The South African Roadies Association (SARA) hosted its 4th annual Live Event Technical & Production Conference (LETPC 2018) from the 17-19 May 2018, at The Sunnyside Park Hotel in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa, the current home of the LETPC.
The 3-day LETPC conference has become one of the foremost platforms for international live event technical and production professionals to meet, network and discuss critical issues that are affecting the sector; featuring topics such as such as health and safety, production, event management, venues, artist challenges, DJ and producer issues, technical advances being interrogated by the speakers and audience alike.
The LETPC 2018 featured a range of local as well as international guest speakers, and as was intended once again, to expose the South African live event, technical and production sectors and practitioners to best practices occurring across Africa and the world and to share with those from elsewhere the gains made and challenges experienced, locally.
The primary objective of the LEPTC has been and remains to pull together, each year, the event, technical, production and education (training and skills development) sectors from across the country, the continent and the world, with African and international market leaders from across the same sectors, as well as Government, Sector Education and Training Authorities, suppliers and independent skills attending:
Since the inception of the LETPC a number of specific purposes have emerged:
• To gather the technical and production and education sectors together with international market leaders from across the same sector, Government, SETA’s, suppliers and independent skills;
• Agree on the implementation of the critically urgent need to upgrade technical and production skills qualifications and standards in South Africa
• To discuss the enhancement of technical and production vocational training and education with a view to formulating a sector plan for the future
• To consider and validate the need for a technical and production sector skills needs analysis forecast;
• Agree on the implementation of critical issues of Guidelines, Standards, Transformation and Health and Safety;
• Promotion and development of sustainable and competitive entrepreneurs and small businesses in the technical and production sector to contribute to job creation and economic growth;
• To introduce for the first time at the LETPC the creative aspects of technical, event and production services.
Of great importance is the growing awareness that qualified and trained personnel in the event, technical and production sectors have the type of skills for which there are jobs in the future, unlike many acquiring skills today for whom there is little chance that a future job will ever be found. Event, technical and production sector skills and qualifications are transferable, with a prospective entrant being at ease doing lighting or sound for a live show, as well as for the functioning of an airport, hotel or conference centre.
The South African Roadies Association (SARA) once again is indebted by the continuous support and sponsorship received especially from anchor sponsor the Department of Arts and Culture, whose support is greatly appreciated.
The LETPC 2018 event sponsors and supporters included: Black Motion Productions, DWR Distribution, Gearhouse, Sound Corporation, Dr Nandi’s Aesthetic Medical Boutique and as well as a media partner, 1912 Online Radio.
