can a qualification in drama help you in
your working life Pearson and
Shakespeare's Globe spoke to a number of
eminent practitioners from the business
and theater sectors to hear their
thoughts on the importance of a drama
education when you think of our business
schools you don't necessarily think
about drama but when you think about
business you certainly think about drama
the skills you gain and study and
understand from drama are critical if
you want to think about the impact you
will have in the business environment
especially if you are a leader of a
company or a firm or an organization we
have a lot of CEOs and managing director
level people doing our executive degrees
I'm interested to see the way other
people look up to them as experts but
also the reverse is true that we now
live in an environment where you might
have a very young CEO I think where
drama comes in is if you think about
your favorite heroes from fiction or
theatre are they always the King Lear
authority figure or are they a younger
person who is bold and dramatic and is
able to take risks and do things that
will make a positive impact on their
society performance is key to business
and good communication is key to
performance employers want the skills
that are developed in drama they want
people who can think for themselves who
can work in a team who can listen to
others who know how to negotiate who
know how to create an outcome it doesn't
matter what product you are producing
the skills are required if a business
didn't have any entrepreneurial creative
flair in it it were probably quite
unsuccessful in a bit more abound it's
really important that when a business
plan says put together for a new product
that creativity is brought to it things
don't just happen on the bottom line you
need good ideas you need invention
innovation all those come from people
having a creative talent my advice to a
pair
who's thinking of the children studying
drama would be to definitely let them go
for it like myself it was very helpful
in gaining confidence and networking and
building a network of people but also
they may get it out of their system and
go on to do other things there are so
many transferable skills that theatre
and acting can give you that really
steady wealth for anybody working in the
creative industries helped me because
the first thing I needed to do was to
try and develop a team gather a team
around me I had to be able to think
strategically I had to be able to think
imaginatively and on the hoof and I
couldn't have done that with it the
background I had in the art but that
that theatre training allowed me to take
over that role with some degree of
confidence
arts and culture contribute to the
national economy in an enormous number
of ways and have a significant impact in
2011 they contributed 5.9 billion pounds
to UK GDP and an average between 2008
and 2011 they provided 111 thousand
full-time equivalent jobs give them
opportunity to explore their interests
and beyond that be reassured that some
of the skills that won't be wasted even
if the young person decides to pursue
other careers whether it's Korean
medicine whether it's create law or in
business or in other areas I do think
that some of these skills will be useful
and not just useful at early stage of
their careers but for their career
lifetime I always say in an arts
organization every artistic decision is
a business decision and every business
decision is an artistic decision the to
work hand in glove to ensure success as
we've heard studying drama helps develop
key business skills such as negotiation
leadership and collaboration it also
boosts confidence teaches pupils to work
in a team and to think creatively drama
provides key transferable skills that
will be useful in any industry
you