Advanced Art Technician Skills Bootcamp

Course overview

This course aims to improve your skills in the presentation, handling and installation of artworks. It will support you to cultivate the capabilities and behaviours essential in undertaking meaningful roles within the UK’s key creative spaces and places.

Course duration

This is a 6-week course which runs over a period of 12 weeks 7 March 2024 and 17 May 2024, on 2 weekdays every other week. Please contact CUSkillsBootcamp@cusltd.co.uk for more information. During this time you will be supported by our Employability Team from week 1 onwards (and up to 3 months post course completion), they will help signpost you to potential jobs and employability guidance.

Qualification

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a Certificate of Achievement. You must attend at least 80% of all sessions to receive a Certificate of Achievement at the end of the course.

Why you should study this course

• This course is suited to freelance technicians already working in the industry and those with a good level of transferable technical skill who aspire to broaden their employment opportunities.
• On successful completion of the course, you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the capabilities and behaviours required in Art Technician practice, helping to prepare you for work in the culture sector.
• The programme has been developed in collaboration with some of the UK’s leading art galleries and museums, with potential opportunities to work with one of our collaborators on successful completion of the course².
• Informed by West Midlands’ Art Technicians, the programme is designed to work around your existing work commitments and is designed to provide skills and expertise to take straight back into the workplace.
• The course is taught by industry experts and develops transferable skills with the aim of increasing your access to work in the wider creative industries and beyond.

About Skills Bootcamps

Skills Bootcamps are flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over and can give you the opportunity to build up valuable sector-specific skills based on local employer demand and can provide a direct path to a job on completion. They are free to individuals. Where an employer is training an existing employee, they must contribute to the cost of the course. For small or medium sized enterprise: £400 and large sized enterprise: £1200.

Skills Bootcamps are aimed at adults who are either unemployed, in work, self-employed, looking to change career or returning to work after a break. They are an opportunity to learn and develop technical skills in the chosen Skills Bootcamp. We encourage all eligible adults to apply, including those from underrepresented groups.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants. Please note that individuals are only eligible to participate in one Skills Bootcamp per financial year and must not be on more than one Skills Bootcamp at any one time, but you can apply for multiple Skills Bootcamps.

Collaborations with other organisations

West Midlands Combined Authority

• What you'll study

  All session are compulsory.

  6 weeks (12 weekdays between 7 March and 17 May 2024)

  Week 1:

  Day 1 (Thursday 7 March) - Introduction and Project Planning

  Planning projects from start to finish, this session provides an overview of the Advanced Art Technician role. It covers paperwork, route planning, templates for risk assessments and method statements, installation guides, scheduling and resourcing.

  Day 2 (Friday 8 March) - Crafting Complex Plinths

  Focusing on the intricacies of plinth building through hands-on practice, participants tackle construction techniques including butt and mitre joints, fine finishing, tool usage and adapting plinths for added strength and audiovisual needs.

  Week 2:

  Days 3 and 4 (Thursday 21 and Friday 22 March) - Wall Building

  Participants cover wall building basics and material exploration, constructing a corner-sectioned wall, mastering timber framing and cladding techniques (MDF and plasterboard/plywood), and refining corner detailing for an impeccable finish.

  Week 3:

  Day 5 (Thursday 4 April)

  Framing Artworks Learn to mount artworks within frames, cut mount windows and apply effective hinging techniques.

  Day 6 (Friday 5 April) - Introduction to Mountmaking

  Practice the processes of designing, fabricating and installing supports (mounts, brackets or armatures) for the safe display or storage of objects, artworks, artifacts or natural history specimens.

  Week 4:

  Day 7 (Thursday 18 April) - Crafting Wooden Packing Materials

  Introducing basic carpentry skills in order to fabricate custom-made crates and travel frames for art and objects.

  Day 8 (Friday 19 April) - Packing Materials for Storage and Transit

  Identify the appropriate materials to use to safely and securely pack art and objects for storage and transport.

  Week 5:

  Day 9 (Thursday 2 May) - Installing Video and Sound

  From foundational concepts to hands-on practice, this session considers the essentials of creating impactful video and sound installations.

  Day 10 (Friday 3 May) - Illuminating Art and Artifacts

  Lighting techniques for art and artifacts, considering the balance needed between visibility, interest, preservation and environmental considerations.

  Week 6: Symposium

  Day 11 (Thursday 16 May) - A full-day symposium addressing the evolving role of the art technician.

  Engage with employers, funders, educators, and other art technical professionals on future training, standards, career progression, pay, and working conditions.

  Day 12 (Friday 17 May): Site Visits

  Supplementing practical training, a series of enlightening site visits, connecting with industry professionals across galleries and museums, fabrication, art logistics, AV and sound.

  Weeks 1-6: Employability tuition and job interviews

  The Employability Team can help you navigate the recruitment process, including writing your CV, setting up your LinkedIn profile and provide support with the application and interview process.

  Week 1 onwards (up to 3 months post course completion):

  Signposting to jobs and employability guidance.

  We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

• Teaching contact hours

  This is a 6-week course which runs over a period of 12 weeks 7 March 2024 and 17 May 2024, on 2 weekdays every other week. For more details please contact CUSkillsBootcamp@cusltd.co.uk. Throughout this course, you can expect up to 80 hours of learning activities, made up of face-to-face teaching and independent learning. Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 120 hours, depending on the demands of individual modules.

  Employability skills support will be embedded as part of the academic training with an additional 3 month wrap around service. Here the Employability Team can help you navigate the recruitment process, including writing your CV, setting up your LinkedIn profile and provide support with the application and interview process.

  As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

  Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

• Facilities

  This course is taught at Coventry University’s Delia Derbyshire Building, Cox Street, Coventry.

  Facilities are subject to availability. Due to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

• Further study
  • Access to Higher Education
  • Apprenticeships
  • Higher Technical Qualifications
• Entry requirements

  You do not need any academic qualifications but will need to meet eligibility criteria and entry requirements as highlighted below.

  Entry Requirements

  To be eligible to join this course, applicants should have experience working (employed or self-employed) as an Art Technician or in a related technical field of practice. Where evidence of relevant work experience cannot be provided, we will consider voluntary experience or other examples where a competent level of technical skill was applied.

  • Be aged 19 or older.
  • Live or work in the West Midlands Combined Authority area.
  • Live in England.
  • Have the right to work in the UK. This can be checked on the Government website. 
  • Meet residency requirements - applicants should be UK nationals or other persons with a right to live and work in the UK without any immigration restrictions who have been ordinarily resident in the UK, or the British Overseas Territories, or the Crown dependencies (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning.
    For more information on the residency criteria, please refer to AEB Funding Rules page.
  • Not be currently enrolled in an apprenticeship or programme funded from the Adult Education Budget.
  • Agree to provide mandatory personal data and supplementary information on their employment outcomes for up to 8 months following completion of the Skills Bootcamp.
  • All Independent Learners (not co-funded by their employer, and not self-employed) are expected to progress on to a guaranteed job interview upon the completion of the Skills Bootcamp. This should be a genuine vacancy related to the skills gained through the Skills Bootcamp and the job must be expected to last at least 12 weeks.
  • Independent Learners, who are currently in employment, are required to confirm that they intent to change employer if offered a suitable role following interview. A learner declaration will be provided if your application is successful.

  You must also be either:

  • unemployed within the last 12 months, or
  • career changers/returners/redeployed, or
  • self-employed/employed.

  In addition to the criteria outlined above, you will need to meet the following minimum requirements to apply successfully for the Art Technicians Bootcamp.

  • You should be available to attend and complete the course. You must have an appropriate standard of English so that you can access relevant resources and complete the course which will be determined during the application process.

  Required equipment:

  • access to a computer with sufficient RAM and memory to support study
  • microphone, speakers and web camera
  • office suite, such as Microsoft Office
  • internet connection

  Computer or software specifications

  • 250GB hard drive or higher.
  • 8GB RAM or higher.
  • 2.0GHz Intel or AMD processor.
  • Windows 10 or MAC OS 10.10 or later.
  • Browser: Google Chrome 96, Firefox 48, Safari 11 or later.
  • Anti-virus software.
• Fees and funding

  Courses are fully funded by the Government for independent learners (individuals not being co-funded by their employer). Where an employer is training an existing employee, they must contribute to the cost of the course. For small or medium sized enterprise: £400 and large sized enterprise: £1200. Please contact CUSkillsBootcamp@cusltd.co.uk for more information.

  Fees are subject to annual review and change each year due to inflation (this would usually result in a nominal increase in line with consumer retail price index figures released by the UK Office for National Statistics) and/or as a result of funder requirements.

• How to apply

  Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants. Please note that individuals are only eligible to participate in one Skills Bootcamp per financial year and must not be on more than one Skills Bootcamp at any one time but you can apply for multiple Skills Bootcamps.

  To apply please complete all steps below.

  1. Familiarise yourself with the Skills Bootcamp Privacy & Cookie Notice.
  2. Review the Learner Declaration as you will be required to sign it as part of your online application form.
  3. Complete the application.
  4. Prepare documents to evidence your identity and age, current address, residency and right to work in the UK. The acceptable forms of ID and documentation to evidence all the above are below:
     • Identity and age - Valid passport. A photo driving licence. A proof of age card such as the PASS card from the national Proof of Age Standards Scheme.
     • Current address - Valid UK driving licence. Recent utility bill (gas, electricity, water, or landline phone) Council tax bill. Recent credit card or bank statement.
     • Continuous residency - Documentary evidence of continuous residence in the UK – find a list of accepted documents here.
     • Right to work in the UK:
       • If you are British and hold UK or Irish Citizen passport or Irish passport card your will not need to provide any additional evidence for this. Right to work share code.
       • If you are required to hold a Visa to work in the UK you will be asked to evidence of your right to work in the UK with a "right to work share code". If possible, please obtain this code before submitting your application via the government website.

  If you are not satisfied with any aspect of your Skills Bootcamp and wish to raise a complaint you should do so in the first instance with Coventry University by completing the CU Coventry Complaints Form with full details of your issue. If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been dealt with you may write to DfE through their Whistleblowing and Complaints process. Complaints 03700002288; Whistleblowing advice line on 0800 028 0285 or help@nspcc.org.uk.

  Whistleblowing involves entering a 'whistleblowing' webform on the 'Contact the Department for Education' page.

  Whistleblowing submissions for Skills Bootcamps must be clearly marked 'Skills Bootcamps'. They will be submitted via the DfE's whistleblowing submission process and will be escalated to the DfE Skills Bootcamps policy team for response.