Supply, Demand and a Failure of Understanding: Addressing the Culture Clash between Archaeologists’ Expectations for Training and Employment in ‘Academia’ versus ‘Practice’

Bibliographic Information

Article Title

Supply, Demand and a Failure of Understanding: Addressing the Culture Clash between Archaeologists' Expectations for Training and Employment in 'Academia' versus 'Practice'

Journal Title

World Archaeology

Author(s)

Aitchison, Kenneth

Year of Publication

2004

Volume Number

36

Issue Number

2

Article Pages

203-219

Web Address (URL)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0043824042000260988

Additional Information

Available Through

Taylor & Francis Online, JSTOR

Language

English

Notes

Abstract: A university degree is effectively a prerequisite for entering the archaeological workforce in the UK. Archaeological employers consider that new entrants to the profession are insufficiently skilled, and hold university training to blame. But university archaeology departments do not consider it their responsibility to deliver fully formed archaeological professionals, but rather to provide an education that can then be applied in different workplaces, within and outside archaeology. The number of individuals studying archaeology at university exceeds the total number working in professional practice, with many more new graduates emerging than archaeological jobs advertised annually. Over-supply of practitioners is also a contributing factor to low pay in archaeology. Steps are being made to provide opportunities for vocational training, both within and outside the university system, but archaeological training and education within the universities and subsequently the archaeological labour market may be adversely impacted upon by the introduction of variable top-up student fees.

Additional tags: archaeological training; employment In archaeology; UK

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