Iain - Policy Advisor Built Heritage

Iain is now working in the area of protecting built heritage in New Zealand which was the reason he undertook Museum and Heritage Studies.

Policy Analyst, Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage

I chose to do the Museum and Heritage Programme at Victoria University of Wellington, as I wanted to contribute to the protection of built heritage in New Zealand. Before I enrolled, I had been working as a researcher for a real estate company, and had done a lot of work around the challenges of strengthening earthquake prone buildings, particularly outside of the main centres. While I had graduated with a degree in History while living in Scotland, I realised that I stood a better chance of getting a job in this area if I had completed a postgraduate qualification with a greater practical focus on heritage protection

The big attraction of the programme was the opportunity work with people in the sector via classes, workshops and the internship, and so I enjoyed the opportunity to do placements and projects within the sector. My main placement was with the History Group at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, undertaking research on World War One Honour Boards as part of the WW100 project, which gave me an opportunity to experience life at the Ministry, and work with ArchivesNZ , Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, and National Library. I also worked with the Heritage Team at Wellington City Council completing a conservation plan, and contributing to their Built Heritage Incentive Fund project.

After graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum and Heritage Studies, I took a full-time role with a private-sector consultancy company that specialised in Leisure and Tourism. This role gave me an opportunity to gain experience in visitor research generally, while also working on a number of projects in the Museums and Heritage sector, including designing visitor research, undertaking museum feasibility studies, and assessing visitor experiences at heritage sites.

After three years in that role, I have recently moved to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to take up a policy role, advising on the protection of built heritage in New Zealand – the whole reason I did the course in the first place!

Of all the lessons I learned as part of the course, the most important thing is that the limited number of jobs in the sector means that you need to be flexible and open-minded when looking for roles. I didn’t imagine taking a private sector role when I graduated, nor becoming a Policy Adviser. But both roles have allowed me to use the knowledge I gained during the course, while also developing skills that will allow me to grow my career within the industry.