Oxford’s Museums and Botanic Gardens offer training opportunities

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded the University of Oxford's Museums and Botanic Gardens a grant of more than £400,000 to fund placements for people who want training as education officers in the heritage sector. The grant, awarded under its Skills for the Future programme, will provide anyone with a degree the opportunity to gain broad experience of working in the education departments across the University's museums and Botanic Garden. This new training opportunity aims to provide graduates from a range of backgrounds with an opening into the heritage industry. Although it is an important and growing sector, it is one that is often difficult to break into. The HLF's grant will fund 18-month work-based training placements, providing 12 trainees with experience of working with collections, volunteer management and understanding heritage interpretation. They will also use new media and technology, which plays an increasingly important role in the way museums and heritage sites communicate with their visitors. Dr Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean, said: 'The Heritage Lottery Fund's continued support of the University of Oxford's Museums and Botanic Garden is very important.