New digital skills development programmes announced

Whilst digital skills development has been a growing area of focus for the museums and galleries workforce, the consequences of recurring lockdowns have forced many organisations to rethink their approach to digital development.

Through MGS’s grants programme, specifically the Recovery & Resilience awards in 2020, digital skills gaps were self-identified by 150 heritage organisations. Similar gaps are also reflected in studies by National Lottery Heritage Fund (DASH Report 2020), Arts Council England and collaborative partnership projects such as One by One: Building Digitally Confident Museums. The importance of digital skills for the continued resilience of the sector is a common factor amongst all of these programmes. MGS has learned from this collective work to develop a multi-approached digital skills development offer.

MGS is offering two digital development programmes that focus on people, rather than technology.

Digital Literacy for Leadership, with funding support from Art Fund, is a one-year, digital skills-based development programme for organisations looking to drive forward digital transformation across their operations and become an example of best practice in the wider heritage sector. The programme will support both an organisation leader and an identified digital leader who can work together on both the vision and practical aspects of delivery. This will enable digital change at all levels in the organisation. Applications for organisations open 13^th September.

Talking Digital: Coaching Conversations for Digital Confidence is a pilot skills development programme created to help people in the museum sector have a greater understanding of the context digital has in their roles and organisations. Working with coaching and facilitation partners, Kinharvie, this “people-led” approach aims to help participants to gain more digital confidence and discover the steps they need to take to progress their digital skills development. Applications for individuals open on 18^th October.

Kelly Forbes, Digital Manager at Museums Galleries Scotland said:

“Working to increase digital skills across the sector was already a focus for MGS. However, in those pre-pandemic days, no one could foresee how quickly, or how acute, this need would become. We’ve all needed to adapt and cope, but it can be difficult to really thrive under those more pressurised conditions.

Now is the time to embed good digital practice throughout the sector. Through listening to the needs of the museum and gallery workforce we have created two programmes that focus on the idea that good digital practice is about people, not the technology that’s used to deliver it. Which is why we’ve put people at the heart of our two new digital development programmes.”

Further information about the two digital development programmes can be found at https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/workforce-development/digital-skills-development-programme/