Sharing Skills

Sharing Skills is one of the core initiatives developed, funded and operated by the South East Hub. It aims to have a direct impact on the quality of museum provision and practice across the whole region, not just in the Hub museums, and involves paid and voluntary staff working in museums throughout the South East.

Sharing Skills focuses on developing and improving skills in key areas of need, and tests creative ways of sharing these through working with Hub partners, non Hub museums in the region, MLA South East and the Museum Development Services. Strategic marketing and preventive conservation have been identified as priorities through a programme of research and consultation undertaken for Making the Connection : A Strategy for Museum Development in the South East 2004-2007.

The Sharing Skills programme includes:

The Skills Bank
The Staff Placement Scheme
Emergency Response Units for the South East
Welcome Host training tailored to museum front of house staff
A Trainee journalist working with Museum Development Officers and museums to write features on museum activities and events
Training of Museum Development Officers to deliver access audits and reports to museums
Inside-Out, a pilot project in Kent to involve young people in contemporary collecting and interpretation
Promoting Family Friendly Museums in the Thames Valley
Archives in Museums, a pilot in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to help museums improve their expertise in caring for archives
Supporting museums in emergency planning and writing emergency plans for Accreditation
Providing Fundraising Programme Bursaries