Performing Arts Industry Report 2005
The 2005 survey of Equity members represented the first survey of this scale investigating training and skills issues. Responses from 8,337 members produced a comprehensive picture of those working in the performance industry and their skills development and training needs.
Nearly half of those working in the UK performance industry earned less than £6,000 from the profession in the last year and most spent more time working outside the performance industry than they did within it.
Seven in ten (71%) had worked outside of the performance industry for 28 weeks or more in the past year. This compares to the 18 weeks on average worked in the performance industry itself. Two in ten (22%) had worked for 40 weeks or more in alternative industries.
The majority (48%) of those working in the past year had an income of less than £6,000 from the performance industry with only 6% earning £30,000 or more. Men (9%) were more likely than women (4%) to have earned £30,000 or more from work in the industry in the past year.
47% of respondents said they had training or development needs at the time of the survey. Six in ten of these said training was needed to help keep up to date or improve on their current work. Four in ten said their training needs were related to moving on in their career.
The most common areas of training need were: acting, audition technique/acquiring work, voice/accent coaching, singing, IT skills, languages and business skills.
Dinah Caine, Chief Executive of Skillset, said: “A broad range of training and development needs were reported in the survey relating to a wide variety of disciplines, some specific to the industry and some more generic in nature. Involvement in training is lower than this, which highlights the importance of work in this area. The results of this survey are absolutely essential in advance of future work to plan and anticipate training needs.”
You can dowload the report in separate sections by clicking on the following links:
Performing Arts Industry Report Contents
Performing Arts Industry Report Foreword
Section 3: Profile of Survey Respondents
Section 4: Working Patterns (1)
Section 4: Working Patterns (2)
Section 4: Working Patterns (3)
Section 4: Working Patterns (4)
Section 4: Working Patterns (5)
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