Liam Llewelyn and Harri Macquire have been working in the city on a scheme that encourages people at the start of their careers to be part of a new generation telling the story of Wales.
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As trainees on the Wales-wide Cultural Ambition Project, their places of work have included Swansea Council’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Swansea Museum.
Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “It has been a pleasure to have Liam and Harri on board; they have each made a positive lasting impression as cultural heritage trainees.
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“Swansea has a rich cultural history and staff at our venues work hard to keep it alive, fresh, relevant and attractive.
“This training programme is an exciting opportunity for a young person wishing to learn about working in the cultural heritage sector.
“I urge those interested to apply for the next round – applications are open now and it would be particularly rewarding to work on Swansea’s cultural heritage from this autumn as the city celebrates its first 50 years as a city.”
Trainees spend a year on the project, working for a number of months at each of several cultural heritage sites. They receive a monthly bursary of £800.
The programme covers a variety of skills and trainees work towards an NVQ Level 2 Cultural Heritage qualification, delivered with support from Cardiff and Vale College.
Liam, aged 18, has been placed with the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust, Swansea University’s Egypt Centre, Swansea Museum and the city’s National Waterfront Museum.
He said: “I hope that my experience this year will help me find a full-time job in this type of environment.
“I liked how welcoming the staff were at Swansea Museum; they taught me a lot about how to deal with the public face to face – how to be confident in my own abilities.
“I’m enjoying my time on the project; it’s strengthening my interest in museums and other cultural sites.”
Liam lives in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, and attended Ammanford’s Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.
Harri, aged 21, was placed at the National Waterfront Museum, Llanelli’s Parc Howard Museum and at the Glynn Vivian.
He said: “I applied for this scheme because it was an opportunity to try various job roles in this specialist sector – and it leads to a qualification.
“The year has given me great experience of working across various functions – from front of house to backstage, marketing and events.
“At the Glynn Vivian right now I’m learning how to do a job – and how to do it well.
I enjoy seeing what a difference the job – and being helpful – can make – and what a positive impact it has on to others, including colleagues and visitors.
“After this I’ll see what’s out there on the jobs market. I’m open to ideas but hopefully there’ll be something in this sector.”
Harri lives in Pontardawe and studied at Cwmtawe Community School and Neath Port Talbot College.
The Cultural Ambition Project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Welsh Government’s Museums, Archives and Libraries Division.
The project is administered and run by Creative & Cultural Skills. Cultural Ambition aims to support young people to gain experience and skills in the cultural heritage sector by creating 33 paid training placements at various sites across Wales.
The project is linked strongly with the Fusion: Creating Opportunities through Culture programme and the Andrews report Culture and Poverty.
Placement applications for the new intake close on August 30.
