Weasle Eicke Scholarship (WES) Training Program
Project Manager - Robyn
CrewCare training initiative, Victoria 2023 & 2022
A pathway to jobs in live music: The Weasel Eicke Scholarship, is a foundation initiative of CrewCare. Funded through a grant from Creative Victoria and supported by Australia's leading production providers through facilitating training and job opportunities.
The program provides a fast-track pathway for;
Tertiary students partaking in RMIT, SAE, Collarts and other learning institution's live production, audio and entertainment courses, as well as
Unskilled labourers from both regional and metro areas, who are active within the industry working in casual positions
It is an equal opportunity program that has been designed to encourage and provide opportunities for a diverse range of people in creative industries. It will elevate these trainees to fill existing job vacancies with some of our entertainment venues and production suppliers.
The program is broken down into two succinct components
1. Training
The training aspect of the program coincides with mid-year university holidays. This ensures there is sufficient work for scholarship recipients to participate without disrupting studies, and also provides less of a distraction to the existing workers outside of the summer season. This timeframe allows businesses the flexibility to concentrate on the scholarship participants while they prepare for the upcoming summer season.
Online training induction will be developed to cover the following
WHS safety
Implications of bullying and harassment
Mental health awareness and management
2. Work Experience and Mentoring
This part of the program will provide flexible work placement to ensure participants have access to the broadest range of activities suited to their skill sets. All participants will have six months to complete the ten days mentorship in consultation with their assigned business. These ten days do not have to be fulfilled concurrently. This allows university students to tailor the experience around their studies and the flexibility for businesses to find the most advantageous work experiences
The program has partnered with a number of industry leaders, companies and suppliers to give students the best possible experiences and contacts, thus maximising their pathway to job opportunities.
About Wellesley "Weasle" Eicke
The scholarship is named in honour of a beloved industry leader and veteran Wellesley "Weasle" Eicke who prematurely left us in 2021.
Weasle was an accomplished lighting operator and technician who committed his career to leading Australia's longest serving crewing company, Gig Power.
His work ethic was outstanding and the standards he expected of his staff were the same. He led from the front. Often when running crews of 100 casuals, he could still be found teaching a newcomer how to roll a multicore into a road case or the best way to pack a truck. He was a true champion of bringing all people along for the ride.
He worked with literally thousands of people over the years, his enthusiasm and guidance helping them on their path in the industry.
This program is an embodiment of everything Weasle stood for and what he displayed in his professional life. The scholarship is a fitting tribute to an industry great who was taken too young.
