The National Archives is currently developing the
Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager Apprenticeship, which will be the equivalent of a postgraduate qualification for archivists. This new route into the sector will help diversify the workforce by removing some of the financial and educational barriers to a career in archives. We are working towards launching the Level 7 apprenticeship in late 2023.
To help embed apprenticeships in the archives sector, we are seeking support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to fund six Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships across the North West of England. We are now looking for six archive services (of any kind) to partner with us on this funding application.
If the bid is successful, the partnering archives will each recruit an apprentice from communities that are under-represented in the archive profession and from local areas of deprivation. Each archive would create contemporary collecting and outreach projects, where their apprentice would engage with communities to identify gaps in their archive’s collections and work with communities on engagement projects, over the course of their apprenticeship.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund would fully fund the salary of each apprenticeship post, with the host archive acting as the apprentice’s employer. The employer would provide on-the-job training, covering the full breadth of archival practice in line with the Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeship. The National Archives will also offer support and guidance for host organisations and for the apprenticeship cohort as a whole.
To register your interest in becoming one of our North West partner archives, please fill in the questions below. Please note that this project is at proposal stage only, and The National Archives has not yet secured funding. We anticipate submitting a full proposal in February 2023. If you have any questions, please contact
armapprenticeship@nationalarchives.gov.uk.