Archive sector training and events

Event recordings and sector guidance

Looking for something particular? You might find exactly what you need in our collection of recorded training events or our online guidance covering collections management, running an organisation and audience engagement.

Guidance for running an archive

Read guidance on running your archive, managing collections and engaging audiences.

Upcoming training and events

Leadership Skills Programme

About the programme

The National Archives and the Archives and Records Association (ARA) have partnered to develop a programme to support recordkeepers (archivists, conservators, and records managers) to develop their leadership skills and pursue continuing professional development (CPD).

Both organisations are committed to finding solutions to workforce development challenges and this programme responds to an acknowledged issues related to career mobility within the archive sector. The programme complements wider support already provided by The National Archives and ARA.

This programme feeds directly into the action plan for The Government’s vision for archives in England, which officially launched on 17 April. It will directly address one of the vision’s three key aims – to ensure the sustainability of the sector by strengthening workforce capabilities and advocating for archives at the highest level.

The programme is aimed at recordkeepers of all career stages (early, mid, and senior). It includes an annual summit, leadership training for different career-stages, peer-to-peer support, and other online and in-person events and networking opportunities. We encourage recordkeepers to sign up to various aspects of the programme, to support their own CPD. Future events will be announced in due course.

Definitions of each career stage are at the bottom of this page. If you have any questions about the above programme or identifying your career stage, please feel free to contact us.

Leadership skills training course – mid-career professionals

Dates and times

22 October 2026, 13:00 to 16:00

10 November 2026, 13:00 to 16:00

24 November 2026, 13:00 to 16:00

Location

Online

This mid-career course will help participants strengthen their leadership impact, communication and influence. Across three interactive workshops, participants will explore how to understand their leadership style, how to lead conversations that matter, and how to influence, advocate and manage stakeholder relationships.

Focusing on self-awareness, relationship-building, communication, strategic thinking and practical leadership challenges, the course provides opportunities for reflection, peer learning and real-world application, helping participants to lead more effectively. The course will include self-led tasks outside of the workshop and post-course action learning sets.

Leadership for Recordkeepers Summit

Date and time

4 November 2026, 10:00 to 17:00

Location

Friends House, London

This summit will celebrate leadership across the recordkeeping sector and provide delegates with the chance to understand better their current skills, improve their confidence, explore opportunities to develop their leadership, and advocate effectively.

The event is aimed at recordkeepers across all career stages, and will involve panel discussions, workshops, a cross-career exchange, and networking opportunities. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. A limited number of travel bursaries are available to apply for.

Leadership skills training course – early-career professionals

Dates and times

12 January 2027, 13:00 to 16:00

27 January 2027, 13:00 to 16:00

9 February 2027, 13:00 to 16:00

Location

Online

This early-career course will help participants build confidence, influence and career direction. Through three interactive workshops, attendees will explore how to lead from their current position, communicate with greater confidence and effectiveness, and make intentional choices about their professional development.

Focusing on leadership identity, effective communication, relationship-building, resilience and career growth, the course encourages participants to recognise their existing strengths and develop practical skills for succeeding and progressing in the workplace. The course will include self-led tasks outside of the workshop and post-course action learning sets.

Leadership Peer Support Programme (one-year commitment)

Start and end

January 2027 to January 2028

Location

Online

The Leadership Peer Support Programme aims to support professional development through mentoring and knowledge exchange. The system will be peer led, and there will be an online introductory call and check-in points facilitated by The National Archives and ARA.

You can apply to be either a mentor or a mentee, at any career stage. You will commit to a minimum of a one-hour self-led mentoring meeting each quarter, in addition to:

• A one-hour online introductory webinar for both mentors and mentees introducing the process and meeting the peer you have been matched with
• A drop-in surgery session at the six-month stage (one for mentors, and one for mentees)
• An online one-hour wash-up session to reflect on the process (one for mentors, and one for mentees)

This programme will officially launch in January 2027, and you will have an opportunity to express an interest in being either a mentee or mentor until 30 November 2026, 23:59 GMT.

Identifying and understanding pre-modern records

Dates and times

20 May 2026, 13:00 to 14:00 – Charters and deeds

10 June 2026, 13:00 to 14:00 – Seals

23 September 2026, 13:00 to 14:00 – Manors and their documents

7 October 2026, 13:00 to 14:00 – Wills

Location

Online

This series of webinars, led by record specialists at The National Archives, is designed to introduce recordkeepers to some of the most common pre-modern document types found in archives. It will explain how to identify these documents, where to find important information to assist with cataloguing, and what kind of information the documents could contain for users.

Each webinar will include a presentation, question and answer session, and glossary of relevant Latin terms. You can register for individual webinars or the entire series.

The series will be of interest to recordkeepers working in archives that contain pre-modern records. While examples will be predominantly medieval, the general principles are applicable to early modern records too.

Sustainability action planning workshops

Dates and times

21 October 2026, 10:00 to 12:00

14 January 2027, 10:00 to 12:00

Location

Online

This practical and engaging workshop, led by Lorraine Finch, will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating a sustainability action plan, from generating ideas to producing a finished plan tailored to your organisation. By the end of the workshop, you will have the knowledge, tools and skills to create a plan.

This workshop is aimed at professionals working within an archive, whether you’re starting out or looking to refine your existing approach.

Archive Service Accreditation: evidencing access and engagement

Date and time

26 October 2026, 10:30 to 12:00

Location

Online

This webinar will help recordkeepers applying for Archive Service Accreditation to respond effectively to section three of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: Access and Engagement. It will help participants reflect on how they provide opportunities for their community to access and engage with their collections, and how to demonstrate the impact of their work. The aim is to help applicants give clear, informative responses that show both the breadth of their activity and specific examples of their access and engagement work.

Management and design guidance for archive building projects

Date and time

29 October 2026, 12:00 to 13:00

Location

Online

The National Archives commissioned Chris Woods, National Conservation Service, to produce comprehensive guidance for planning, designing, constructing and operating new or refurbished archival storage repositories. This guidance draws upon information captured during a series of focus groups attended by archivists, engineers, architects and estate managers. Chris will use this event to give an overview of the guidance, as well has highlighting the key messaging. There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions.

We encourage you to read the guidance before attending the event. To request a copy of the guidance please contact your Sector Development Manager.

Impact seminar: involving students in archival practice

Date and time

3 November 2026, 13:30 to 15:00

Location

Online

Join this impact seminar to hear how different archives have collaborated with students and alumni on a variety of projects.

Falmouth Exeter Plus will discuss the Nick Darke: Life, Work and Legacy celebration, highlighting how archives can be used creatively to connect students with literary heritage.

Liverpool John Moores University Special Collections & Archives will present on forming and maintaining stronger partnerships with student and alumni groups, through their exhibitions Legacy in Motion and Back to the Drawing Board.

University of Worcester will discuss their ongoing History of Basketball project, which focuses on getting students with no experience of archives involved in archival practice with the National Basketball Heritage Collection.

Strategic Advocacy for Archive Managers

Date and time

3 December 2026, 10:45 to 16:00

Location

The Box, Plymouth

It has never been more crucial to demonstrate the value of your archive to stakeholders and funders. You will leave this free, in-person course with the outline for a strategic advocacy plan, fresh insights from sector experts and an expanded network of industry colleagues.

This one-day course will be delivered by consultant and senior leader, Kate Farmery, and is aimed at Heads of Service or those responsible for managing an archive. There will also be an opportunity to explore exhibitions at The Box, winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026.

A limited number of travel bursaries are available for delegates.

Making and cancelling bookings

Most of our training sessions are free, and bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. We have a limited number of spaces available at each session, so please only book if you are able to attend.

If you would like more information about any of our sessions, or you are unable to cover the cost of travelling to one of our events, please email us, and we will be happy to discuss.

If you are no longer able to attend a session, please inform us at the earliest opportunity.

E-learning courses

Data Protection Toolkit for Archives

This toolkit is for archive service staff involved in providing access to personal data found within an archive service’s collections.

The toolkit is hosted on Moodle, an e-learning service that The National Archives uses to host learning and development content for the archive sector. Following the link provided below, please fill out the New Account form with your details. Please enter your email address as your username and use the enrolment key: ‘Data Protection Toolkit’. Once you have registered, you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Moodle.

Or, if you already have an account:

Archive Service Accreditation e-learning course

This e-learning course is for anyone working with archive collections who wishes to find out about Archive Service Accreditation. It provides a general introduction to the scheme and will help participants take the first steps towards making an application.

To get started, request access on our Eventbrite page (linked below). New user profiles are created every week using your Eventbrite registration.

Once we have created your profile, we will email you your e-learning log-in details. You can learn at your own pace and re-visit the course as many times as you’d like.