28th February 2012, 08:28 PM
Sorry not to notice your comments earlier Kevin and Overseas; yes the survey was just for UK commercial archaeology, although we did get a few responses from UK archaeologists working abroad, and from non UK archaeologists working abroad! The situation in other countries always makes for interesting comparisons, however it was a massive enough job to do a UK survey, let alone include other countries! A similar survey in Ireland might be achievable fairly easily, and shed light on what has actually happened over there, but it is outside DF remit really, and we want to concentrate on the results of this report and trying to get feedback on the recomendations and get them implemented and improve the lot of site staff over here.
But....Kevin, would you care to put your experience of working in Scandinavia into an article for the newsletter? It would make intersting comparison and be useful to those thinking of seeking work there? 'Overseas', I'm not quite sure where you work, but the same goes for you if you'd be interested?
Surveys like ours, and Invisible Diggers 2 and Profiling the Profession all help shine a light on the make-up of this profession. I hope our survey has gone that bit deeper into areas which we all knew about from experience and anecdote, but had no hard data on. Now we have data, we can act on it and try and make a difference. Step one is to get people talking about the issues and the results, step two is to make what is going on more transparent so we can all make informed decisions about what a job really involves. Step 3 is improving the terms and conditions and levelling the playing field up.
There are also some very interesting threads to follow up, one key thread being what will happen when tuition fees really kick in? We are currently experiencing an aging profession as new starters find it harder to get a toehold on the jobs ladder -but our industry is built on disposable Diggers. What happens when this supply dries up when students debts are ?40K? Lots more questions...
What we could really do with is feedback from everyone on the report, and the recommendations. What is important to you, and what would make a real difference? Let us know here, or email us at diggers@archaeologists.net or on http://www.facebook.com/DiggersForum I know its 100 pages, but its hopefully fairly easy to dip into!
But....Kevin, would you care to put your experience of working in Scandinavia into an article for the newsletter? It would make intersting comparison and be useful to those thinking of seeking work there? 'Overseas', I'm not quite sure where you work, but the same goes for you if you'd be interested?
Surveys like ours, and Invisible Diggers 2 and Profiling the Profession all help shine a light on the make-up of this profession. I hope our survey has gone that bit deeper into areas which we all knew about from experience and anecdote, but had no hard data on. Now we have data, we can act on it and try and make a difference. Step one is to get people talking about the issues and the results, step two is to make what is going on more transparent so we can all make informed decisions about what a job really involves. Step 3 is improving the terms and conditions and levelling the playing field up.
There are also some very interesting threads to follow up, one key thread being what will happen when tuition fees really kick in? We are currently experiencing an aging profession as new starters find it harder to get a toehold on the jobs ladder -but our industry is built on disposable Diggers. What happens when this supply dries up when students debts are ?40K? Lots more questions...
What we could really do with is feedback from everyone on the report, and the recommendations. What is important to you, and what would make a real difference? Let us know here, or email us at diggers@archaeologists.net or on http://www.facebook.com/DiggersForum I know its 100 pages, but its hopefully fairly easy to dip into!