I'd agree on one level that not training everyone may not be an issue, but are we selecting the right individuals to train up currently? Or just those with the sharpest elbows and loudest voices?:face-stir:
Some sites may appear to be straightforward, but are they really straightforward? Or is it just that the deskilling/mechanisation process makes it easy for such sites to be dug 'simply', whilst actually missing a lot of data? Creating a kind of simplistic, drop-down interpretation, 'Lego brick' archaeology, rather than a nuanced record full of fuzzy data and questions. You may well be able to train someone to 'dig' and do basic recording in a few days, but you't miss an awful lot of data, and have to hand hold a hell of a lot. Fancy running a site with 20 such 'diggers' and comparing the results to one with a good balance of experience?
Yes, training should be the individual's responsibility as much as the employers, and there needs to be a way of validating skills and experience. I've suggested a form of skills passport linked to the National Occupational Standards for archaeology, and linked to the individual's CPD log and PDP. This would plug into individual employer's appraisal etc schemes but 'belong' to the employee.
BTW, my presentation is now up on the FAME website: http://www.famearchaeology.co.uk/2012/07.../#more-618
Some sites may appear to be straightforward, but are they really straightforward? Or is it just that the deskilling/mechanisation process makes it easy for such sites to be dug 'simply', whilst actually missing a lot of data? Creating a kind of simplistic, drop-down interpretation, 'Lego brick' archaeology, rather than a nuanced record full of fuzzy data and questions. You may well be able to train someone to 'dig' and do basic recording in a few days, but you't miss an awful lot of data, and have to hand hold a hell of a lot. Fancy running a site with 20 such 'diggers' and comparing the results to one with a good balance of experience?
Yes, training should be the individual's responsibility as much as the employers, and there needs to be a way of validating skills and experience. I've suggested a form of skills passport linked to the National Occupational Standards for archaeology, and linked to the individual's CPD log and PDP. This would plug into individual employer's appraisal etc schemes but 'belong' to the employee.
BTW, my presentation is now up on the FAME website: http://www.famearchaeology.co.uk/2012/07.../#more-618