VAPAC Industry Development Initiative
Image description: Technical Management Network standing on stage.
About
Taskforce
Framework Paper
Outcomes & Actions
VAPAC Industry Development Initiative
The Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres (VAPAC) is pleased to announce the launch of the VAPAC Industry Development Initiative, a cross-sector project designed to address the chronic shortage of technical staff in the sector following the major workforce disruptions experienced since the beginning of the global pandemic. This new program will bring together leaders and stakeholders from across the arts and education sectors, government at all levels, and industry professionals with first-hand experience of this crisis. With support from project partner Studio Entertech, in 2023 VAPAC formed an Industry Taskforce to guide this work and held a series of industry roundtable events to formulate comprehensive strategies for addressing these issues for the betterment of venues, artists, and audiences across Victoria. VAPAC’s Technical Managers Network continue to meet regularly, and work with industry partners to support and upskill technicians.
“This is the single largest issue facing performing arts centres across our state, and it is impacting venues of all sizes in both metropolitan and regional contexts. The wonderful team in our Technical Managers Network have been working closely with Arts Centre Melbourne and their Registered Training Organisation in recent years, and this is the next step in strengthening training and career pathways across the state into our network of venues. Additional investment from State and Federal Government in this issue is crucial, and we look forward to working closely with them moving forward. We’re also greatly appreciative of the support and expertise from the team at Studio Entertech on this project”. (Patrick McCarthy, VAPAC Executive Director 2021-2024)
“As Australia’s longest-running theatre consultancy, Studio Entertech is committed to building a supportive, secure and healthy industry as a part of our mission to enable exceptional performances,” said Micah Johnson from Studio Entertech. “Our backstage technicians have always worked tirelessly in difficult conditions to make every production as good as it can be, and the impact of Covid saw support for their work devastated. This initiative will see Studio Entertech and VAPAC work together with the industry, building sustainable programs that ensure technical skills are developed and supported – not just in the short term but long into the future”.
VAPAC will continue to keep its members, and the broader industry informed as this project progresses throughout 2025.
VAPAC Industry Development Initiative Taskforce
The members of the Taskforce bring decades of experience and broad expertise in technical management, training, production management, theatre design, risk management, workforce development, and advocacy. With strong connections across the sector, this group will guide our planning and strategy over the coming months, and inform our advocacy work with government and industry partners.
VAPAC will be holding a series of industry roundtable events later this year, which will provide opportunities for stakeholders from across the industry to contribute to this work and form cross-sector strategy. Keep an eye on VAPAC’s communications for future announcements.
Murray Johnstone – Senior Manager, Technical Training & Development
Arts Centre Melbourne
Em O’Brien – Director
Elucidate Consulting
Heidi Brosnan- Coordinator Production and Technical Services
City of Ballarat Cultural Venues
Convenor VAPAC Technical Managers Network
Micah Johnson – Director
Studio Entertech
Addressing the Technical Production Workforce Shortage Crisis
VAPAC is committed to creating an industry that nurtures interest and proficiency in technical skills early on, so we can cultivate a pipeline of skilled workers. Fostering a workplace culture that values diversity, equity, inclusivity, and professional development will contribute to long-term sustainable careers in our workforce. VAPAC proposes investment in a number of key initiatives to not only ease the current pressure on the sector but also to drive long-term growth in workforce participation in our industry.
The initiatives outlined below have been developed throughout 2023 and 2024 as a framework to address this issue through a systemic response guided by an expert task force. This work has involved extensive consultation with our member venues and our Technical Managers Network, as well as collaboration and consultation with key stakeholders. We have identified the areas of greatest need, as well as clear and actionable strategies for addressing them.
This is not a crisis that can be solved overnight; it requires ongoing support and investment from the government alongside greater collaboration between industry stakeholders. By implementing targeted strategies across training and education, health and wellbeing, workplace culture and industrial relations reform, and peak body investment, we can ensure a vibrant and sustainable future for our industry.
Outcomes & Actions
Pillar One: Training & Education
- 1. Targeted investment to support the rapid uptake of traineeships in performing arts venues, and utilisation of new subsidies to incentivise the employment and training of new technical staff.
ACTIONS
- Provision of state and federal government investment into Arts Centre Melbourne’s RTO to increase capacity to facilitate new traineeships in venues and professional development for existing workers across the state.
- Provision of state and federal government investment for VAPAC to actively promote traineeships and available subsidy to industry, and work with our members to overcome barriers to implementation, particularly for those in a local government context.
- 2. Investment in VAPAC’s Industry Development Initiative to rapidly expand our work in the education sector, creating stronger training pathways for young people in secondary and tertiary education to gain skills and qualifications, before then entering the workforce.
ACTIONS
- Investment in VAPAC’s Industry Development Initiative by Creative Victoria and Service and Creative Skills Australia (SaCSA) to undertake this work, which could be used as a pilot program and then shared and replicated in otherstates.
- Collaboration between VAPAC, the Victorian Skills Authority, and the Victorian Department of Education to establish formal pathways for young people to access formal training and career opportunities in technical roles. These organisations will also collaborate on addressing funding and structural barriers to participation.
- Adding technical production courses to the Victorian Government’s Training Needs List.
- 3. Support First Nations led organisations to design and deliver technical training programs for emerging technical workers.
ACTIONS
- Investment from state and federal governments for First Nations organisations interested in working in this space.
Pillar Two: Health & Wellbeing
- 4. Better understand the health and wellbeing challenges of workers in the performing arts technical workforce through the development of research and resources by specialist organisations such as Support Act, Creative Australia, and Creative Victoria.
ACTIONS
- Investment from state and federal governments for expert organisations to collaborate with state peak bodies on research and resource
development. - Data collation, review and management led by Creative Australia and Creative Victoria in collaboration with peak bodies and service organisations, to ensure findings are easily accessible by industry
- 5. Strengthen collaboration with Support Act, VicHealth, and other industry bodies to support the technical workforce.
ACTIONS
- Provide subsidy for technical workers to participate in industry specific health and wellbeing support training programs.
- Provide support for VAPAC (through the Industry Development Initiative), and other peak bodies as appropriate, to promote these initiatives to industry and work with our members to overcome barriers to participation.
Pillar Three: Workplace Culture & Industrial Relations Reform
- 6. Rates of pay, job security, and conditions.
ACTIONS
- Investment and resources from federal, state, and local government agencies to undertake targeted research and reform relating to technical roles in the performing arts, in collaboration with industry peak bodies.
- Investment in VAPAC’s Industry Development Initiative to facilitate ongoing conversations between key stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and reform delivery, and the rollout of best-practice resources and standards.
- 7. Support more venues and arts organisations to develop and implement Equity Action Plans to address systemic barriers to participation in the industry for people from historically marginalised communities.
ACTIONS
- Investment from Creative Victoria to further fund venues and organisations to undertake the development of an Equity Action Plan.
- 8. Add technical production roles to the Australian Government’s Core Skills Occupations List to attract skilled workers from overseas to fill workforce shortages in the industry
ACTIONS
- VAPAC to lobby Jobs and Skills Australia to add technical production roles to the CSOL.
Pillar Four: Peak Body Investments
- 9. Support the existing workforce through investment in the state-based Technical Managers Networks of VAPAC, Stage Queensland, Circuit West, NAPACA, and Country Arts South Australia.
ACTIONS
- Investment from state and federal government agencies in state peak bodies to strengthen support structures and grow existing Technical Managers Networks.
- 10. Strengthen dialogue between industry and local government by establishing an arts industry dedicated role within either the Municipal Association Victoria or Local Government Victoria.
ACTIONS
- Victorian Government to fund the establishment of a dedicated arts focussed role within either MAV or LGV.
- 11. Support ongoing research and evaluation of investment, and ongoing collaboration with government
ACTIONS
- Invest in state peak bodies to strengthen intersectoral collaboration on research projects.
- Led by Service and Creative Skills Australia, develop industry reliable data and forecasting by:
- Stronger collection, analysis, and reporting of workforce development data that is timely, comprehensive and context-specific.
- Improving forecasting and planning for rates of pay, job security and conditions (or IR reforms).
- Monitoring and evaluating progress and the impacts of other measures outlined in this framework.
The VAPAC Industry Development Initiative is proudly supported by Studio Entertech.
What our members say
VAPAC Latest News
Introducing VAPAC Labs 2026 sessions: from insight to action
Personalisation as a service: Making every audience interaction more useful
