Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Culture and Heritage Management – How to Build a Career

Culture and heritage site management is the practice of conserving, promoting and managing cultural and heritage resources. This is a highly specialized field and thus requires in-depth understanding of local culture, traditions, history and landscape of that particular region.

Culture and heritage management is not a new profession. However, its importance has increased significantly in last couple of years. This may be attributed to the increased interest of avid travellers in exploring sites that can satisfy their inquisitiveness about diverse cultures and heritage resources.

A wide range of employment opportunities are now available in this field. The professionals may be employed with museums, art galleries, aquaria, science centres, artist-run centres, heritage sites, forts, zoos, archives, sports halls-of-fame, art service organizations, national and provincial parks, federal, provincial and municipal and cultural funding agencies, government departments and several other not-for-profit cultural institutions.

The career prospects are all time high in Canada, which can be attributed to the significant increase in number of domestic and international travellers. The country’s historic sites and national parks experience more than 60 million visitors annually while heritage sites, museums and art galleries attract more than 59 million visitors per year.

Culture and heritage management is a huge industry in Canada. And it’s going to expand further in coming years. Therefore, current is the best time to build rewarding careers in this field. The sector encompasses a considerable diversity of job titles and work activities depend on the type of employment, job title as well as individual qualifications and experience.

Building a Career in Culture and Heritage Management


In order to build careers in this field you require specific skills, such as:

  • Budget management
  • Fundraising
  • Planning for the cultural and heritage sector
  • Leadership in culture and heritage sector
  • Customer relationship management
  • Marketing for culture and heritage sector
  • Collections and exhibit management
  • Project management

In addition, you must also possess practical hands-on experience, in order to seek employment in this sector.

A heritage site management and culture course may help you gain the required skills and experience. During this program, you’re introduced to cultural and heritage management essentials and various other aspects of this sector. You study financial management, marketing and strategy, grants, fundraising and sponsorship, exhibit management, innovative technologies, historic site management, municipal cultural planning and issues in heritage, museums and galleries.

The one-year graduate certification program also incorporates a field work placement, allowing you to apply your learning into practice and gain relevant contacts. However, not all colleges incorporate practical experience. It means that you should really go through the program curriculum before you apply to any particular college.

Numerous colleges across Toronto provide heritage management courses. Unfortunately, not all colleges engage you in practical management and industry-based subjects. Centennial College has partnerships with local, regional, provincial and national institutions and establishments that facilitate practical learning. Moreover, the program offers excellent employment prospects. It also incorporates two-days-per-week industry field placement for 15 weeks within second semester, allowing you to gain real world experience.

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