Best Job in the World for Theatrical Apprentice Kat

A former Cornish drama student has got “possibly the best job in the world” riding her bike round music festivals dressed as a postie delivering poetry.

In one of the first ever creative sector apprenticeships in Cornwall, teenager Kat Kingsley’s theatrical talents have been warmly embraced by creative consultancy WordVoyages.

The small Penzance firm needed an additional person with social media skills, as well as someone to help present their workshops at events. It approached the Cornwall Apprenticeship Agency (CAA) in Falmouth to help find the ideal candidate that would fit in with the eccentric nature of its work.

Creative director Sally Crabtree was delighted when the CAA introduced them to Kat, from Hayle. Since joining the team in April, the 19-year-old has been busy taking bookings, generating publicity and helping at events. She also secured an opportunity to perform to a 37,000-strong crowd at this summer’s Womad music festival in Wiltshire, where she and Sally “brought poetry to life” as they toured the festival on their bicycle.

“I’d previously been at college, but I realised the academic environment wasn’t for me,” explained Kat. “So I decided to do an apprenticeship and earn while I learn.

“Now I ride a bike around music festivals in a make-believe world delivering poetry, and get paid for it. Imagine telling a child they could do that for a living. It’s possibly the best job in the world.”

“Now I ride a bike around music festivals in a make-believe world delivering poetry, and get paid for it. Imagine telling a child they could do that for a living. It’s possibly the best job in the world.”

Word Voyages is a fledgling business which aims to nurture people’s creativity through a mix of performances and literacy workshops. It needed someone with digital media skills to promote and run its workshops, but was uncertain about taking on a new employee.

The Cornwall Apprenticeship Agency removed the risks associated with traditional methods of hiring new staff by helping to recruit Kat and providing an employment hosting service, including handling the National Insurance and payroll. This allowed Sally and her colleague, producer Kate Picknett, to concentrate on running the business.

Sally said: “It was a stroke of genius that the Cornwall Apprenticeship Agency matched us with Kat. We wouldn’t have been able to take her on without their support as we’d literally just got the business off the ground.

“She’s a natural and embellishes what we do with her creative energy. She fits right in and having her has suddenly given our business a new lease of life. She’s young and funny, but still professional.”

Kat’s one-year apprenticeship includes digital media training delivered by Digital Peninsula Network (DPN) in Penzance. She attends a programme of short IT courses which has been specifically designed to support Word Voyages’ marketing needs and is flexibly arranged to fit around the company’s UK-wide calendar of events. Her training includes animation, website design, search engine optimisation, social media marketing, video editing and graphic design.

Word Voyages’ producer Kate said: “Kat’s really broadening her experience. She focuses on the social media, but we also encourage her to go out and participate in school workshops and festivals, so she does an awful lot more. She’s also learning strong business and sales skills. Kat demonstrates a lot of initiative and flair and is happy to put on the costume and get on stage. She’s hands on and sparky and will give anything a go. So she fits right in.”

To find out more about apprenticeship opportunities in Cornwall visit www.cornwallapprenticeshipagency.co.uk. For further details about WordVoyages visit www.wordvoyages.co.uk

• Posted: October 14, 2014
• By: Tim Bowerbank
• Categories: Latest News