Dacorum School Careers Fair
Getting into Heritage
There are a number of alternative pathways into museums and heritage careers for you to explore.
Volunteering, if you can, is a great way to get practical experience and test which roles interest you. Work experience offers similar opportunities. Many organisations will also pay travel expenses for volunteers. Job applications will often ask for evidence of volunteering. You’ll get practical experience and test which roles interest you.
Apprenticeships are paid, on the job training and available across the heritage sector. From Stonemason to Conservator and with a range of entry requirements, there is an apprenticeship for everyone.
Non-Heritage Specific Roles are available in most organisations, e.g. finance and marketing, which look for transferable skills and experience from outside the heritage sector.
Work experience student exploring our Store. Courtesy of Dacorum Heritage.Different Types of Heritage and Museum Careers
Public Relations roles help museums communicate with the public. They can include running social media, organising events, press, marketing and communications.
Being digital is crucial to museums. Practically every digital skillset is needed in museums, e.g: Digital Art Designers to develop a museum’s online presence; Digital Content Developer (website development), and Digital Producer (digital exhibition elements) are some of the roles you may see.
Engagement programmes are a big part of most museum’s purpose. This might include working directly with children and community groups in workshops, or with university students to facilitate their research.
Climate Change related roles are opening up as museums work to reduce their carbon emissions.
Curatorial and Conservation play a fundamental role in museums. Working directly with the artefacts, they help interpret their story and preserve them for future generations.
Fundraising from creating engaging events to membership & donation programmes, most museums wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for fundraising.
Operations & Estates maintain the business side of museums, including financial & business planning, HR, the Board of Trustees, and site management (buildings and grounds).
Work placement student photographing objects in our Store. Courtesy of Dacorum Heritage.Links
Start exploring to see what’s available. Here are some sites to get you started:
- Explore IfATE’s huge range of heritage related apprenticeships
- Arts Emergency has great practical resources on getting into Art Sector jobs, including mentoring and CV writing
- The National Trust is full of useful information about heritage careers, including lots of job postings
Get involved and search on an organisation’s website for volunteering opportunities or check out the below:
- NCVO has mapped out England’s main volunteering centres. See what’s available near you
- If you are interested in volunteering for Dacorum Heritage contact info@dacorumheritage.org.uk
Here are some quotes from our regular volunteers:-
"Great for building new skills"
"I have enjoyed finding out what is in the loan boxes and developing new resources and worksheets that will help bring history alive"
"Socially it's great – really feel like part of the team"
