Following huge interest from graduates and after a highly competitive application process, the Museums Galleries Scotland Interns Programme will be launched today at a celebratory event at Edinburgh University’s St Cecilia's Hall Museum of Instruments.

The Interns Programme, which received over 3,200 applications for the 20 Internship vacancies, aims to help the industry address sustainability issues around skills-sharing that could face the sector in the future, and offer a broad range of skills to the interns to bring long-term benefits for the museums and interns alike.

Museums Galleries Scotland created the year-long Interns Programme with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund Skills for the Future scheme.

Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said:
“We are delighted to see the project begin in earnest. We designed the programme to meet the needs of the sector and offer opportunities for graduates to learn useful skills ‘on the ground’ from other professionals in a working environment. The sheer number of applications received to the programme from potential interns and the high levels of interest from the sector illustrates the appetite there is for a project of this type. We look forward to watching the development of the programme as it brings lasting and positive change for all involved - from the excellent learning plans devised by the museums themselves, to the training events that we have organised around transferrable business skills, to new skills and ideas being introduced into the sector.”

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, said: "Skills are a critical element in seeing the country through this difficult economic time. People have to have the skills that employers want in order to secure a job. These placements will help do just that by equipping trainees for the future museums jobs market. Their newly-learned heritage skills will make a difference to their own lives as well as to the future landscape of Scotland."

The internships offer not only an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, but also a £15,000 bursary for each intern. To ensure the programme attracted graduates from different backgrounds, the competitive application process focused on general skills and competencies and did not rely on experience of or direct training in museum-specific skills.

Today will be the first opportunity for the 20 successful interns and the 20 host museums to meet face-to-face as a group. They will be working together closely throughout the programme, offering peer support through a dedicated online networking portal, with additional support from a dedicated Interns Programme Manager at Museums Galleries Scotland.

Further information on the Interns Programme can be found on the Museums Galleries Scotland website.

Notes for editors

• Internships are for one year and commence in October 2011. Interns will receive a tax-free bursary of £15,000 and travel costs will also be covered. There will be learning and training opportunities provided by Museums Galleries Scotland and the host organisation throughout the year including events that encourage career development and networking opportunities.
• Museums Galleries Scotland represents over 340 museums and galleries across Scotland - a sector that welcomes over 25million visitors and drives over £800million to the economy. Museums Galleries Scotland, at the request of the Scottish Government, is currently developing, in collaboration with the sector, a national strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries.
• As part of the Interns Programme Museums Galleries Scotland will seek to work alongside other successful HLF partners in the industry to benchmark, exchange knowledge and create new professional networks. 

The full list of host organisations and internship positions are:

1. Almond Valley Heritage Trust: Digital Resources Development Intern
2. City of Edinburgh Council Museums and Galleries: Collections Trainee
3. Dumfries and Galloway Council, Nithsdale Museums: Museum Intern 
4. The McManus, Dundee: Collections Intern (Numismatics)
5. Discovery Point and Verdant Works, Dundee: Education Intern
6. Collections Resource Centre, Glasgow Life: Volunteer and Placement Intern
7. The Open Museum, Glasgow Life: Outreach Intern
8. Inverness Museum and Art Gallery: Museums Collections Intern
9. Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (The National Trust for Scotland): Learning Intern
10. The National Trust for Scotland  (HQ and various properties): Volunteer Management Intern
11. Scottish Borders Council Museums & Galleries Service: Museum and Gallery Trainee
12. Scottish Fisheries Museum Trust: Reserve Collections Intern
13. Scottish Maritime Museum: Collections and Digitisation Intern
14. National Mining Museum (lead partner): Volunteer Co-ordinator Intern
15. Black Watch Museum: Collections Intern
16. Gordon Highlanders Museum: Volunteer Coordinator Intern
17. Orkney Islands Council Arts, Museums and Heritage Service and The Pier Arts Centre: Museums and Gallery Intern
18. University of Aberdeen, Marischal Museum: Museum Intern (Volunteering)
19. University of Edinburgh Collection of Historical Musical Instruments: University of Edinburgh Collections Intern
20. The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: Collections Intern

Further information

Katie Owen, HLF press office, on 020 7591 6036 or 07973 613 820.

Sarah Burry-Hayes, Communications Manager, Museums Galleries Scotland on 0131 550 4133 or email: sarahbh@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk.