“I always knew I wanted to work in a museum, so being an apprentice at Shire Hall is great!”
Nathanial Green, 19, is an apprentice at Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum. This Apprentice Week (4-8 March,) he said it’s important to look at the skills apprenticeships give young people.
Nathanial studied Travel and Tourism at Bournemouth and Poole College and is now on a 15-month apprenticeship at the Dorchester courthouse museum until December.
He said: “I originally called up Dorset County Museum, but they told me they would be closing for their refit until 2020, but they suggested I called Shire Hall. I spoke to the team and it was really lucky, because they had just come out of a meeting to agree taking on an apprentice that morning.” He followed up his call with an email and went in for an interview.
Nathanial’s apprenticeship is funded by Shire Hall, together with help from national government and a special grant from Dorchester Town Council. Museum Director Anna Bright said: “For us, we are really committed to helping young people get experience in the museum world. It’s a difficult sector to start a career in – it’s really hard. Nearly everyone has to do unpaid volunteer work to get a job, so to be able to offer paid work as an apprentice is important. It fits in with our ethos and values and it’s really helpful for us having another pair of hands.”
Since he started at the museum, Nathanial has been helping with everything from PR and marketing to sorting the multimedia guides and manning the till and greeting visitors. He also organised the popular Superhero Week which ran across half term.
He said he had always wanted to work in the museum sector and said he had really enjoyed visiting Scaplen’s Court, a Grade I listed building from the Fifteenth Century which now houses Poole Museum, as a youngster. He said: “I know a lot more about how museums run and work since being here. I feel more confident. I would definitely recommend it, it’s really fun.”
For more information about upcoming events at Shire Hall visit shirehalldorset.org.
