SOUND CHECK
So, you love live music, festivals and concerts. You’ve been hooked on the thrill of the live experience since your very first gig or club night. But, do you know that you can actually make this your career? Do you know the huge range of jobs that the live music industry can offer?
SOUND CHECK is a new training programme from Future Yard in partnership with The Learning Foundry. The exciting course designed to introduce young people to the skills they need to pursue careers in the live music industry. It is open to young people aged 16+ from the local area who have a passion for live music, and takes place within our dynamic music venue in Birkenhead.
THE NEXT SOUND CHECK COURSE STARTS IN FEBRUARY 2024 – APPLY NOW, AND SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS
From sound engineers to event managers, lighting designers to box office, this brand new programme will introduce you to the range of job roles and skills you need to make your career in the live music industry.
Based at our venue on Argyle Street in Birkenhead, Sound Check will support you to build your skills and knowledge in a real industry setting. A core programme of workshops runs alongside the opportunity to gain hands-on skills at live events.
The live music industry is worth £1.1bn each year to the UK economy and is exported around the world. It has been growing at 10% year on year and offers hugely fulfilling creative careers across a range of job roles.
Like many industries, COVID-19 provides a short term challenge. But, the live music industry remains a hugely significant industry locally, within the Liverpool City Region, and nationally. It will return, and Sound Check is an opportunity to develop the skills required to flourish within it as it does.
The free to access programme focuses on two areas; Technical Production and Live Music Event Management. These are then followed by an independent group project, in which you will utilise your new skills to deliver your own live event. There will also be additional sessions outside of weekly sessions when working on live events (shadowing).
The programme is delivered by Future Yard’s hugely experienced team of tutors and boasts a broad range of guest speakers from across the industry.
After completing the programme, you will have the opportunity to join Future Yard’s ongoing training programme, further developing your skills and experience. There will also be a number of follow-on employment opportunities available.
Sound Check is free to access and is open to local people aged 16+ with a passion for live music and an interest in making it their career. No previous experience is required.
There are two different ways you can take part in Sound Check. There’s the 12-week Monday night course, which also includes shadowing opportunities on Future Yard shows; and a new 18-week full-time version of the programme (Monday – Wednesday with an additional shadow shift at a gig). The 18-week course also includes hands-on work experience with shadowing at live shows.
Specific eligibility criteria apply for the 18-week full-time course.
12-week Monday night programme: next course starts February 2024
Sessions take place Monday evenings from 5.00pm to 9.00pm at Future Yard (75 Argyle Street, Birkenhead), with additional shadowing sessions at live shows (mainly evenings).
18-week full-time programme (Mon-Weds): next course starts February 2024
Core sessions take place Monday to Wednesday daytimes from 10am to 5pm at Future Yard (75 Argyle Street, Birkenhead), plus a half-day of work experience on an additional day (Thursday-Sunday).
No previous experience is required. All we ask is that you have a passion for live music and an interest in turning that into a career.
The application deadline is Wednesday 31st January.
If you’d like to speak to a member of the team to find out more information, email us on training@futureyard.org.
If you’re 14-15, you can start on the Sound Check journey as part of our Saturday morning New Noise Music Centre, which is run in partnership with Edsential Musical Routes Music Education Hub. See here for more details.
Thank you to our partners for supporting the Sound Check programme, enabling music-making for young people and creating life-changing opportunities: The Learning Foundry, Arts Council England, The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (through the Strategic Investment Fund) and Wirral Council. AdLib are our Production Partner on the Sound Check programme.
THE LEARNING FOUNDRY
The Learning Foundry (part of the Regenda Group) is a professional training service-provider based in the Liverpool City region that offers a wide range of tailored training schemes. We are delighted to be partnering with TLF on the delivery of our Sound Check courses, helping young people to make the step into careers in the live events industry and beyond.
ADLIB
AdLib are a vastly experienced event production company based in Liverpool, whose expertise is used to power some of the biggest live events across Europe. What they don’t know about audio, lighting, video, staging and rigging isn’t worth knowing. As our production partner on Sound Check, we’ve worked closely with them to develop the programme, with technical sessions delivered by a mix of Future Yard’s in-house staff and AdLib engineers. There are also a number of follow-on opportunities for participants to work within AdLib’s teams and apprenticeships programmes after completing the course.
“Gaining the skills involved in sound and light engineering was difficult, which made it all the more rewarding when I found myself able to successfully do the tech for a set of live performances from a local band, Denio.”
Ellie Collier, Sound Check participant