Chip Skingley

I’m an apprentice technician in the Design department at Norfolk Museum Services. I enrolled on the Level 3 Museums and Galleries Technician Apprenticeship and as part of the course, I’ve worked across a wide range of roles, including temporary exhibitions installation, creating displays in a workshop environment and helping to care for objects across ten different sites throughout Norfolk. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside different teams within Norfolk Museum Services, including Design, Conservation, collections, and curatorial, which has given me an understanding of how museums operate and how different teams work together to care for and present the collections.

Before starting this course, I was working as a freelance photographer and taking on part-time retail roles. I had no experience working in museums but was keen to move into a creative environment. So applying for this apprenticeship was a way to gain creative skills while also building knowledge around areas I’ve always been interested in. It felt like a good opportunity to learn something new, develop practical experience, and explore a sector that really appealed to me.

On this course, I learned a range of practical skills for working in museums and galleries. This included how to safely handle and care for objects, support exhibitions, keep records, follow correct procedures, and understand how museums look after collections for public display and storage. My favourite part of the course was visiting different museums and organisations and seeing how they work in different ways. Visiting places like Westminster Abbey to learn about how they curate their gallery spaces, Royal Historic Palaces at Hampton Court to understand preventative conservation, and the Grant Museum to learn about collections management gave me a useful insight into how different teams organise and care for objects.

Jenny, our course leader, was amazing at turning learning objectives into engaging discussions, using our own experiences as the basis for understanding the content. She made learning interactive and enjoyable. She was also a huge support when I was preparing for my EPA. I was nervous about speaking for a long time in public, but Jenny helped me prepare and gave me the confidence to feel ready. Her guidance made me feel capable and reassured that I could do my best.

This course has given me real, hands-on experience and practical skills, like collections care, exhibition support, and documentation, which are exactly what I need to work in this sector, something I really want to do. Without this experience, it would have been much harder to get a foot in the door. It’s also given me the confidence to explore different opportunities, whether that’s finding employment or even working freelance as a technician. I now feel much more prepared to take the next step in my career and be part of the museums and galleries world.

I would encourage anyone considering this course to take the step. Nothing ever felt daunting during my apprenticeship because I always felt supported. The training provided helped me understand my role within the organisation I was working in and gave me the confidence to contribute meaningfully.