Work experience

Our Creative Careers programmes introduce young people to different careers in heritage.

Young people watching a demonstration of folding a fabric artefact

Our Online Work Experience programme runs weekly. Over six weeks, you will meet a range of museum staff from different departments, find out about their roles, take part in creative heritage-inspired activities and learn new skills for your CV, before creating your own project. So far, we've had over twenty different projects, films and exhibitions, including tours about World War 2 (WW2) racial attitudes in Thetford, Turner-inspired visitor art activities, exhibition panels about climate change, and graphic novels on rebellious Victorian women. One group commissioned and worked with the videographer to produce our Kick the Dust film!

Our work experience programmes offer a mix of online and in-person workshops including options for help with CV building, writing applications and mock interviews.

Experience at a higher level

If you want more experience of working at a higher level within the organisation, our Young Ambassador and Young People's Champion volunteer roles let you work with senior leaders inside Norfolk Museums Service. Being a member of the Youth Board enables you to shape how we work and ensures that the voices of young people are represented from across the region. Many of our projects can also take on Project Assistants to act as mentors or volunteers supporting our youth projects across the county.

Quotes from Young Ambassadors

'Kick the Dust has played such a key part in my life and helped me secure employment when most doors were closed to me, giving me the skills and confidence to move forward. It is like being part of a family'. (Jazz, Young Ambassador)

'The most important thing that Kick the Dust did for me was increase my confidence through representing the voices of other young people, inspiring me to pursue a career in the museum sector by showing me that it's a place where I'm able to make positive institutional change.' (Emily, Young Ambassador)

Real jobs and opportunities

Young people who have taken part in our work experience programmes have gone on to find jobs and volunteering roles with Norfolk Museums and other arts and heritage organisations.

Nyeem, aged 21, said "I found it useful meeting various professionals within the museum and heritage sector and learning their stories, experiences and roles they played, giving me more food for thought in what career path I would like to steer into and in general more appreciation for the work that's put into what they do. Overall a very a welcoming and supportive experience - everyone has been nothing but kind and respectful."

"Kick the Dust has helped me to gain real-life experience within the museum and heritage sector. I was able to curate, organise and develop my own creative project which has since been on display in numerous venues in Norfolk. As a result of this, I have been able to kick start my career as a project coordinator within the arts and culture sector. Without the hands-on experience that Kick the Dust gave me, and the help and knowledge of the scheme's organisers, I wouldn't have had the experience or confidence to start applying for the jobs I once dreamed of." (Young person on the online work experience programme.)

Daniel, who is profoundly deaf, was part of the work experience team who ran a 1940s visitor event at Ancient House, Thetford. In costume and in character as Home Guard, he led a tour of Thetford, showed visitors how to build a Morrison shelter, and introduced film footage about mixed race babies of G.I.s and local women. A keen activist for the D/Deaf community, Daniel moved on to create and lead British Sign Language tours of the Gloucester Exhibition as a volunteer with Norwich Castle learning team and advises Norfolk Museums on best practice for D/Deaf accessibility.

Skye worked with Kick the Dust at the Gressenhall site to create a film telling the story of the WW2 Women's Land Army, using poems written by those women. This project gave Skye the confidence to take her first steps to a career in museums through volunteering, presenting at the end of project 'Done and Dusted' conference and she is now employed in the Visitor Services team at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse- the place she made her film.

Find out more by emailing: kickthedust@norfolk.gov.uk