Alan Bentley & Dieter Hopkin
Museum Development Officers
• Who we are
• Renaissance Yorkshire is part of the national
Renaissance in the Regions programme of the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
• Nearest thing to a regional agency for the sector
• There are similar regional bodies across England.
Similar work is done in Wales and Scotland
• What we do as Museum Development Officers
• Work with museums across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire
• Provide advice and guidance in most aspects of museum operation
– often in a “consultancy” role
• Provide grant-aid support to foster best practice and sustainability in
museums
• Operate programmes for groups of museums and provide bespoke
support to individual museums
• So, we have a good broad insight into most areas of the sector and
employment opportunities
• How do we get involved in recruitment?
• On interview panels for “client” museums
• Advising on job descriptions and projects which include temporary
posts
• Advising where to advertise vacancies cost effectively
• Directly appointing – mainly experienced contractors and free-lance
practitioners
• Directly advertising local job opportunities in our Renaissance
Yorkshire e-newsletter
• Current recruitment situation in the
museum and heritage sector
• “Becoming a museum or heritage professional is not the easiest
career route to follow. There is increasingly intense competition for
jobs, the pay would generally be described as poor and the level of
qualifications and experience demanded is high. In addition, career
progression can be difficult - people often have to be willing to move
anywhere in the country - and short term contracts in many areas of
work are now seen as the norm. Getting a job in the sector can
indeed be a tough nut to crack”.
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CHNTO – Cultural Heritage National Training Organisation
• Current Sector Environment - Fluid Picture
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The Museum and Heritage Sector is an active and important part of the UK economy and
cultural life. It has a reputation for being flexible and resilient
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Public Sector Funding cuts in local government, national government and Higher
Education sectors all affecting museums as non-statutory services
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The national agency, Museums Libraries and Archive Council (MLA) was abolished in the
“bonfire of the quangos” in 2010 and some of its functions are to be taken over by the Arts
Council (ACE) during 2011
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Many individual museums and museum services are restructuring and shedding posts or
transferring to trust status. If recruiting, many are doing so on a fixed-term contract basis
with “degraded” terms and conditions
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There may be new opportunities for independent museums which may lead to recruitment
within the Big Society approach
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There is a potentially growing market in museum consultancy companies providing
specialist services e.g. project management, market research
• Sector Environment
• Attractiveness of museums to those looking in –
“You work in a museum, oh that must be nice!”
“You get to play with all that lovely stuff – it must be the best job in
the world!”
• Potential over provision of new entrants from post-graduate courses
etc.
• Need to volunteer to get first job or place on course
• Depressed salary rates especially for entry level posts
• Characteristics of sector
• There are about 3000 museums in the country
• There are many different kinds of museum and many different types
of jobs in museums.
• Some museums are very small and might be run only by volunteers
or by one or two staff who do everything from running the shop to
caring for the collections and putting on exhibitions. Other museums,
like the big national museums have hundreds of staff who will often
be very specialist in one area.
• Characteristics of sector
• Types of museums in the UK
– National Museums: British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Railway
Museum, Imperial War Museum, National Gallery and Tate
Local Authority Museums: Leeds City Museums, Craven Museum in Skipton
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– University Museums: Leeds University Gallery, LMU Gallery, Manchester Museum
– Other Nationally Funded Museums: Horniman Museum or National Coal Mining
Museum for England
– Military Museums: some MOD funded some funded by the regiment: Durham Light
Infantry Museum, RAF Museum
– Larger independent museums: Ironbridge Museum, Thackray Museum,Leeds
– Former local authority services now operated by museum trusts:
York, Sheffield
– Other national agencies: National Trust and English Heritage, CADW
– Small independent museums: Horsforth Museum, Middleton Railway, Leeds
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Characteristics of Employment in the Sector
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Short-term contracts
Job Insecurity
Competition for museum jobs is often very high
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How to get a job depends very much on the type of job which is wanted.
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Students should decide what area of museum work interests you and then gain the
relevant qualifications and experience.
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Some look for general skills and others have high academic standards
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Low pay: Starting salaries for people with post-graduate qualifications can be as little
as £13,000 and ten years later many will probably still be earning less than £30,000.
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Relative status and wealth to other graduate peers – working in museums is often a
“lifestyle” decision
• Why do we do it?
• Challenging – opportunity to make a difference in many ways
• Variety of types of work from the very practical to theoretical
• Belief in the social, cultural and economic value of museums in
enhancing peoples’ lives and the world
• Often not the normal 9-5 routine
• Passion for collections and the stories they tell
• Working with a wide variety of people
• Get to go through the door marked “Private”
• Types of jobs
• Front of house
• Tour guide
• Live interpretation (i.e. acting
as a character from the past)
• Marketing Manager
• Education Officer
• Consultancy firm employee
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Curator
Conservator
Registrar
IT specialist and web design
Exhibitions designer
Graphic design
Photographer
Object handler
Technician
Documentation specialist
Outreach worker
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• Post - graduate courses
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University of Leicester - Museum Studies, Art
Museum and Gallery Studies etc.
Newcastle offers programme options in Art Museum
& Gallery Education, Art Museum & Gallery Studies,
At as Enterprise, Heritage Education &
Interpretation, Heritage Management, Museum
Studies.
City University - Information Management in the
Cultural Sector
Nottingham Trent University - Museum and
Heritage Management
University of Sheffield - Arts and Heritage
Management
Aberystwyth University - Historical Studies
(Heritage Skills)
Birmingham City University - Contemporary
Curatorial Practice
University of Birmingham - Curatorial Archaeology
Bournemouth University - Museums Studies
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Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts
London - Conservation
University of Cambridge - Archaeology (World
Archaeology/Archaeological Heritage and
Museums)
Cardiff University - Conservation
Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London Curating the Art Museum
Durham University - Museum and Artefact Studies
University of East Anglia - Museology
University of Essex - Gallery Studies and Critical
Curating
University of Glamorgan - Heritage Management
University of Glasgow - Tourism, Heritage and
Development
Institute of Education, University of London Museums and Galleries in Education
King's College London (University of London) Cultural and Creative Industries
Kingston University - Conservation Science for
Museum Artifacts
University of Wales, Lampeter - Cultural Heritage
University of Leeds - Art Gallery and Museum
Studies
• Qualifications
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In-service training and experience
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NVQs, some museum and heritage sector specific
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Post-graduate courses – some by distance learning
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Museums Association AMA, CPD
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Modern Apprenticeships
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Other specialist qualifications either sector specific or specific to discipline
i.e. teaching
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Where to find out more
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The Museums Association [http://www.museumsassociation.org/] is the national body
which represents museums. Has a wealth of information on working in museums including
descriptions of many different types of museum job and advice on courses and
volunteering.
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Prospects has lots of information on jobs in museums and heritage management
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_
Job/p!eipaL?grpno=W5&state=showgrp
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museumjobs.com [http://www.museumjobs.com/] and museumcareers.com
[http://www.museumcareers.com/] list some current jobs in museums. Indicates what is
out there, what qualifications are required, and how much might be paid
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University of Leicester Museums Studies Jobs Desk
http://www.le.ac.uk/ms/jobs/job_titles_jobid.htm
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The Guardian has an Arts & Heritage jobs section http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/jobs/arts-andheritage/
• Tips and Hints for potential applicants
• Do your research
• Get practical experience - volunteer
• What is the reality of the “nice museum job”? What are the long-term
prospects?
• Get transferable skills
• Be prepared to be mobile
• Use your networks
• Join a professional group e.g. local Museum Federation, Association
of Independent Museums (AIM), Museums Association
• How do museum and heritage organisations recruit?
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On-line
– Directly
– Via other web-sites e.g. Leicester University Museum Studies Jobs Desk
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National newspapers and their web-sites
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Museums Association’s Museums Journal
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Local newspapers
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Networks, word-of-mouth or employment opportunities offered to volunteers
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Emphasis on low or no-cost options
• Entry routes
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Dependant on job e.g. some new entrants want any museum job to get
experience e.g. front of house or gallery assistants
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First degree
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Post-graduate qualification full time or by distance learning
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Volunteering
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Short-term casual contracts
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Employment with a heritage constancy company
• Museum work can be very personally rewarding
• Many people will still be passionate about
wanting to work in museums
• It is only fair for them to understand the pros and
cons of pursuing this passion
• Would I do it again?
• Any questions?
Alan Bentley
Alan.bentley@museums-sheffield.org.uk
Dieter Hopkin
Dieter.hopkin@museums-sheffield.org.uk