A Stowmarket museum is offering one lucky youngster the chance to break into the heritage industry.

The Museum of East Anglian Life (MEAL) has teamed up with the British Museum in London to offer one young person a coveted traineeship worth £13,000.

The scheme will be based at MEAL, Stowmarket, and will focus on photography and digital work with the museum’s collection of objects, creating a new online object catalogue.

It runs for one year, from January to December 2019, and comes with a tax-exempt bursary of £13,350.

During this time, the trainee will complete an accredited Level 3 diploma in Cultural Heritage and gain in-work skills training and experience to add to their CV and further their career opportunities.

Slightly unusually, organisers are particularly encouraging youngsters without any experience to apply – in an effort to diversify the museum workforce.

People aged 18-24 who do not hold an undergraduate degree are therefore considered ideal candidates for the role.

Anyone with over 6 months’ paid or unpaid experience of working in a museum and/or a postgraduate qualification is not eligible to apply.

The paid trainee scheme is part of the British Museum’s Museum Futures programme, supported by the National Lottery.

Caitlin Peck, curator at MEAL, said: “We are delighted to offer this opportunity for a young person to get some great paid experience of museum work.

“They will be getting hands on with our fantastic collection and developing digital skills, alongside a whole range of workplace skills and experience.

“It would be wonderful if they get the museum bug, but the skills and experience they will gain will move them forward in whatever career they choose. It’s all about opening up the opportunities museums can offer to people who may not have previously thought they were for them.”

For potential applicants, MEAL is hosting an interactive ‘taster session’ on Saturday October 13, from 10am until 12.30pm. To book a free space on this session, people should email caitlin.peck@eastanglianlife.org.uk.

Applications for the traineeship are now open and close at 11pm on Sunday, October 28, 2018. Details, including on how to apply, can be found at eastanglianlife.org.uk/about-us/careers/museum-futures-traineeship.