Author: Laura Lewis-Davies is Apprenticeship & Trainee Programmes Manager at the V&A

Designed to enable museum, gallery and conservation Technicians to benchmark and evidence their extensive skillset, the co-developed Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and Icon Conservation & Collections Care Technicians Diploma (CCCT Diploma) supersedes the first Museum Technician NVQ created by the V&A ten years ago. Still in its pilot stage the CCCT Diploma has already revealed some surprising benefits…

The Conservation & Collections Care Technicians Diploma (CCCT Diploma) is a work-based learning programme in which candidates undertake mandatory units and select from a diverse range of core and optional units. The Diploma is not dependent on a particular cultural heritage collection, as Sue Ridley explains:

Whether you are moving a steam train or a fifteenth century Venetian glass, the questions you ask as you begin to plan your move will be the same. This Diploma helps you show you have the skills to undertake this work, safely and effectively, for yourself, your colleagues and the objects you are responsible for, right across the full range of materials you might encounter. Sue Ridley, Director of Conservation & Collections Management and CCCT Diploma Co-creator, V&A.

Written by industry experts, the units have been carefully designed around the current duties, and increasing demands, of a Technician. The application of judgement and ethics, adherence to Health & Safety legislation and exemplary record management underpin the role, and candidates have the opportunity to specialise in collections care, or pursue more conservation focused units, to develop their skills and support their organisation.

Whether packing, transporting, installing and displaying objects; using workshop machines and equipment; or handling and assessing objects and implementing routine conservation procedures, each unit demands evidence of knowledge and performance. Using a portfolio-building approach, candidates document the details of exciting work-based projects, which may otherwise be lost, and consider the reasoning behind their decision-making. Richard Ashbridge discusses the role of the CCCT Diploma in recording the work of his team:

I am currently assessing two of my team members working on the CCCT Diploma, who are busy completing a wide range of object mounts to display objects in the V&A gallery at the Shekou Design Museum, China, opening this December. Assessing the Diploma has been an opportunity to carry out observations covering the technical support for the accommodation of items, the assessing of items and the ever present issues of health and safety. Asking my candidates to explain why they are doing things a certain way, and why certain choices have been made over others, has got them thinking more critically about what they do. The need to generate evidence for a variety of units – transport, installation, mountmaking, plus their own professional development – means that they get to rotate through a number of technical disciplines and continually learn and develop. Richard Ashbridge, Exhibition Loans and Transport Team Manager and CCCT Diploma Assessor, V&A Technical Services.

In order to evidence this continual cycle of learning and development, and to be proactive in identifying areas for future learning, candidates submit professional development logs on a monthly basis. Timothy Crowley, discusses the value of reflective practice:

Setting time aside to reflect on my work after each project allows me to really consider the processes and decisions I make on a daily basis and become more aware of the almost sub-conscious ethical choices informed by years of experience in the museum environment. The Diploma has given me a reason to stop and take time to consider my own personal development and future planning and how my role as a technician fits in to the wider museum. I have documented every aspect of my role in a variety of media and written accounts, and post-Diploma I hope to put all of this material together and create a technician’s manual to help train future technicians for my role at the Ashmolean. Timothy Crowley, Senior Collections Officer and CCCT Diploma Candidate, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology.

This approach to sharing knowledge and expertise is a recurring theme throughout the programme, and inherent in its design. In addition to specialist technical skills, the CCCT Diploma champions the softer skills and encourages candidates to develop leadership skills and supervise others. Parallel to the learning undertaken by CCCT Diploma candidates, accredited and highly experienced Conservators have also been undertaking the Assessor Award, expanding their own skillset and sharing their expertise with the profession. Dana Goodburn-Brown and Kevin Jacques, describe the benefits of learning in a workplace environment and its impact on their workplace relationships:

Learning how to assess and guide candidates has often felt to be a reciprocal process, in that I have gained new knowledge on specific materials and techniques in the ‘toolset’ of a museum collections technician; but also, a greater appreciation for the individual contributions various members of a museum collections team make. This carries over into my own practice, as I have a better understanding of how my own work fits into the dialogues and timelines of various large and small museum projects. My respect for the value of work based learning programmes has increased tremendously. It is an honour to observe the work of such skilled museum practitioners and to discuss how they reflect and learn within their own roles. Dana Goodburn-Brown, Accredited Conservator and CCCT Diploma Trainee Assessor, Freelance.

I have learnt a lot about why certain material and techniques are employed rather than doing a task a certain way because this is how I've been shown how to do it in the past, but the most surprising element has been how my colleagues have reacted: they have always respected me for knowing my job and doing it well but this has been elevated by doing this course it shows I am willing to expand my knowledge and this has helped open new doors in my career. Kevin Jacques, Senior Collections Officer and CCCT Diploma Candidate, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology.

This 360 degree learning process has so far proved beneficial for all involved, and will no doubt continue to open new doors, behind the scenes in the cultural heritage industry, for candidates and assessors alike.

Who can undertake the Diploma?

The CCCT Diploma is available internationally to technicians working in a range of institutions, from national museums and independent galleries to commercial art handlers and conservation studios. 

For further information, and to register interest for the CCCT Diploma, contact Laura Lewis-Davies on l.lewisdavies@vam.ac.uk or visit our website: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/conservation-collections-care-technicians-diploma

Biography:

Laura Lewis-Davies is Apprenticeship & Trainee Programmes Manager at the V&A.  She has worked with museums all over the UK to deliver work-based learning programmes, and comes from an FE background of curriculum management and external quality assurance for creative and cultural qualifications.

Sue Ridley is the Director of Conservation and Collections Management at the V&A.  She has worked at the V&A since 1990 in roles including Head of Security & Visitor Services, and Head of Technical Services.  Sue led the development of the Museum Technician NVQ and introduced apprenticeship posts into Technical Services.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity.  The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

Website: www.vam.ac.uk

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