Bill Kirby Traineeships
Increasing the accessibility of entry-level museum careers to disabled and deaf people
Funding for work-placements at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum and a Distance Learning Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester.
An estimated 10 million people in the UK are covered by the definition of disability as outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. This is approximately 18% of the UK population, but research shows that the employment figures for museums and galleries are much lower.
Where disabled and deaf people do have a role in an organisation, they are primarily working as front of house staff, followed by administrative or clerical roles and then customer services (MLA 2005).
Background:
Diversify was established in 1999, to address the under-representation of black and minority ethnic people working in museums and galleries. Its aim has been to change the nature of the museum workforce, to enrich the working culture in museums and to energise and reposition museums’ offer to their audiences.
It has long been the MA’s ambition to build on the success of Diversify and extend the scope of scheme. The MA’s first opportunity to do this came with the launch of a pilot Bill Kirby Traineeship in 2008 in partnership with Colchester and Ipswich Museum, the University of Leicester and Shape Arts.
The trainee appointed to Colchester and Ipswich Museums began their traineeship in April 2009 and completed it in September. Ongoing evaluation during the placement has demonstrated the positive impact on both the organisation and the individual.
The MA and its partners named these traineeships the The Bill Kirby Traineeship after the late Bill Kirby. Bill was an inspirational arts and museums consultant who died in 2006. He was the country’s first visually impaired arts and museums consultant and was the long-standing chairman and president of MAGDA and a member of the MA council.
In a joint article in Museum News (Autumn 1989) with Marcus Weisen he wrote: ‘The museums professions must be opened to disabled and deaf people. If the Science Museum in Paris attracts high numbers of disabled and deaf visitors, it is because it employs a blind and a deaf worker, both of whom bring to museum a unique expertise. Their daily presence changes staff attitudes.”
The MA is using the social model of disability whereby disability is caused by the barriers that exist within society and the way society is organised, which discriminates against people with impairments and excludes them from involvement and participation.
2010-2011 Bill Kirby Traineeships
With funding from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s Renaissance programme the MA is delighted to offer three further Bill Kirby Traineeships in 2010-11.
The traineeships include:
· Payment of course fees for the Distance Learning MA in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester
· A six-month work-placement, with a training bursary of £6,000 at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum
· A contribution of a total of £1,000 towards essential course expenses, such as books and course-related travel
· Professional development benefits from the Museums Association including membership and attendance at Conference and seminars
· Opportunities to network widely within the museums sector
The traineeships will pay the cost of the course fees for the Distance Learning Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester from October 2010. In addition, a training bursary of £6,000 will be paid to the successful candidates during their placement.
However, candidates should note that they will need to fund their own living expenses while undertaking the Masters (by distance learning).
The traineeships are designed to be flexible: the six-month work-placements at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum can be taken either full or part-time. There will also be flexibility over the start date of the work-placement.
Timetable:
· Closing date for applications is Monday 29th March 2010
· First round interviews will be held at the MA offices in London on 13th / 14th April 2010
· Second round interviews will be held at the host museums in late April.
· Successful candidates to apply to the Distance Learning Masters in Museum Studies at the Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester with a view to starting the course in October 2010
· Successful candidate to start their work-placement Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum in, or after, April 2010
For further information regarding the Masters in Museum Studies by distance learning please visit Leicester’s Department of Museum Studies website: www.le.ac.uk/ms/
If you would like to discuss the Masters in Museum Studies please contact Gus Dinn, Director of Learning and Student Support, on 0116 252 3963 or ad63@le.ac.uk
Links to the trainee descriptions and specifications, which include further information about the projects offered by Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum can be found below:
Download Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service trainee specification (word)
Download large print Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service trainee specification(word)
Download Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums trainee specification (word)
Download large print Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums trainee specification (word)
Download London Transport Museum trainee specification
Download large print London Transport Museum trainee specification
Application criteria
Applicants need to demonstrate the following:
Their enthusiasm for developing a career within museums and galleries in the UK
That they consider themselves to be deaf or disabled - the Disability Discrimination Act defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
That they have, or are expecting to have, either a first or second class honours degree, OR an equivalent qualification OR experience that will meet the university’s admission requirements for postgraduate training
That they meet the trainee specifications for Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum
That they are eligible for home student university fees (They must be a national of the UK or another EU country, or have indefinite or exceptional leave to remain in the UK)
Submitting your application:
1. Download and complete the application form (please ensure you indicate whether you want to apply for the placement at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum).
Download the Bill Kirby Traineeship application form (word)
Download the large print Bill Kirby Traineeship application form (word)
2. Make sure that your application meets the application criteria
3. Submit the completed application form along with a covering letter outlining in no more than 150 words your enthusiasm for developing a career within museums and galleries in the UK
Applications should be emailed to: Emma Mitchinson, Professional Development Assistant, cpd@museumsassociation.org.
The closing date for applications is midday on Monday 29th March 2010.
Applications which are incomplete or which are received after this date will not be considered.
Funded by Renaissance, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Partnership’s regional museums programme in partnership with Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum.
This advertisement is for a training bursary with a placement in a museum or gallery. It is not an advertisement for employment or an apprenticeship that will lead to employment.
An estimated 10 million people in the UK are covered by the definition of disability as outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. This is approximately 18% of the UK population, but research shows that the employment figures for museums and galleries are much lower.
Where disabled and deaf people do have a role in an organisation, they are primarily working as front of house staff, followed by administrative or clerical roles and then customer services (MLA 2005).
Background:
Diversify was established in 1999, to address the under-representation of black and minority ethnic people working in museums and galleries. Its aim has been to change the nature of the museum workforce, to enrich the working culture in museums and to energise and reposition museums’ offer to their audiences.
It has long been the MA’s ambition to build on the success of Diversify and extend the scope of scheme. The MA’s first opportunity to do this came with the launch of a pilot Bill Kirby Traineeship in 2008 in partnership with Colchester and Ipswich Museum, the University of Leicester and Shape Arts.
The trainee appointed to Colchester and Ipswich Museums began their traineeship in April 2009 and completed it in September. Ongoing evaluation during the placement has demonstrated the positive impact on both the organisation and the individual.
The MA and its partners named these traineeships the The Bill Kirby Traineeship after the late Bill Kirby. Bill was an inspirational arts and museums consultant who died in 2006. He was the country’s first visually impaired arts and museums consultant and was the long-standing chairman and president of MAGDA and a member of the MA council.
In a joint article in Museum News (Autumn 1989) with Marcus Weisen he wrote: ‘The museums professions must be opened to disabled and deaf people. If the Science Museum in Paris attracts high numbers of disabled and deaf visitors, it is because it employs a blind and a deaf worker, both of whom bring to museum a unique expertise. Their daily presence changes staff attitudes.”
The MA is using the social model of disability whereby disability is caused by the barriers that exist within society and the way society is organised, which discriminates against people with impairments and excludes them from involvement and participation.
2010-2011 Bill Kirby Traineeships
With funding from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s Renaissance programme the MA is delighted to offer three further Bill Kirby Traineeships in 2010-11.
The traineeships include:
· Payment of course fees for the Distance Learning MA in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester
· A six-month work-placement, with a training bursary of £6,000 at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum
· A contribution of a total of £1,000 towards essential course expenses, such as books and course-related travel
· Professional development benefits from the Museums Association including membership and attendance at Conference and seminars
· Opportunities to network widely within the museums sector
The traineeships will pay the cost of the course fees for the Distance Learning Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester from October 2010. In addition, a training bursary of £6,000 will be paid to the successful candidates during their placement.
However, candidates should note that they will need to fund their own living expenses while undertaking the Masters (by distance learning).
The traineeships are designed to be flexible: the six-month work-placements at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum can be taken either full or part-time. There will also be flexibility over the start date of the work-placement.
Timetable:
· Closing date for applications is Monday 29th March 2010
· First round interviews will be held at the MA offices in London on 13th / 14th April 2010
· Second round interviews will be held at the host museums in late April.
· Successful candidates to apply to the Distance Learning Masters in Museum Studies at the Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester with a view to starting the course in October 2010
· Successful candidate to start their work-placement Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum in, or after, April 2010
For further information regarding the Masters in Museum Studies by distance learning please visit Leicester’s Department of Museum Studies website: www.le.ac.uk/ms/
If you would like to discuss the Masters in Museum Studies please contact Gus Dinn, Director of Learning and Student Support, on 0116 252 3963 or ad63@le.ac.uk
Links to the trainee descriptions and specifications, which include further information about the projects offered by Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum can be found below:
Download Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service trainee specification (word)
Download large print Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service trainee specification(word)
Download Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums trainee specification (word)
Download large print Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums trainee specification (word)
Download London Transport Museum trainee specification
Download large print London Transport Museum trainee specification
Application criteria
Applicants need to demonstrate the following:
Their enthusiasm for developing a career within museums and galleries in the UK
That they consider themselves to be deaf or disabled - the Disability Discrimination Act defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
That they have, or are expecting to have, either a first or second class honours degree, OR an equivalent qualification OR experience that will meet the university’s admission requirements for postgraduate training
That they meet the trainee specifications for Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum
That they are eligible for home student university fees (They must be a national of the UK or another EU country, or have indefinite or exceptional leave to remain in the UK)
Submitting your application:
1. Download and complete the application form (please ensure you indicate whether you want to apply for the placement at Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums or the London Transport Museum).
Download the Bill Kirby Traineeship application form (word)
Download the large print Bill Kirby Traineeship application form (word)
2. Make sure that your application meets the application criteria
3. Submit the completed application form along with a covering letter outlining in no more than 150 words your enthusiasm for developing a career within museums and galleries in the UK
Applications should be emailed to: Emma Mitchinson, Professional Development Assistant, cpd@museumsassociation.org.
The closing date for applications is midday on Monday 29th March 2010.
Applications which are incomplete or which are received after this date will not be considered.
Funded by Renaissance, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Partnership’s regional museums programme in partnership with Hartlepool Museums & Heritage Service, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the London Transport Museum.
This advertisement is for a training bursary with a placement in a museum or gallery. It is not an advertisement for employment or an apprenticeship that will lead to employment.
