Skills for the Future Returns
19 April 2012
Seven new trainees are working with RCAHMS as part of a UK-wide programme of skills training for the heritage sector.
Selected from over 300 applicants, the trainees will gain invaluable practical experience over their one-year, paid training programmes, to help them get jobs in archives, museums and galleries in the future. Work will include cataloguing and digitising historic collections, creating exhibitions and educational resources, and promoting Scotland’s built heritage through social media.
The ‘Skills for the Future’ training programmes are funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). With a grant award of £606,000 – the largest share of the £2.6 million pot for Scotland – RCAHMS is hosting 21 training places over a period of 3 years. The focus is on vocational learning, helping to meet the skills gaps identified by heritage bodies, and on encouraging potential trainees from all backgrounds.
Now in its second year, the programme has already helped 6 of the 7 previous trainees gain full-time employment in the cultural heritage sector.
Jill de Fresnes, Skills for the Future Project Manager at RCAHMS, said, “The HLF Skills for the Future programme has proved very successful and we are pleased to welcome our second year of trainees. It is clearly working well so far and we are delighted that six of last year’s trainees are already in full-time employment.
“The work programmes are well structured to give relevant experiences in the different departments. I am very much looking forward to working with our new team and trying to ensure that we provide the best opportunities and experiences we can for them.”
Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said, “Learning skills are a critical element in seeing the country through this downturn and the recovery that will follow. People have to have the skills that employers want in order to secure a job. These trainees' newly-learned heritage skills will make a difference not only to their own lives but to the future cultural landscape of Scotland.”
You can follow the work of the trainees throughout the year on their own blog and Twitter feed.
