Cultural heritage conservation technician

Reference Number: ST0611

Details of standard

Apprenticeship Standard for Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician                                         

Cultural Heritage Conservation Technicians are specialist practitioners working under the supervision of professional conservators, conservation scientists or senior conservation technicians. They work to ensure the preservation of cultural heritage objects or collections housed in archives, art galleries, libraries, museums, private collections, as well as historic and ancient sites. They may also undertake work related to the internal and external features of buildings, but not the building itself.

Cultural Heritage Conservation Technicians can be found working across practical conservation, preventive conservation and conservation science and in doing so may work across a range of collections, such as in a historic property, or their work might be directed towards a particular type of object or collection such as books, sculpture or metals.  Cultural Heritage Conservation Technicians may work for public institutions as well as for conservation practices in the private sector. 

The work of a Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician is fundamentally practical and is underpinned by an understanding of how to assess the condition and possible risks to an item. Their work includes carrying out conservation support activities as well as routine conservation procedures under the supervision and guidance of a professional conservator or conservation scientist, although they may have considerable autonomy in undertaking technical support tasks such as conservation cleaning, storage and packing of objects, environmental monitoring, insect pest monitoring, routine conservation treatments and may be involved in supervising others in this area. Job tasks are well-defined, but working under the supervision / guidance of professional conservators may at times be complex and non-routine including supervising working contractors in historic interiors.

They are responsible for the quality and accuracy of their work and are good communicators and problem solvers, as well as being responsible for keeping appropriate and accurate records of their work. Cultural Heritage Conservation Technicians work with their supervisors to review how effective methods and actions have been. They may be required to engage with the public to promote an understanding of cultural heritage conservation. They have clearly stated objectives and carry out investigations – whether desk based or more practical - in order to answer practical and/or research questions. 

Working Conditions

Time may be split between working in a conservation studio/workshop or on site. A typical working week schedule would be expected, with possible requirement to work more intensively (i.e. out of hours) in preparation for exhibitions, moving of collections or installation of environmental monitoring. Depending on the specialism, there may be call for periods of time away from home (e.g. those working on site with immovable objects). 

Typical Duties / Responsibilities

Duties will vary depending on the employer, however typical duties are likely to include:

• Assisting Conservators in the preparation and execution of conservation treatments, as well as undertaking some routine conservation treatments as specified by qualified Conservators.
• Support senior colleagues in delivery and monitoring of Integrated Pest Management and Environmental Monitoring.
• Assess and manage risk to collections on display and in storage, and to provide support to senior colleagues in mitigating against these risks.
• Organisation of collections in storage / on display and maintaining records utilising appropriate collections management systems.
• Responsible for the day to day care of collections, including undertaking of monitoring, conservation cleaning or protection of collections. Supervising volunteers in moving or handling objects.

Job titles include

Conservation Technician, Collections Conservation Technician, Conservation Science Technician, Specialist Conservation Technician (Specialisms such as Preventive, Paper, Photographic, Stone, Digital Preservation, Architectural or Time-based media may be linked to the job title)

Behaviours: Cultural Heritage Conservation Technicians will be expected to:

• Show ethical principles in their work.
• Exercise of judgement and good practice in undertaking conservation work
• Be health and safety conscious in terms of behaviours individually and towards others
• Display a strong work ethic enabling them to work effectively as individuals and as part of a team
• Demonstrate strong communication skills with people across their organisation, other professionals, and members of the public

Entry requirements:

Individual employers will identify any relevant entry requirements. Most candidates will typically have GCSEs (or equivalent) at A*- C including maths, English and a relevant science. Manual dexterity will need to be demonstrated at interview. 

Qualifications:

Apprentices without Level 2 English & Maths will be required to achieve this level prior to taking their end-point assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement the apprenticeships English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3 and British Sign Language qualification are an alternative to English qualifications for whom this is their primary language. 

Duration:

Typically, 24 to 30 months  

Review date: 

The standard will be reviewed after 3 years.

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