For National Apprenticeship Week 2023 meet some of the people who started their "dream jobs" with us this year.

Our apprenticeships create new opportunities for people who want to take a work-based path into backstage theatre.

The pathway to apprenticeships is as varied as the apprentices themselves. Find out more about how some of our 2023 apprentices got to where they are.

Laila, operations Apprentice

Laila, Operations Apprentice

Laila loves talking to people and her Operations Apprenticeship involves just that - welcoming people to our buildings and being the first person they meet when they arrive. 

After leaving school she worked in a coffee shop for a year and loved being the face of the business and the person everyone saw when they came in, so she knew she wanted to do something working with people.

Laila, Operations Apprentice

"I knew I didn't want to do the whole college thing - I tried it out and it just wasn't for me. I always wanted an apprenticeship but they're quite hard to come by, so when I saw this advertised I went for it. I really love the people part of the job - I think that's what makes it for me. You meet so many different people from so many different places, who do so many different jobs. You learn something new every day."

Kate, Automation Apprentice

Our Automation Apprentice, Kate, is in the heart of the theatre, helping to create dizzying effects for each production by flying people and props around the stage.

Her hands-on role follows some previous work experience in regional theatres and some time in a primary school. She describes her apprenticeship as her “dream job”.

Kate, Automation Apprentice

“I didn’t think I’d get this apprenticeship because I didn’t have the experience I thought I needed. But I just said: 'I need someone to teach me from the ground up,' and they said they were willing to give me the opportunity to learn. My apprenticeship is in automation but I’m also learning a little bit of LX, sound, video and stage. Right from the first day I was thrown in, doing the proper job and I’m just about to start my college course as well. So I’m learning and getting paid to do a really cool job.”

Woman operates a piece of machinery
Kate, Automation Apprentice
Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC Browse and license our images

Matty, operations Apprentice

Young man dressed in a blue suit jacket and checked shirt, seated at a reception desk, smiles
Matty, Operations Apprentice
Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC Browse and license our images

As an apprentice in our Operations Team, Matty is learning how to manage our buildings, run events and welcome the public into our spaces.

He previously worked part time with our Front of House team before leaving to pursue a career in the police force. After a year, he realised his love for theatre was where he saw his future and applied for an RSC apprenticeship.

Matty, Operations Apprentice

“Prior to this I was a police officer and that was a really exciting experience, you can imagine the adrenaline rush, but this is where my heart is. It’s quite good to go away and think, what do I want to, is this right for me? Coming back was just the obvious thing to do for me. It is really nice to have the work balance of being able to work here and enjoy the job and get the qualification on the side as well.”

Emily, Learning and National Partnership Team Apprentice

A trained professional actor, Emily has always had a passion for theatre. After several years working in the industry, she decided she wanted to help others interact with, and benefit from, the arts.

As an apprentice in our Learning and National Partnership Team, Emily plans and produces events and works with young people and teachers through workshops and in-theatre events.

Emily, Learning and National Partnership Apprentice

“I found what I was doing was very practical and in the rehearsal space, but what I wanted was to get experience in the management side. I felt quite stagnant, I wanted to progress my career, I wanted to become a project manager and this apprenticeship helps me. I’ve found it an excellent way of developing my career because I’ve been able to be part of the company straight away and learn on the job rather than going back and doing another qualification or training which I wouldn’t get paid for and I’d have to take time out of my career.”

Woman in Blue top standing in front of the theatre smiles
Emily, Learning and National Partnership Apprentice
Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC Browse and license our images

Lisa, Operations Apprentice

Woman smiling as she arranges letters on a notice board
Lisa, Operations Apprentice
Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC Browse and license our images

Lisa previously ran a regional touring theatre company. But after a number of years out of her career to raise her family and run a home, she realised an apprenticeship could help her back into work.

Her life experience means she is a much valued member of the apprenticeship cohort and is in her element working with colleagues as she runs our buildings and rehearsal spaces. 

Lisa, Operations Apprentice

“I did a degree and an MA in Shakespeare and then I had a family. And as much as you think you’ll go back to work when your children are little I didn’t and later I couldn’t. So here I am, age 50-something, really needing some good solid experience. I had worked in Front of House for the RSC for a few years previously, and that’s not a full-time job, but it is a dream of a job, the best job in the world really. But what I needed then was some full-time experience, learning about the wider organisation.”

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