I am commenting after the V&A advertised a part-time unpaid job (several weeks ago) asking candidates to have a post-graduate degree. As someone who has been setting up paid internships/traineeships (London Living Wage) for several arts organisations, it amazes me that V&A staff expected someone to do this role for free!

After outrage on Twitter, and beyond, the V&A removed the job role and stated:

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This position is not in line with our current policies. We apologise for this error and have removed the advert. For all types of roles we always look for people from all backgrounds and are committed to promoting equality & diversity.”

But this is not acceptable and not about ‘equality and diversity.’ You would think that a National Museum, part-funded by the government, would set an example to others. Why is it that the museum and arts sector still expects individuals to have a post-graduate degree and lots of voluntary experience before offering them paid work? This is the route I came through 20 years ago, with support from my parents as well as a paid bar job in the evenings and weekends.

Over the past year or so, I have been working with paid interns/trainees from diverse backgrounds, in particular targeting those that see these roles as an alternative to going to University. These individuals have brought a new perspective to the arts organisations providing different skills and experiences, and challenging the way staff approach things, as well as coming up with creative ways of engaging with new audiences. This should be the future of our museum and arts sector workforce, so let’s do something about it and stop making excuses!

Take a look at the latest Arts Council data report - Equality, Diversity and the Creative Case - for statistics on diversity, highlighting for example the need for more disability and Black or other Minority Ethnic (BME) representation across the workforce of the museum and arts sectors.