A museum worker says budget cuts are making it increasingly hard for young people to find work in museums and galleries.
I work front of house in a London museum. My colleagues and I are the face of the organisation. We provide a warm welcome to members of the public, assist them with their visit, address their enquiries and bring the exhibitions to life by sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm. Without us the place could not be open. Yet, my job is undervalued, endangered even.
Front-of-house teams have greatly suffered from budget cuts in the museum sector. Jobs have been replaced with volunteers or agency staff who are more “affordable”. When I started working in this field six years ago, only small museums were entirely reliant on volunteers to help visitors. Now even the big national museums are bringing in volunteers to staff shops, invigilate galleries, lead education workshops and deliver guided tours. The privatisation of visitor services teams at the National Gallery last year shows just what is happening in the sector at the moment. I’ve no hard feelings towards the volunteers and casual staff – they are usually highly qualified young graduates desperately trying to find their way into employment. I have been there... Keep reading on The Guardian
I work front of house in a London museum. My colleagues and I are the face of the organisation. We provide a warm welcome to members of the public, assist them with their visit, address their enquiries and bring the exhibitions to life by sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm. Without us the place could not be open. Yet, my job is undervalued, endangered even.
Front-of-house teams have greatly suffered from budget cuts in the museum sector. Jobs have been replaced with volunteers or agency staff who are more “affordable”. When I started working in this field six years ago, only small museums were entirely reliant on volunteers to help visitors. Now even the big national museums are bringing in volunteers to staff shops, invigilate galleries, lead education workshops and deliver guided tours. The privatisation of visitor services teams at the National Gallery last year shows just what is happening in the sector at the moment. I’ve no hard feelings towards the volunteers and casual staff – they are usually highly qualified young graduates desperately trying to find their way into employment. I have been there... Keep reading on The Guardian