Career Pathways
Develop skills and find out if a creative career is for you. Opportunities include volunteering, work experience, placements and training.
Play Your Part
What part will you play?
Leeds Heritage Theatres is committed to having a team of staff and volunteers that represent the people of Leeds, and the future of our theatres.
We are developing career pathways to engage and inspire the next generation and ensure routes into our evolving industry are accessible and inclusive.
Work Experience
Our newly developed work experience is an excellent way for young people to deepen their understanding of the wide range of job roles in our industry. Through direct learning with employees, students will gain knowledge of the skills needed by the sector, as well as the motivation and confidence to pursue a creative career.
Seeing a gap in this kind of work experience being offered, we have created a bespoke offer for Year 10 students: a project-based work experience week which allows up to 15 students at once to go behind the scenes and explore various departments across our organisation.
Download and read our work experience report to see the goals and outcomes of our project and to learn how you can get involved in 2023-2024. Please email learning@leedsheritagetheatres.com to enquire.
“I have become more confident with applying for a job [and] I know how to go into an interview” – Year 10 Student
“It was amazing to see the students in a working environment demonstrating the skills they had developed” – Careers lead
“Being able to introduce the next generation to the technical side of theatre is a real benefit” – Senior technician
Volunteering
Leeds Heritage Theatres could not operate without the help of our enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.
Volunteering is a great way to meet people, experience something new, share your knowledge and passion, and develop additional skills. We are always looking at ways to make our volunteering experiences more accessible and have introduced recruitment days where you can have a look around our venues, meet the team and find out more.
Help welcome audiences to The Varieties as an Attendant Volunteer, work alongside a fantastic team and share your love of theatre and film as a Front of House Attendant. View the job description for more information.
Does this sound like something that’s right for you?
Apprenticeships
Our apprenticeships are a fantastic, paid training opportunity to gain a recognised qualification and expand your skills and experience of working in the theatre and the arts. Aimed at people aged 18 years and above, our apprenticeship placements are offered for a minimum of one year.
Since 2011 we have supported eight apprentices, who have gained Level 2 & 3 qualifications in Community Arts Management, Cultural Heritage Venue Operations and Technical Theatre
Apprentices develop their knowledge and passion for working in the arts by assisting and shadowing colleagues from different departments with projects, as well as working independently
Vacancies will be advertised when available
Grand Futures
Chaired by Leeds Heritage Theatres, Grand Futures Leeds Arts Network brings together arts heritage and education organisations from across Leeds.
Established in 2014, the network aims to increase young people’s awareness of organisations and job roles in the creative sector, increase paid and voluntary training opportunities to support the diversification of the workforce and create a more agile approach to work experience, placements and volunteering.
As part of these aims, Grand Futures partners offer a collaborative work experience week called the Cultural Exchange, in which a group of Year 10 students spend a week across different cultural and creative venues in Leeds. Watch our trailer for the programme below and get in touch to find out more about getting your school involved.
Leeds Heritage Theatres Learning and Engagement Fund
Every year, we work with over 10,000 young people across the city, in schools, youth groups and other sessions to help them build skills, confidence and pride through our creative learning and engagement programme. All donations to this fund will help us to continue our work and reach more people across the Leeds City Region.