Resources for Educators

1 Heritage Careers Week

Heritage Careers Week is the sector’s annual careers week in October. It aims to raise awareness of the variety of heritage careers and pathways into the workforce, and inspire young people to consider a career in the historic environment. During this week sector employers work with Developing the Young Workforce regional groups and local schools to deliver a range of in person and online activity.

How to get involved

For educators:

There is an educator’s toolkit that you can access all year round. In this toolkit you will find different ways of introducing discussions around heritage careers, suggested activities, links to career resources, and a range of job profiles. Whether you are a parent, an educator or someone looking to learn more about heritage careers, this toolkit may have what you are looking for.

For employers:

You can engage with Heritage Careers Week through your own social media by sharing your story and using #HeritageCareersWeek. This is a great opportunity to highlight your resources, and opportunities for young people in the sector. Everything works, a video or picture of your day-to-day work, the story of how you got started in the sector, or an anecdote about working in heritage.

If you want ideas, templates or to learn more about Heritage Careers Week, email skills@hes.scot.

2 Discover Heritage Careers

Use these resources to explore different heritage careers with your learners. Born from the collaboration between a variety of employers in the historic environment sector, Developing the Young Workforce and Skills Development Scotland, this resource pack includes a presentation, multiple activities and a quiz to introduces heritage careers to learners in an engaging way.

The resource is aimed at S2-S4 students and is linked to the 3rd/4th level of the curriculum. It has been developed to be delivered over 2 x 50-minute sessions, but activities can be used on their own to support sessions or extra-curricular activity as needed.

Discover Heritage Careers Educator Notes [PDF, 733KB]

Discover Heritage Careers Lesson Insert [Powerpoint, 5.83MB]

Both learners and educators can explore careers in the historic environment through our Working in Heritage and A Minute With… YouTube playlists.

3 Museum Careers

National Museums Scotland have developed a series of videos exploring different roles in museums called Museum Role Call. They also have a variety of careers resources for educators looking to raise awareness of museum careers and skills.

Museums Galleries Scotland also have developed a learning toolkit called Museums for the Future that educators can use to introduce interdisciplinary skills to learners through a museum lens.

4 Build Your Future

Did you know that 48,700 people will be needed in the construction and built environment sector between now and 2031? If you have ever wondered about the skills needed to work in construction and the built environment, Build Your Future may be the right programme for you!

Build Your Future is designed to provide young people with the insight, knowledge and skills needed to develop their awareness and experience of Construction and the Built Environment. The programme combines practical workshops, talks and a suite of digital resources that pupils, parents and educators can access easily. These resources include a Build Your Future Toolkit that can be included in educator’s lessons or used by parents, carers or educators to support young people to learn about careers in the Built Environment.

Taster sessions

A typical session for Build Your Future includes up to five interactive activities designed around a trade that pupils can engage with for half a day. Some of the activities can include digital scanning, stonemasonry, thermography, plastering or roofing but there are many, many more. Check out the video below for a better look at what these practical workshops look like.

Repurposing Challenge

This challenge highlights the roles at the very start of a redevelopment of an existing building. Through the challenge, the pupils get to:

• Identify a derelict building
• Find out the original purpose for the building
• Survey buildings with thermal imaging
• Present a survey
• Identify potential new purpose with placemaking in mind
• Design the building for the new purpose
• Undertake the works virtually and create a budget with sustainability in mind, and
• Present new proposed use and design.

Reimagining Spaces

Reimagining Spaces is a National 5 qualification in Creative Industries. It follows the same structure as the Repurposing Challenge but allows pupils to spend more time with each skill and explore the different parts of the challenge in more depth.

To find out more about the Taster sessions, the Repurposing Challenge or Reimagining Spaces, email fss-apps@outlook.com.

Women in Construction

Women in Construction is a series of events developed and organised by Stirling City Heritage Trust, to inspire female high school students to consider a career in the construction sector. These yearly events showcase the varied and rewarding work of those working with the historic built environment.

As part of Women in Construction, female pupils take part in hands-on activities led by demonstrators, learn about their career path, and have the chance to explore vocational training opportunities. After the session, students get to take home a career resource pack and educators, career influencers and pupils are signposted to apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities.

The first event was held in 2020 at Bannockburn High School for 70 female pupils. Between 2023 and 2026, SCHT will deliver three events at Stirling high schools aiming to reach over 100 pupils each year. So far, the feedback has been excellent, with the number of students considering a career in construction and heritage after the session increasing from 30% to 100% in 2023 and from 34% to 94% in 2024.

5 Virtual Work Experience at Edinburgh Castle

This virtual work experience based in Edinburgh Castle includes a series of activities that allows learners aged 9-12yrs old to explore different historic environment careers such as conservation, tour guiding, recruitment and marketing.

6 Archaeology Careers

Archaeology Scotland has developed a wide variety of learning resources, including the loan of archaeological objects to educators, to encourage interdisciplinary learning through the engagement with Scotland’s archaeology.

7 Digital Skills

Looking to work on cyber security skills? Defending Stirling Castle is an online lesson that draws parallels between modern cyber security defences and medieval castle defences to help learners develop their cyber skills.