Archaeology Trainees – WAAS Receives Another Accolade
- 18th August 2017
We recently received another accolade as we were awarded a ‘highly commended’ in the recent Archaeology Training Forum Awards for our archaeology traineeships.
To encourage the development of new archaeologists and organisations to provide opportunities for new recruits to develop their skills and careers, the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists are looking to help bridge the gap between university and professional practice, help increase capacity in the archaeological profession and to raise standards.
Current trainees Emma, Jem and Morgan with their mentor, Rachel, and the certificate
Here in Worcestershire we have recruited three sets of trainee archaeologists, starting in January 2015. The recruits are given a structured scheme to help join up university education and commercial archaeological practice and are also provided with the opportunity of gaining an NVQ3 qualification. It is a nine month programme, accredited by CIfA, and all four who have finished the programme have continued to work as archaeologists with us. One of them, Jamie, has been promoted again to Supervisor and another, Nina, to Community Project Officer. The trainees take a full role on site like any other archaeologist, but also have regular 1-2-1 sessions with their manager and are given a wide range of opportunities across the archaeology discipline, aided by training by outside organisations to broaden their experiences. The benefits for both the trainees and ourselves is evident, providing us with staff that are not only excellent field archaeologists but also possess a broad understanding of the profession and readily adapt to new challenges, helping support the development of our organisation.
The latest trainees started late 2016, with Emma, Jem and Morgan joining us. Previous trainees are helping by mentoring our new recruits and passing on their experience. We currently have a diary full of work both in Worcestershire and in neighbouring counties, so there are plenty of opportunities for them.
The award was announced and presented at the recent CIFA Conference in Newcastle and collected by Robin Jackson, our Project Manager who has developed the programme.
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