A consortium of museums from across Suffolk – and Colchester – have won a grant of nearly £600,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create 27 new apprenticeships.
The new schemes start this month and will help to train museum staff of the future.
They have successfully secured £568,000 from the HLF under its Skills for the Future programme for the ‘Transforming People to Transform Museums’ project.
Colchester + Ipswich Museum Service will work in partnership with Suffolk County Council, the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, the Long Shop Museum in Leiston and Palace House, Newmarket: National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art to invest £660,000 in supporting 27 trainees over three years.
In March last year, the partnership was awarded £2,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop its second stage application and training plan. Now the funds have been granted and the project will begin this month.
The ‘Skills for the Future’ project in Suffolk will invest £660,000 in supporting the 27 trainees over three years. Placements will last for one year, with nine trainees being supported each year.
Colchester + Ipswich Museums will host four trainees, including two in Ipswich and two in Colchester. The Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket and Palace House, Newmarket: National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art, will each host two trainees and the Long Shop Museum in Leiston will host one trainee.
Tony Goldson, SCC Cabinet Member for Health said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for young adults from diverse backgrounds to bring in new ideas and fresh perspectives into museums.
Carole Jones, IBC Portfolio Holder for Museums said: “Museums are a fantastic learning environment where people can grow their skills and confidence to support their future careers. We are delighted more training opportunities have been created for young people in our town.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England, said: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we’re pleased to support this project which will provide fantastic opportunities for trainees to develop skills and create a lasting and successful impact for the future heritage sector workforce.”
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