme aimed at developing future leaders of commercial theatre has been launched by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) with the appointment of two recent graduates as the company’s first Graduate Trainees. Rachel Lane and Jamie Budgett will follow a two-year programme which will include a broad range of placements in the first year to develop a strong business foundation, followed by specialist placements in the second year. The first six months will be spent getting to grips with regional theatre at the Liverpool Empire and Milton Keynes Theatre.
Nearly 250 applications were made for the two positions. ATG’s Learning Partnerships Manager, Zoë Briggs, said: “ATG takes great pride in nurturing talented and ambitious young employees, developing industry-specific knowledge and experience to build careers. This new Graduate Scheme is a testament to our commitment to developing our workforce and it is expected that Graduate Trainees will strengthen the candidate pool for future job vacancies across the business.”
ATG’s existing learning and development programmes include an office internship and a technical apprenticeship programme, which now offers eight apprenticeships in theatres across the country, with wage subsidy from the Creative Employment Programme. If the pilot Graduate Scheme is successful, ATG expects to develop and extend the scheme in the future, recruiting more Graduate Trainees in 2015 and beyond.
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