Welsh music venues join forces to give young people industry break

Nation.Cymru staff

Young people are being offered the chance to gain paid experience and practical training behind the scenes of Wales’ music industry under a new six-month programme.

Thirteen participants will receive training, mentoring and opportunities at grassroots music venues in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea through a new traineeship run by Beacons Cymru.

The programme will cover roles including sound engineering, lighting, artist liaison, event and stage management, backstage operations and communications.

Applications are open until September 7, with funding available towards equipment as well as travel and other costs associated with taking part.

Each participant will also receive three one-to-one mentoring sessions with a music industry professional and individual guidance through to March 2027.

Trainees will be offered shifts and opportunities to shadow staff at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, the Corn Exchange and Le Pub in Newport and The Bunkhouse in Swansea.

At the end of the programme, participants in each area will work together to organise a live music showcase at their local grassroots venue.

They will programme the line-up, promote the event and take responsibility for aspects of its technical and operational delivery.

There will also be opportunities for paid work at events including the Welsh Music Prize, Cardiff City Music Festival, events in Newport and Swansea and Beacons Cymru’s Summit Conference in Cardiff.

The organisation says the programme is intended to tackle some of the difficulties young people face getting their first jobs in the music industry, where practical experience and contacts can be difficult to obtain.

Figures cited by Beacons Cymru from the Music Venue Trust’s 2025 report show employment across the grassroots music venue network fell from 30,865 to 24,742 – a reduction of almost 20%.

Around 56,800 people aged 16 to 24 in Wales were not in education, employment or training by the end of 2025, according to Annual Population Survey figures cited by the organisation.

Experience

Ceyda Vale, 26, previously took part in another Beacons Cymru industry skills programme in 2023 after leaving her café job and looking to broaden her skills alongside photography.

She initially signed up to shadow sound technicians at Clwb Ifor Bach before asking to try operating the lights.

Her mentor, the venue’s technical manager Joe Marvelly, gave her the opportunity to operate the lighting desk during a live show that evening, with further shifts subsequently arranged.

She said: “By the end of it, I was offered to work Sŵn Festival as a paid lighting tech.

“It was so nice to have that environment set out for me where I felt comfortable. It felt okay to ask questions, and I didn’t feel embarrassed. I never felt like I had to pretend to know more than I did.”

Ms Vale continues to freelance at Sŵn Festival and has since worked as a lighting technician, designed lighting for a music video and delivered her own lighting masterclass with Beacons Cymru.

New talent

Spike Griffiths, chief executive of Beacons Cymru CIC, said venues were keen to attract new talent but opportunities could be particularly difficult to access for people from lower-income backgrounds.

He said: “It’s difficult to innovate if you haven’t got an opportunity to bring on different people from different backgrounds, most importantly, from low-income backgrounds.”

The traineeship is being run collaboratively with grassroots venues, which will provide placements, equipment, mentoring and live event experience.

Applications for the Grassroots Music Industry Traineeship close on September 7.

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