The MIF Traineeship is a unique opportunity to experience the responsibility and benefits of an entry level role at MIF whilst being fully supported towards your next career steps and life goals through training and mentoring.
One of the biggest barriers to entering the arts sector is lack of experience. In arts and culture organisations, many young people begin their careers through unpaid work experience or internships and for so many talented young creatives, this simply isn’t an option. Manchester International Festival and the Greater Manchester Cultural Skills Consortium are committed to creating opportunities at every level for people to enter the workforce. Why is this important? Because diverse teams reflect our communities and have a greater impact on the companies and their work. Everybody should love their job and be proud of what they do. Job satisfaction in the arts is amongst the highest of any other sector; that’s why it’s so important for us to ensure that these opportunities exist.
The seven Trainees started in January and had a bespoke induction week to introduce them to the Festival, the office culture, their teams and their new routine. The Trainees have all the rights and responsibilities of any other member of MIF staff meaning that they work hard but also have great opportunities such as attending artist talks and programme updates as well as being active members of working groups that are rethinking MIF’s approaches to issues such as health and wellbeing and accessibility. Whilst at MIF the Trainees have been given many chances to develop their CV; they have attended courses and conferences in London and Cardiff and at the BBC as well as in-house carbon literacy training. I want our Trainees to take as much as they can from their time here and I encourage them to always be on the lookout for opportunities to get out of their comfort zones, develop their skills and grow their networks.
I am immensely proud of each of the Trainees and the individual skills and experiences that they bring to their roles. It’s amazing to see how they have become part of the team so quickly and I learn so much from them too. Everybody benefits from having young people in their workforce to influence decisions and help see things from different perspectives.
We are going to be releasing the interviews with the trainees throughout May. To find all the interviews with the Trainees, click here.
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