Meeting the Future of our Industry in Sheffield

The past couple of weeks have been a busy time for the Sheffield team who have been out and about speaking to the future of our industry. On 30 October Andy Norton joined a host of fellow archaeological professionals from the north of England to partake in the University of Sheffield ‘s archaeological employers day. The event hosted by Colin Merrony is held each year at Sheffield’s Humanities Research Institute and involves talks followed by a round of ‘speed dating’. The ‘speed dating’ involves groups of both undergraduates and postgraduates moving between tables to chat to and question panels formed from local contractors, specialists, museums staff, consultants and planning archaeologists. It was a pleasure speaking to such engaged students and great to see that the future of archaeology is in safe hands.

 

On 8 November it was the students of Sheffield Hallam University’s turn to find out the realities of a life as an archaeologist. Chris (Bre) Breeden, Jess Irwin and Mili Rajic hosted a stand at Sheffield Hallam University Natural & Built Environment (NBE) Careers Day, an event designed to allow NBE undergraduate and postgraduate students to network with employers, explore a variety of career options and engage in career planning. For NBE students archaeology would not necessarily seem like the obvious career path but we offered tips for approaching archaeological companies and how to make the most of the opportunities available. Over 40 students came to our stand and talked to us about building surveys and heritage management to 3D reconstructions and GIS, and a myriad of other abbreviations. Bre also co-hosted a workshop on GIS and remote sensing resulting in some fantastic ideas for placement projects for the current GIS students. The day was a great success and we have demonstrated to the students that choosing a career in archaeology entails much more than just digging (and mud) and offers a lot of different possibilities. We are honoured to have been invited back next year look forward to meeting old and new faces.