Rebecca Gordon has secured a much sought aftertrainingplacement at the Mid Antrim Museum Service. She is one of twelve trainees participating in the training scheme known as the Collections Skills Initiative (CSI), organised by the Northern Ireland Museums Council in partnership with National Museums Northern Ireland, which aims to provide people with the technical and creative skills needed to pursue a career in the museum sector.
Speaking at the CSI launch in Belfast, Rebecca said,
“I am very pleased to have got a place on this innovative scheme. Over the next year I will have the opportunity to learn more about the various aspects of looking after a museum collection and contributing to the programme at the Braid.
Shirin Murphy Assistant Curator at MAMS who will be coaching Rebecca throughout her placement said:
“In hosting this placement, MAMS is demonstrating their commitment totrainingtalented new graduates. Rebecca will be assisting us with an important project to publicly mark centenaries between 2012 and 2022, known as the Decade of Anniversaries and will focus on the preparation for two major community co-curated exhibitions and associated programming across the North East and Mid-Antrim area in association with Causeway Museum Service. The exhibitions will investigate the impact and legacy of the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and theBattleof The Somme and Easter Rising in 1916.
To facilitate the development of this project, Rebecca will carry out a collections audit and condition survey of material held within MAMS collections. She will have an opportunity to learn new skills through working with our collections and I look forward to working with her on this project.”
The Collections Skills Initiative is promoted by the Northern Ireland Museums Council, in partnership withNational MuseumsNorthern Ireland, and has received funding of £270,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The programme will provide both formaltrainingand a museum placement to twelve trainees during 2012/13.
Chris Bailey, Director ofNorthern IrelandMuseums Council said,
“We are delighted to announce this programme which will provide the trainees with a thorough grounding in a range of skills that will assist their future careers, and that MAMS is one of the ten participating museums. As well as assisting the participants, this initiative will go some way to providing employment opportunities during economically difficult times, and will contribute to ensuring that our museum collections are well-cared for this and future generations.”
The Collections Skills Initiative is part of the ‘Skills for the Future’ programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which aims to provide work-basedtraining across the heritage sector. The Fund is investing over £1 million in the programme inNorthern Ireland.