Heritage Careers Week

1 What is Heritage Careers Week?

Heritage Careers Week is the Scottish heritage sector’s annual careers week. This initiative is led by employers and aimed at raising awareness of the wide range of careers in the historic environment. Targeted at young people aged 12-25, the week offers engaging activities to inspire young people to consider a career in the historic environment and supports efforts to improve access and diversity in the sector.

The historic environment sector has a broad footprint which covers archaeology to construction, historic landscapes and gardens to heritage tourism. Find out more about heritage careers. 

Heritage Careers Week takes place annually on the last week of October. Throughout the week, employers work with Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) regional groups and local schools to deliver a range of in person and online activity open to families and schools. Further information about the week’s dates, as well as an updated list of in person and online events can be found in the Heritage Careers Week Padlet.

2 Online activity

As part of Heritage Careers Week, DYW Live offers a programme of online activity. Delivered via e-Sgoil, these activities are designed to enhance classroom and at-home learning. All sessions are led by employers and include a mix of live interactive sessions, presentations, behind the scenes, Q&As and employer panels. 

To learn more about the week’s online activity and book your space, go to the Heritage Careers Week Padlet.

You can watch previous year’s sessions all year around in e-Sgoil’s website.

3 In-person activity

A wide range of in-person activity is offered during the week at venues across Scotland. Led by employers, these activities are open to families, the wider public, or arranged directly with local schools.

Activities vary every year and depend on employer availability and capacity. To check this year’s offer and book spaces visit the Heritage Careers Week Padlet. 

In previous years, in-person activity has included:

• Skills tasters where attendees can try their hand at a variety of jobs
• Employability tours to get a behind the scenes at local employers’ places of work and better understand their skills
• Talks from employers at school to learn more about what people do in their day to day
• Networking events to meet employers, or
• Skills demonstrations to see and learn more about what skills are needed in heritage careers while asking any questions you may have!

To get an idea of what these events can look like, see the video below for one of our 2024 in-person events: 

4 Resources for Educators, Carers and Young People

We would like to encourage educators, carers and young people to engage with heritage careers all year round.

That’s why we have created a suite of resources to help you whether you are looking for different ways of introducing discussions around heritage careers, want suggested activities, need links to career resources, or you want to read more about a range of heritage job profiles. 

Whether you are a parent, an educator or someone looking to learn more about heritage careers, these toolkits may have what you are looking for!

5 Resources for Employers

If you are an employer working in heritage and you would like to engage with schools and young people, Heritage Careers Week is the perfect opportunity!

We know the heritage sector is bursting with a wide variety of talents, skills and specialisms, so want young people to hear from all of us; from architects to tour guides, digital imaging specialists to stonemasons, and archivists to metal conservators. Whether you’re a sole trader, work in a large organisation or are based in a charity, you can all spotlight heritage careers.

There are many ways to get involved in the week, from a social media post to in-person activities, including but not limited to:

• Practical demonstrations of your work
• Skills tasters and supervising hands-on activities
• Taking part in live panels and Q&As
• Speed networking
• School visits 
• Behind the scenes and workshop tours 

You can engage with Heritage Careers Week through your own social media by sharing your story and using #HeritageCareersWeek. 

To learn more about the different ways to get involved, the Employers Toolkit for Heritage Careers Week is a practical guide designed to help heritage organisations interact with young people and promote careers in the heritage sector. It provides a range of resources, including suggested activities, social media templates, and guidance on hosting events or workplace visits. 

If you want to get involved in the week or you would like to discuss ideas, or to learn more about Heritage Careers Week, email skills@hes.scot.