Work Experience in Gloucester City Museums Service
(Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery and Gloucester Folk Museum)
Tasks Students may undertake include:
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Cleaning & preparing the Museum for opening to the public
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Reception Duties (visitor services – dealing with a wide range of
people)
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Helping with school parties
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Helping to answer enquiries
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Helping to prepare and run activities such as arts and crafts / object
handling sessions
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Inputting information on to the computer
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Inventory work linked to Museum objects
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Exhibition work (research, practical preparation, dismantling, upkeep)
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Helping with the storage / packing of reserve collections
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Shop work
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Waitressing, table clearing and cleaning duties in the café
Students are taken for placements from a Tuesday through to Friday (for as
many week as is required to fulfill their placements needs). It is not possible to
offer a placement on Monday due to the way the Museums are staffed.
Students generally work from 9am – 4pm with an hours break for lunch. There
is room for some negotiation about hours prior to the placement commencing,
if the prescribed hours would be difficult to conform to. (e.g. Odd bus times,
Medical needs etc.)
Work content for staff vary from week to week for staff, dependant on the
current exhibition, activities, outreach events, staffing levels and so on. We try
to ensure that students move around different areas within the Museums
Service so they experience different aspects of Museum work.
All students will be treated as part of the team and will be expected to
participate fully in a range of duties throughout the week.
The dress code is smart casual, with students maintaining a neat and tidy
appearance – ie. No questionable logos on t-shirts, ripped, tatty clothing. If
any more dirty work is undertaken (eg maintaining the Folk Museum garden)
suitable over-clothes (lab coat / apron) will be provided to protect clothing. We
advise that students wear reasonably flat shoes as they may be required to
spend long periods stood up and work in areas with uneven flooring. Both
Museums are also spread out over a number of floors and involve many
staircases. (If there is a medical or other need to avoid stairs or prolonged
standing etc, the work experience placement can be tailored around this.)
All students will be instructed in fire drill procedures, the layout of the building
(including toilet, refreshment and lunch break facilities) and Health & Safety
relating to their tasks. Students will not be expected to do heavy lifting or use
a ladder. Students will have full use of the tea room facilities, and will be
expected to use it at lunchtime for their meal break. Mobile phones must not
be used during work hours.
We will also require a home address and a daytime emergency contact
number for students and details of any medical conditions that we should be
aware of.
If the student has any further queries about their placement they should
contact Sarah Orton, Lifelong Learning & Access Officer who co-ordinates
work experience placements. She may be contacted on 01452 396139 (direct
line) or 01452 396131 (City Museum reception). Alternatively e-mail
Sarah.Orton@gloucester.gov.uk
We look forward to having your student on placement and trust that they will
find it both a beneficial and enjoyable experience.