Delivered by 
Bespoke digital learning courses with MUTA
For over a century, MUTA has worked tirelessly to raise standards in the marquee, tent and structure industry. As the UK’s only trade association for the sector, its role involves supporting members with expert guidance, training, support, and knowledge, while representing their interests and that of the wider industry.
Background
In 2022, when MUTA was looking to create a bespoke digital course on the fundamentals of how to erect a frame marquee safely and effectively, it needed a flexible solution, delivered quickly.
With the objective of achieving 300 course sales in year one, MUTA wanted to produce affordable, accessible training that would give business owners and local communities peace of mind that their teams had received formal industry training.
Steered by Learning Nexus, and MUTA’s Training Working Group (TWG), which comprises of Lee Dalton of Roder UK (TWG chair), Garry Chapman of Highfield Event Group, Tim Hall of Neptunus, and Tony Perfect and Joe Chalk of MUTA, teams from both organisations travelled to each other’s sites to work on the project, enabling the developers and designers at Learning Nexus to get under the skin of the company and culture, so the solution could be designed with the customer at the heart.
The challenge
MUTA needed an educational training course which covered the erection and take down of a frame marquee, to provide added value services to its members.
“Our overall objective is to develop an NVQ for our industry, which we see comprising of several different courses. However, with limited resources, we realised that a formal qualification was further away than we first thought. So, we discussed what we believe is the immediate need for our members and the wider industry,” said Joe Chalk, General Manager at MUTA.
One of the most popular structure types is a frame marquee, so we thought that was the best place to start. We then agreed how we could get the message across in an entry level course and decided that the best way of doing that was to film a crew building a structure.
Working with the seasons
Once an approach for MUTA’s digital course had been agreed, Learning Nexus mobilised its talented bespoke team to deliver within the tight deadline of the project.
In the temporary structure industry, April to September is the busiest time in the calendar, and that meant filming needed to be completed as soon as possible. With short winter days limiting light, and poor weather being an ever-present force, both teams had to pull together to get the f ilming done sooner rather than later, meaning a very quick turnaround.
“There is a peak period in the year where all the events are happening and marquee demand is high, so all the training needs to be done ahead of that, ideally in the off season. So, the MUTA team and Learning Nexus used the off season to kick off this project, create the content, shoot the instruction video, edit the finished product, and prepare for launch,” says Kim Eade, Head of Production, People & Culture at Learning Nexus.
“It was a pacey project and an exciting one to get from ground zero to finished project within Working with the seasons Once an approach for MUTA’s digital course had been agreed, Learning Nexus mobilised its talented bespoke team to deliver within the tight deadline of the project. In the temporary structure industry, April to September is the busiest time in the calendar, and that meant filming needed to be completed as a 6 month timeframe. By collaborating closely with MUTA, our creative team were able to deliver something amazing.”
From storyboard to shooting
MUTA presented a basic storyboard of their requirements and the design team at Learning Nexus developed this into a video-led digital course explaining the principles of erecting a frame marquee safely and effectively.
To ensure they delivered something that was a realistic experience for the end user, in October 2022, Learning Nexus’ design team travelled to Cambridgeshire to watch MUTA erect a frame marquee – a trip that proved to be a powerful way for the design team to gain a deep understanding of what MUTA wanted to convey in their digital course, as well as filming vital footage to create it.
Head of Production, People & Culture at Learning Nexus, Kim Eade, said: “MUTA’s team were amazing and helped us to understand what they were all about. By the end of video shooting, all our team members had a basic understanding, and that really supported the project.”
The live amends session
Next, Learning Nexus got to work on crafting the course until they were ready for the MUTA team to visit the Learning Nexus HQ to take part in a live amends session.
Strengthening the collaborative process that’s a hallmark of our bespoke service, the day not only bypassed lengthy email conversations, but allowed MUTA to deliver amends seamlessly, and create the exact product they envisioned thanks to vibrant and creative discussion.
Joe said: “It can be difficult to convey what you want changed over an email, or on a Teams call, so we thought why don’t we spend a day going through the course, looking at how its sitting, and what changes needed to be made? It proved to be a productive day.”
Looking ahead
Composed of four key modules, the course provides essential guidance to those involved in erecting frame marquees, predominantly site crew of temporary structure hire companies, including new starters. Meanwhile, it’s also useful for local authorities, event organisers, charities, and businesses where employees or volunteers are erecting a frame marquee for the first time. The final product is not only a comprehensive course that supports frame marquee building but goes further than that – in that frame marquees and their safe erection, ultimately facilitate amazing events across the UK for attendees to enjoy and remember.
As for the long- term impact of the course, it’s hoped that it will not only provide in-depth guidance for the temporary structure and events industry, but also generate enough revenue to create even more opportunities for MUTA to deliver more training in the future.
“We’re hoping to see a good uptake of the course, which will hopefully generate revenue for MUTA to consider developing another course. From an industry point of view, we want people to understand the fundamentals of erecting a frame marquee safely,” says Joe.
“Our mission at MUTA is to raise industry standards, and everything that we do goes towards that mission, so it’s the same with this course. The more people that take it, the more we’ll achieve that,” he concludes.
