"Entry routes are currently incredibly opaque, middle management and staff lack training, and management and leadership skills are weak because of a reluctance to develop skills at all levels through careers."
This is Jennie Godsalve's blunt assessment of the problems in recruiting and training people in museums and galleries. But Godsalve, as an engagement adviser at Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), the training advisory body for the sector, is among those working to improve the situation.
Plans to look again at workforce development will be unveiled this month, when the CCS publishes its recommendations for creating new routes into museums, galleries, heritage centres, conservation and archaeology, and for better training once people are in.
Drawn up by the CCS Heritage Skills Advisory Panel in consultation with the Museums Association (MA), there are six key aims, including a more diverse workforce and improved management, and a number of specific targets, including 600 cultural heritage apprenticeships across the UK by 2014.
The case for a more diverse and varied workforce is an ethical one for museums: a democratic institution serving the public should not be elitist, which is the outcome if only the educated middle-classes are in a position to take up the frequently poorly-paid jobs that are the first rung on its career ladder.
But it is also curatorial: if collections are to reflect the world we live in, they have to be informed by the experiences of a society as a whole. Far from dumbing down, this is about widening curatorial expertise, not diluting it.
Godsalve says the reliance on academia to produce new recruits is misplaced, because while it provides solid subject specialism, it does not take into consideration the broad and varied skills required to work in the sector.
In fact, the Labour Force Survey for 2005 showed that 49 per cent of the cultural heritage workforce hold a degree as their highest qualification, but fewer than 2 per cent of graduates with degrees in subjects related to cultural heritage are actually employed in core cultural heritage activities such as museums (although a further 4.4 per cent work in government).
Leaders seem to assume staff in situ will pick up the professional development they need almost "by osmosis", adds Godsalve. The reason is partly financial: when budgets are squeezed, training and development programmes are vulnerable because they are not a core activity.
But it's also institutionalised: managers who have not been trained themselves don't see the need for it in others or they don't have the confidence to deliver it. If these failings are not addressed, there will be increasing gaps in management, technology, commerce and IT skills.
The new plan reflects a general consensus across the cultural heritage sector about what some of the issues are and a desire for leadership on what changes are necessary.
Caitlin Griffiths, head of professional issues for the MA, says: "There's a general feeling that when it comes to workforce issues, there can be warm words and not much action. That's because the benefits of developing the workforce are not recognised by organisations. In museums we might have the collections, but without the workforce we will never be able to make the most of them."
Both Griffiths and Godsalve point to the Cultural Apprenticeships scheme, which offers non-graduates a year's work-based training in a variety of heritage organisations plus college time, as an important innovation. The first ones are now being rolled out and are for front-of-house operations.
Jane Glaister, strategic director of culture, tourism and sport in Bradford and chair of the Heritage Skills Advisory Panel, says a more diverse workforce is needed as part of a wider transformation now required in the heritage sector.
Local authority and university museums have looked to the profession for direction, rather than to the strategic objectives of the authority they come under, she says. As a result they are marginalised when it comes to decision-making around big priorities. "That's unfortunate because the heritage sector can really deliver on different agendas."
This has led to a lack of innovative thinking about museums' place in society, Glaister adds. Diversifying the workforce will help to change thinking because people from different backgrounds will bring fresh ideas.
But all six of the key aims of the CCS will have to be addressed to bring about genuine transformation. And Glaister has doubts whether that will happen.
"I'm hoping some organisations will pick this [action plan] up as a challenge and that will be exciting, especially if they can bring it into local authorities. But I'm not absolutely sure that the sector will take it on board, because there's no significant crisis yet.
"But since cultural heritage is a manifest of the views of what a society strives to be, it's so important that we get this right. People should see that you can't continue with the old paradigm now if museums are to represent the values of Britain in the 20th century."
Julie Nightingale is a freelance journalist.
This is Jennie Godsalve's blunt assessment of the problems in recruiting and training people in museums and galleries. But Godsalve, as an engagement adviser at Creative and Cultural Skills (CCS), the training advisory body for the sector, is among those working to improve the situation.
Plans to look again at workforce development will be unveiled this month, when the CCS publishes its recommendations for creating new routes into museums, galleries, heritage centres, conservation and archaeology, and for better training once people are in.
Drawn up by the CCS Heritage Skills Advisory Panel in consultation with the Museums Association (MA), there are six key aims, including a more diverse workforce and improved management, and a number of specific targets, including 600 cultural heritage apprenticeships across the UK by 2014.
The case for a more diverse and varied workforce is an ethical one for museums: a democratic institution serving the public should not be elitist, which is the outcome if only the educated middle-classes are in a position to take up the frequently poorly-paid jobs that are the first rung on its career ladder.
But it is also curatorial: if collections are to reflect the world we live in, they have to be informed by the experiences of a society as a whole. Far from dumbing down, this is about widening curatorial expertise, not diluting it.
Godsalve says the reliance on academia to produce new recruits is misplaced, because while it provides solid subject specialism, it does not take into consideration the broad and varied skills required to work in the sector.
In fact, the Labour Force Survey for 2005 showed that 49 per cent of the cultural heritage workforce hold a degree as their highest qualification, but fewer than 2 per cent of graduates with degrees in subjects related to cultural heritage are actually employed in core cultural heritage activities such as museums (although a further 4.4 per cent work in government).
Leaders seem to assume staff in situ will pick up the professional development they need almost "by osmosis", adds Godsalve. The reason is partly financial: when budgets are squeezed, training and development programmes are vulnerable because they are not a core activity.
But it's also institutionalised: managers who have not been trained themselves don't see the need for it in others or they don't have the confidence to deliver it. If these failings are not addressed, there will be increasing gaps in management, technology, commerce and IT skills.
The new plan reflects a general consensus across the cultural heritage sector about what some of the issues are and a desire for leadership on what changes are necessary.
Caitlin Griffiths, head of professional issues for the MA, says: "There's a general feeling that when it comes to workforce issues, there can be warm words and not much action. That's because the benefits of developing the workforce are not recognised by organisations. In museums we might have the collections, but without the workforce we will never be able to make the most of them."
Both Griffiths and Godsalve point to the Cultural Apprenticeships scheme, which offers non-graduates a year's work-based training in a variety of heritage organisations plus college time, as an important innovation. The first ones are now being rolled out and are for front-of-house operations.
Jane Glaister, strategic director of culture, tourism and sport in Bradford and chair of the Heritage Skills Advisory Panel, says a more diverse workforce is needed as part of a wider transformation now required in the heritage sector.
Local authority and university museums have looked to the profession for direction, rather than to the strategic objectives of the authority they come under, she says. As a result they are marginalised when it comes to decision-making around big priorities. "That's unfortunate because the heritage sector can really deliver on different agendas."
This has led to a lack of innovative thinking about museums' place in society, Glaister adds. Diversifying the workforce will help to change thinking because people from different backgrounds will bring fresh ideas.
But all six of the key aims of the CCS will have to be addressed to bring about genuine transformation. And Glaister has doubts whether that will happen.
"I'm hoping some organisations will pick this [action plan] up as a challenge and that will be exciting, especially if they can bring it into local authorities. But I'm not absolutely sure that the sector will take it on board, because there's no significant crisis yet.
"But since cultural heritage is a manifest of the views of what a society strives to be, it's so important that we get this right. People should see that you can't continue with the old paradigm now if museums are to represent the values of Britain in the 20th century."
Julie Nightingale is a freelance journalist.
Routes into museums
Joe Richmond, 23, and Stephen O'Connor, 16, are doing a year's creative apprenticeship at World Museum Liverpool and seven of the city's other cultural institutions. They are doing NVQ level 2 in community arts management and earn the minimum wage.
Richmond has worked in community arts, but was jobless when the apprenticeship opportunity came up. "This was a good way for me to get back into community arts. I believe it will enable me to get a job. If not, it has given me the confidence to start my own business." O'Connor heard about the apprenticeship through the Young Tate programme, having rejected the idea of further education.
"I would not have come into museums without this scheme because you don't usually get the chance," O'Connor says. "I didn't have an idea of what career I wanted to do, but I'm enjoying seeing all the different jobs within the museum."
Joanne Irvine is head of Bolton Museum and Archive Service and came into the sector from a visitor services background. She worked in retail, including the Science Museum shop, and as a leisure services manager at a university before joining the local authority as operations manager. She has a fine art degree and an MBA.
"You see things from a different perspective if you come through a non-traditional route. It does have drawbacks. It can be hard because collections staff perhaps don't see you in the same way. They may feel you don't understand where they are coming from. But I have a deputy with a collections background. I think you need a combination at management level.
"I was seconded for a time to the North-West hub to look at workforce development and when I came back to Bolton we reviewed job descriptions. We now state the qualifications or experience necessary for post. That's a big shift."
Praveen Herat is doing an 18-month placement at the Royal Pavilion and museums in Brighton and Hove as a management trainee on the MA's Diversify scheme.
"I read English at Oxford and have an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. I'd always been interested in working in the museum and gallery sector, but my life and career path had led me too far in other directions for me to retrace my steps and take the museum studies route.
"Prior to the traineeship, I lived in Cambodia for several years where I worked in international development and I'd already amassed several years experience as a manager in the UK charity sector.
"The traineeships offered me an innovative way in: the chance to get hands-on experience while also developing what I've learned through my other management experiences."
Joe Richmond, 23, and Stephen O'Connor, 16, are doing a year's creative apprenticeship at World Museum Liverpool and seven of the city's other cultural institutions. They are doing NVQ level 2 in community arts management and earn the minimum wage.
Richmond has worked in community arts, but was jobless when the apprenticeship opportunity came up. "This was a good way for me to get back into community arts. I believe it will enable me to get a job. If not, it has given me the confidence to start my own business." O'Connor heard about the apprenticeship through the Young Tate programme, having rejected the idea of further education.
"I would not have come into museums without this scheme because you don't usually get the chance," O'Connor says. "I didn't have an idea of what career I wanted to do, but I'm enjoying seeing all the different jobs within the museum."
Joanne Irvine is head of Bolton Museum and Archive Service and came into the sector from a visitor services background. She worked in retail, including the Science Museum shop, and as a leisure services manager at a university before joining the local authority as operations manager. She has a fine art degree and an MBA.
"You see things from a different perspective if you come through a non-traditional route. It does have drawbacks. It can be hard because collections staff perhaps don't see you in the same way. They may feel you don't understand where they are coming from. But I have a deputy with a collections background. I think you need a combination at management level.
"I was seconded for a time to the North-West hub to look at workforce development and when I came back to Bolton we reviewed job descriptions. We now state the qualifications or experience necessary for post. That's a big shift."
Praveen Herat is doing an 18-month placement at the Royal Pavilion and museums in Brighton and Hove as a management trainee on the MA's Diversify scheme.
"I read English at Oxford and have an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. I'd always been interested in working in the museum and gallery sector, but my life and career path had led me too far in other directions for me to retrace my steps and take the museum studies route.
"Prior to the traineeship, I lived in Cambodia for several years where I worked in international development and I'd already amassed several years experience as a manager in the UK charity sector.
"The traineeships offered me an innovative way in: the chance to get hands-on experience while also developing what I've learned through my other management experiences."
