What apprenticeship have you recently completed?
I completed a 16-month apprenticeship with the British Library’s learning team from September 2021 until January 2023. My apprenticeship involved working with the different sub-teams of the wider learning team and assisting them with their programmes.
The learning team had five different programmes/teams: access and outreach, adult learning, digital, family, and schools. I supported staff members from each of the five teams, working particularly with the access and outreach and adult learning programmes.
Part of my apprenticeship involved completing a Level 2 Customer Service qualification with an external training provider.
The qualification involved me researching the British Library as an organisation and completing worksheets about how I interact with customers in my role. I had monthly sessions with my tutor who explained ideas and set me new tasks. I usually set aside Fridays as my study day.
After successfully completing my qualification and coming to the end of my apprenticeship period, I left the British Library in January 2023 and started in my current position as a visitor experience duty officer at Hogarth’s House and Boston Manor House museums, both run by the London Borough of Hounslow.
What attracted you to this apprenticeship?
I have had a strong interest in history ever since I was a child and have, for many years, enjoyed visiting museums and other sites of cultural and historical significance in London and around the UK. I knew I wanted to work in a history-related job one day, however I wasn’t sure what role I wanted to work in.
From the age of 16, I started volunteering in various archives and museums in west and central London in my spare time. I helped catalogue collection items and research and set up local museum exhibitions alongside other young people. In September 2020, after finishing sixth form, I started on a supported internship scheme with Hillingdon Council based at Hillingdon Civic Centre in Uxbridge.
Whilst there, I was given the opportunity to conduct research into the history of the Hillingdon borough, so that I could come up with relevant suggestions for new street and facility names in the various borough wards. I also did a placement at a nearby local museum, the Battle of Britain Bunker, where I helped to catalogue the museum’s book collection.
By the summer of 2021 my internship was due to end, so I started looking for apprenticeship opportunities in various museums across London. My preferred style of learning is through real-life practical experience. As a young person with autism, I felt that university wasn’t quite right for me.
I regularly checked the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service on the UK Government website for any museum or library apprenticeships in London. A number of apprenticeship vacancies came up at the British Library’s St Pancras site. I thought the learning team apprenticeship was the one most suited to my interests.
As a frequent museum visitor, I felt that I could make a strong contribution to the role, and it would be a great opportunity for me to gain some valuable practical experience and increase my knowledge of the cultural heritage sector.
After an involved application process, I was successful and started at the library in September 2021.
What was your experience like?
The first four months of my apprenticeship involved supporting the access and outreach manager with her programme. The programme is aimed at members of the public with a variety of additional needs, such as visitors with autism, visitors who are blind or partially sighted, visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing and visitors who speak English as a second language.
I had the opportunity to shadow and assist with relaxed early openings, audio-descriptive and British Sign Language library tours, and art workshops based on current library exhibitions. My duties also involved responding to general public enquiries and organising physical resources.
From January 2022 until January 2023, I moved over to the adult learning programme, which I supported until the end of my apprenticeship. The programme is aimed at providing adult library users with courses on a variety of social, historical and political topics. These courses took place both online via Zoom and on site at the library’s learning centre. My duties included responding to queries as well as preparing resources for and shadowing the on-site adult learning courses.
I really enjoyed finding out about and getting involved with the different events, courses and workshops run by the learning team. I particularly enjoyed shadowing access tours of the library and supporting participants during creative art workshops. I also had a great time working with team staff in general – everyone in the department was very friendly and supportive.
Interacting with the other library apprentices was great as well, and I enjoyed sharing my experiences with other young people. It was wonderful to have the chance, as a young person, to work at one of the UK’s most important cultural institutions, and with such a kind and dedicated team.
What would you say to someone who is thinking of doing an apprenticeship?
Do your research into the relevant apprenticeship area and qualification before you apply and evaluate whether it aligns with your interests and goals. Be aware that apprenticeships are not entirely hands-on, and involve an academic qualification. Balancing your qualification curriculum with your practical work is crucial to seeing the apprenticeship through.
Apprenticeships are an invaluable way of gaining practical experience in the museum sector, especially if you are looking to build a career in a particular area. Whether you are a young person looking for a way to kickstart your heritage career, or someone interested in a career change and wanting to get their foot in the door of the museum sector, apprenticeships offer something for everyone.
As someone who was previously unsure of how to get into the heritage sector, my apprenticeship with the British Library gave me a solid foundation to learn about the practicalities of working in a large organisation with numerous interconnected (but varied) departments and services.
The apprenticeship process has made me the person I am today, and the experience I gained from it enabled me to successfully apply for my current visitor experience role. The organisational, communication and customer service skills I developed during my apprenticeship still prove to be instrumental in my day-to-day work.
Even after the apprenticeship has concluded, your journey doesn’t end. I still regularly visit the British Library to see their current exhibitions and speak to my former learning team colleagues about their latest programming plans. My line manager brought the vacancy for my current visitor experience role to my attention back in the summer of 2022, and my colleagues have continued to provide me with useful advice about career resources and development opportunities in the museum sector.
If you are fortunate enough to get involved in an apprenticeship opportunity, make the most of it. No experience is wasted experience. Ask the questions you want to ask to experienced sector professionals, shadow as many departments and roles as you can, and build those connections with fellow apprentices and museum colleagues (and continue to reach out to them in the long term). You never know when the experiences and connections gained from your apprenticeship may prove useful!
Joseph is visitor experience duty officer at Hogarth’s House and Boston Manor House museums. You can find him on LinkedIn