How important do you think it is to have knowledge and understanding of your professional career? How do you express your level of competence in your field to an employer? Sure, you did the college thing, aced your classes and received your degree. Now how about putting that learned knowledge to work. Or maybe you went the school-of-hard-knocks approach to the industry. You learn everything you know while on the job.
Any way you look at it, there needs to be a standard way of measuring ones knowledge of their profession against others or to meet a jobs specific requirements. USITT has announced the launch of their Essential Skills for Entertainment Technicians, or eSET.
More from USITT
This new proficiency program for entry-level technicians has launched its first online skills and safety tests in three disciplines — Lighting & Electrics, Rigging, and Costuming — as well as the basic Terms & Safety Test that’s a prerequisite to take any eSET exam.
In the coming years, USITT’s eSET Council will add exams in other disciplines including Audio, Scenery, Projection, and Wigs & Makeup. eSET offers a way for employers to test their technicians’ skills, and for technicians to show their skill sets.
With concern for safety, liability, and best practices taking center stage in the live events world, USITT has developed this unique tool to measure the preparedness of entry-level employees and volunteers who perform technical tasks.
USITT Executive Director David Grindle said the goal is to give employers confidence that someone with an eSET certificate has the basic skills and knowledge to perform a technical job – at a theatre, school, house of worship, or live entertainment facility.
“If two students come to you with degrees in theatre applying for a job as an electrician, how do you know what they know?” Director David Grindle asked. “With an eSET certificate, you know which candidate has a strong knowledge of the subject.”
eSET tests are written by groups of professionals who hire entry level employees, and are designed to test proficiency at that level. “eSET offers employers the same confidence in a worker at entry level as ETCP gives them on an advanced level,” Grindle said.
eSET comes in two parts. Part 1 is an online exam; Part 2 is a practical exam. Online exams in the first disciplines are live now at www.usitt.org/eset. The first practical exams will be held during USITT 2016 March 16-19 in Salt Lake City. Passing each part earns a certificate; those who pass both written and practical tests also earn an eSET pin.
“Potential employees can bring an employer a certificate stating they have passed only Part 1 of eSET, or Parts 1 and 2,” Grindle said. “Seeing an eSET certificate gives you greater confidence in the skill set of the potential employee.” Current employees are also eligible to take the exams, which cost only $40 for the first subject and are half-price for additional subjects.
eSET also offers a glossary of terms and a mobile app to help beginners learn over 2,000 terms used in entertainment technology. The app for iPhone and iPad can be found here. The android app is expected to go live on Feb. 1. Look for it, and more info about eSET, at www.usitt.org/eset.
The ēSET (Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician) body of knowledge developed and vetted by industry professionals has now been released as an iOS app available for download in the iTunes store.
The body of knowledge has been available on the ESTA Foundation site but ēSET committee member Dana Taylor thought it needed to be even more mobile so he decided to work to make it an iOS app.
The creation of the ēSET program was born of the realization that many current entry-level entertainment technicians lack fundamental knowledge and skills related to the industry. The resulting goal of ēSET is to provide technicians with the knowledge and skills they will need to function effectively across all fields of the live entertainment industry and a tool to organize and guide their learning.
The user of the ēSET program will be able to focus on self-selected topics utilizing a sequential approach to learning drawn from a database of textual and graphical content related to entertainment technology. Further, ēSET provides tools to better assist the user in organizing selected materials in a meaningful fashion, enhancing the learning experience and providing a ready reference to important data.
The 99 cent ēSET app offers educators, managers, employers and individuals an on the go tool by which they can teach, learn and prosper within the industry. You can download the ēSET app from the iTunes App Store.
The ESTA Foundation has launched a new site geared towards providing entry level entertainment technicians a educational portal to learn and better understand terms and fundamentals within the entertainment industry.
The Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician (eSET) goals are to provide technicians with knowledge and skills to function across all fields of the entertainment industry and a tool to organize and guide their learning.
While the site or portal is designed to better educate new technicians, educators have access to the site for in-depth materials to help educate those new techs as well as assist educators on ways to present the most up-to-date information.
Another interesting point about the site is it gives facility managers the ability to cellect venue-specific information to assist in training their workforce. Even employers can access the site to do the same function.
Visit the eSET website to learn more information, see samples and sign up. For students, the subscription is $10, for professionals, the subscription runs $15 and a five seat license runs $40. Subscription includes access to the full contest of definitions and terms, downloadable PDF’s of those terms and definitions and sample assessments.