The Northern Ireland Museums Council has launched a pioneering training scheme to provide ten people with the skills and experience to help them build careers in the museum and heritage sector.
Museum trainee Ronan McConnell with Margaret Edwards, education oficer, Derry City Council’s Museum Service.
The Community Engagement Initiative has been developed in partnership with National Museums Northern Ireland and has received funding of £354,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
By the end of the programme, ten people will have had the opportunity to gain specialist skills and practical, work-based experience in engaging communities with museum collections.
Derry City Council’s Museum Service has a pivotal role to play in the successful delivery of this initiative as it has been elected to host one of the trainees.
Over the next 18 months, Ronan McConnell will receive training and valuable hands-on experience at the Museum Service.
Speaking at the launch Ronan said he was “very pleased” to have gained a placement on the new scheme.
He added: “Over the next 18 months, I will have the opportunity to take part in practical learning and gain an insight into various aspects of museum work, such as, looking after a museum collection, community engagement and contributing to the programme delivery at the Service.”
Margaret Edwards, education officer with Derry City Council’s Museum Service, who will be coaching Ronan throughout his placement said in host placement, the Council was demonstrating its commitment to training enthusiastic people committed to pursuing a career in the museum sector.
She added: “Ronan will be assisting us with an important community engagement project aimed at creating greater access to our maritime heritage and museum collections. Our project called Small City with Big Ideas aims to raise awareness of our new proposed maritime museum and archive at Ebrington.”
She said as well as gaining hands-on experience and access to Museum Service’s unique and diverse collections, Ronan would have the opportunity to work with local communities to find ways of placing them at the heart of the new maritime museum.”
She concluded: “I look forward to working with him on this project.”
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