The need to develop our workforce
The UK’s archives are vital record keepers of the country’s history, enabling us to revisit and learn about crucial events, stories, and moments from all corners of our communities. By their very nature, the records we keep represent all walks of life. Despite the breadth and inclusive nature of our record keeping, the archive workforce is still failing to be representative of the UK’s population, which is jeopardising the sector’s ability to be truly relevant, connected, and open to all.
We must harness talent from diverse backgrounds and fling open our doors so we can build a workforce for the future that is appropriately skilled, representative, and – one of the strategic themes of the Government’s vision for archives – inclusive. We want to support new and diverse talent in learning about archive careers, alongside creating a range of entry routes so that different people can train in different ways and do so knowing there is parity of esteem between each route. We now look to the country’s archives to not only be bold in approaches to record keeping and storytelling, but to also be bold about the way in which we train our current and future workforce. Let’s all work towards being open to all.
The benefits of apprenticeships to your organisation
Apprenticeships are a great way for somebody to train for a specific occupation whilst getting paid. They aid productivity by focusing on developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours that are needed to operate competently in a specific occupation or occupational field. Over 85% of apprentices that have successfully completed an apprenticeship remain employed by the same business they trained with and typically generate between £26-£28 for the economy for every £1 invested in them.
By diversifying your workforce through apprenticeships, there will be various benefits to your organisation, including:
- Increasing capacity for your organisation’s projects
- Gaining new perspectives, skills and ideas
- Improving connections to your archive’s communities
- Being able to plan longer term over three years, rather than shorter placements
After the apprenticeship, if you continue employing the former apprentice, you’ll also have complete confidence that your team has experience of both the theory and the practice. They’ll also already know your organisation well for a smooth transition.
Hear from current apprentices and recent trainees
Visit our ‘Hear from current apprentices‘ webpage to read first-hand accounts of the apprentices’ experiences and discover the range of organisations from different sectors and regions of England that are already employing apprentices.
We also have a range of blogs written by the Bridging the Digital Gap trainees, our last workforce development programme, which highlight the benefits of a technical route into the archives sector.