About Making Theatre Gaining Skills

Lean more about what goes on in our courses, our aims and objectives, our history, our learning team and more.

In this section:

Our History Our Team Our Partners and Supporters Vacancies Support Us Developing Puppetry

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A training enterprise at the Bognor Makerspace.

Building better futures through theatre production:

For thousands of people struggling to get a job or an apprenticeship it’s easy to become depressed and lose confidence when applications are ignored or the job search seems hopeless. Making Theatre Gaining Skills is a new approach which has been very successful in helping people build their confidence and learn new skills.

As the main objective is to build participants’ confidence, it’s particularly effective for people with learning difficulties including dyslexia, ADHD, autistic spectrum and mental health issues.

It was a challenge but I managed to get through it and I’ve learnt new skills. I’ve enjoyed watching it all come together! It’s helped me to consider other work options including apprenticeships.

A previous participant

It’s been good – I’ve enjoyed it. I’m now a lot more confident – talking in group discussion, meeting new people, working in teams and trying new things. That’s surprised me.

A previous participant

What do we get up to during our courses?

Our courses are hands-on and creative – learners might find themselves building sets, crafting props, bringing puppets to life, painting a backdrop or experimenting with lighting and sound effects.

Learners are supported by a team of professional practitioners in an inclusive and welcoming space. Our experienced tutors bring real industry knowledge while making sure everyone feels comfortable to try new things and learn new skills.

The benefits to those taking part are wide-ranging, including: self-confidence, working together in supportive environment, combating loneliness and exclusion, improving wellbeing and mental health through creative expression, making new friends and sharing in setting and successfully completing projects.

By encouraging, mentoring and giving opportunities to individuals who are often harder to reach, Making Theatre Gaining Skills is raising the level of artistic endeavour and increasing social capital and community cohesion.

You have supported over 100 of our most vulnerable claimants, many of whom did not consider themselves in any way ready to consider work and were socially isolated. Every single programme resulted in voluntary work options and job starts for some participants.

Emma Wareham, County Partnership Manager, Department for Work & Pensions

I have enjoyed the entire course from start to finish. It has given me such an amazing opportunity to try new things, push myself out of my comfort zone and to meet new people.

A previous participant

How are our courses and programmes unique?

There are many companies offering employment skills training but none (we think) that offer the combination of rigorous practical work experience fused with therapeutic advice and guidance. We train the participants to complete a task and ensure that they recognise when a similar task might be presented in other workplaces.

Our aims and objectives:

To provide an innovative response to the general challenge of up-skilling unemployed people with no qualifications.
To reduce economic inactivity by helping more long-term unemployed people achieve basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
To encourage people from disadvantaged areas to be more confident and pursue a wider range of career options, apprenticeships or further learning.
To establish a proven and cost-effective new way of delivering basic skills that can be rolled out across the country.
To support the particular training needs of people with learning difficulties to enable them to move towards employment.

Next Page: Our History