18th April 2011, 05:10 PM
Hello
Well....
I think there is also another consideration here, that many people can't afford to be volunteers. Of course you can sign on and pretend you are actively seeking employment - (because as far as I remember, even doing over a certain amount of voluntary hours a week - more than 26? - meant you were considered unavailable for work), but how else would you fund yourself? Maybe only with parents or a partner that can afford to keep you, or some nice situation where you don't have to pay rent/mortgage? The MSC scheme was good in that it allowed entry into archaeology for a wide range of people from different backgrounds, and I think archaeology benefited from this; I had one really excellent boss that had been a dockworker in a former life.
I'm all for community archaeology, but not for an archaeology that as a whole uses free labour to cut costs (or attempt to cut costs). A(n even) greater use of volunteers within commercial archaeology brings with it the possibility that those who hold paid positions will basically be those that could afford to get there, i.e an elite well educated/gained enough experience through extensive volunteering group with moneyed backgrounds, which goes against the whole idea of getting more people involved with their heritage.
I write with an awareness that I got into archaeology by time on a dole scheme, and then through volunteering on a couple sites of sites until I had enough experience to get paid work, so I know I almost don't have a leg to stand on; I see volunteering on sites as a necessary evil, but not something that should be actively encouraged!
Sorry if that's a bit garbled..in a hurry!
Well....
I think there is also another consideration here, that many people can't afford to be volunteers. Of course you can sign on and pretend you are actively seeking employment - (because as far as I remember, even doing over a certain amount of voluntary hours a week - more than 26? - meant you were considered unavailable for work), but how else would you fund yourself? Maybe only with parents or a partner that can afford to keep you, or some nice situation where you don't have to pay rent/mortgage? The MSC scheme was good in that it allowed entry into archaeology for a wide range of people from different backgrounds, and I think archaeology benefited from this; I had one really excellent boss that had been a dockworker in a former life.
I'm all for community archaeology, but not for an archaeology that as a whole uses free labour to cut costs (or attempt to cut costs). A(n even) greater use of volunteers within commercial archaeology brings with it the possibility that those who hold paid positions will basically be those that could afford to get there, i.e an elite well educated/gained enough experience through extensive volunteering group with moneyed backgrounds, which goes against the whole idea of getting more people involved with their heritage.
I write with an awareness that I got into archaeology by time on a dole scheme, and then through volunteering on a couple sites of sites until I had enough experience to get paid work, so I know I almost don't have a leg to stand on; I see volunteering on sites as a necessary evil, but not something that should be actively encouraged!
Sorry if that's a bit garbled..in a hurry!