What Is NCDT?

The National Council for Drama Training is a partnership of employers in the theatre, broadcast and media industry, employee representatives and training providers.

It exists to act as a champion for the industry by working to optimise support for professional drama training and education, embracing change and development. It works to safeguard the highest standards and provides a credible process of quality assurance through accreditation for vocational drama courses in further and higher education in the UK.

Accreditation aims to give students confidence that the courses they choose are recognised by the drama profession as being relevant to the purposes of their employment; and that the profession has confidence that the people they employ who have completed these courses have the skills and attributes required for the continuing health of the industry.

History

The National Council for Drama Training (NCDT) was established in 1976 following the publication of the Gulbenkian Foundation report Going on the Stage into professional training for drama. NCDT has been supported by the performing arts industry and charged with maintaining standards at the nation’s top drama schools. Over nearly thirty years, NCDT has been providing assurance for students, their parents and funders that courses approved by NCDT are preparing students for careers in the drama profession.

Council

Council takes on a strong strategic role within the industry in order to optimise support for professional drama training and education.

Research and Development

Between only 2% and 10% of all the students who apply for a place at drama school actually succeed in getting onto accredited courses. NCDT is looking to identify the factors that contribute to students success at audition and to use the data that we collect to gain a better understanding of the routes into accredited training. This data will provide the most comprehensive profile of prior learning and vocational training and performing experiences and other important social and geographical data ever collected in the sector. It is expected to provide evidence to support advocacy arguments for increased funding, particularly for outreach and pre-audition development projects.

NCDT will be gathering robust graduate destinations data. The purpose of tracking graduates is to show that accredited training has a much higher incidence of quality graduate destinations than non-accredited courses, where on average only one in ten enters the profession (THES, 16 April 2004). It will be of value to providers in developing self-assessment and informing curriculum and will eventually allow NCDT to determine benchmark standards in order to assist in the decision whether to accredit new courses. It will provide the first detailed map of how new performers engage with the labour market in the performing arts and will demonstrate the link between quality training and employment patterns. The championing of quality graduate destinations will increase the awareness and attractiveness of accredited courses in the recruitment of new students, including profiling role models to potential students from ethnic minorities or with disabilities.

Members of Council

If you are a Council Member please visit the members area for up to date notices, minutes and scheduling of meetings.