Creative Skills Development & Employability

Fife Cultural Trust contributes to the employability of young people with creative Modern Apprenticeships. In partnership with The Jennie Lee Academy, Fife College and Creative & Cultural Skills Scotland, we developed apprenticeships that were tailored to jobseekers while supporting the labour market demands within the cultural sector, such as the Technical Theatre Apprenticeship, detailed below.

In summer 2017, our Volunteering Development Officer helped over 50 volunteers improve their work experience and job prospects. In turn, the Trust greatly values volunteers’ immense contribution to delivering our services.

Developing the skills of our staff is fundamental to transforming our organisation. Over 300 staff received training in customer service through the WorldHost programme. The Trust pays into the Apprenticeship levy and as a result has access to a Workforce Development Fund of £10,000 which helped pay for staff to attend Health and Safety and Social Media courses. In 2018/19 staff in supervisory roles will also receive training in management and leadership skills.

Volunteers across our services

In the summer of 2017, the organisation employed a Volunteering Development Officer, a 15-month post funded by Museums Galleries Scotland and Fife Council.

The post is designed to embed volunteering in our working practice, encouraging and supporting the Trust to work with passionate volunteers across our services, from archivists to stewards. As a key member of the Dunfermline Heritage Partnership we are helping to provide and coordinate volunteers for partner heritage sites as part of the wider strategy to improve the town’s tourism offer. People of all ages and skills from across Fife are taking up volunteering to gain and share knowhow, improving job prospects and increasing self-confidence. By the end of March 2018, the Trust had the benefit of more than 50 new volunteers working across 11 sites, taking on roles as diverse as event assistance, research and photography.

All volunteering opportunities are advertised on the Get Involved section of our website.

Modern
Apprentices

The most recent Modern Apprentices based in Fife Cultural Trust are Callum Meekison and Joe Campbell. Joe began his Technical Theatre Apprenticeship in March 2017, his training was provided by Fife College. Joe had a very successful year and completed his apprenticeship in March 2018; he intends to pursue his college studies and continues to work in the company’s theatres on a casual basis.

Callum came to work with Fife Cultural Trust initially on a short term placement, he is currently working with the ICT team to complete his Modern Apprenticeship in Information Technology. He has become a valued member of the team and is gaining experience in a wide range of areas. He is ahead of the planned schedule to successfully complete his apprenticeship by November 2018.

“This has been an amazing year – I’ve learnt a lot and now know for sure that this is the career I want to follow. I intend to continue working for Fife Cultural Trust on a casual basis at the moment while I continue with my college studies.”
– Joe Campbell

WorldHost

Customer service continues to be at the heart of our provision and we have now trained 300 staff members in the internationally recognised WorldHost™ programme, giving our organisation increasingly crucial WorldHost Business status.