Member Article

Ingeus trains the North East’s cultural managers

A group of managers within the ten member organisations of NGCV (NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues) have just been awarded recognised qualifications from the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management), which will equip them with added skills to further improve their performance. The initiative has been funded by the European Social Fund and was delivered by Ingeus, which provides training and employment support throughout the North East.

The venues that have benefitted from the intensive training programme are: · Dance City · Northern Stage · Theatre Royal · Live Theatre · Sage Gateshead · Seven Stories · BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art · Tyneside Cinema · Centre For Life · TWAM (Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums)

Amongst those to have qualified is Andy Spoors, an assistant house manager at Tyneside Cinema. “By keeping up with the latest leadership techniques I can be a more effective leader and help my team be the very best it can. Ultimately it means we can deliver an improved service to the public.”

Amy Foley from Live Theatre in Newcastle added, “I’m proud to have completed the course. For each of us it’s been tough going and a commitment that has taken several months to complete, much of it outside of working hours. However, I can now pass on the knowledge I have gained to my colleagues and I am confident we will be a better team as a result.”

The ILM course is aimed at team leaders and those ready to take their first step into a management position. Modules include change and improvement, leadership theory, solving problems and making decisions.

“It’s been really interesting to discover the various techniques that others have adopted in this industry,” added Keith Hudson, who’s a facilities supervisor at Sage Gateshead. “I’ve managed people for many years but the course has helped me think about what might work best, both in managing everyday tasks and major initiatives here at The Sage.”

Francesca Patterson from Ingeus coordinated the course. “What made the training so exciting is that it brought together so many different people with such wide-ranging experiences,” she said. “Using the teaching professionals and great facilities at Gateshead College, we mixed classroom sessions with group discussions so that participants could share their own experiences and learn from each other.

“We’re now planning our next course and we hope the success of the first group will encourage more managers and aspiring leaders to sign up.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ingeus .