Kickstart, the context
I’d like to talk about the merits of Kickstart. Namely the advantages and experiences I have obtained during my sixth-month placement. But first, what is Kickstart?
- Under the scheme, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of his Plan for Jobs, employers can offer youngsters aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit a six-month work placement.
- The government will fully fund each “Kickstart” job – paying 100% of the age-relevant National Minimum Wage, National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week.
The labour market is in a “logjam” right now, and it is extremely hard for young people to find permanent jobs or stable positions. This opportunity has therefore kept me employed and financially stable for the sixth month period and has taught me invaluable skills that have assisted my job search and growth.
But who deserves the real praise?
My role as part of the Archives & Collections team
The Library of Birmingham, my colleagues and more specifically my supervisor, Conservator Lucy Angus and Head of Archives & Collections, Peter Doré, deserve immense praise. Lucy has facilitated the development of my transferrable skills through teaching me how to rehouse fragile photographs and documents, prepare items for exhibitions and how to liaise with senior members of the Council and with third party senior colleagues such as curators. The conservation work managed by Lucy, that went into the Dyche exhibition, has been exemplary and consequently provided me with the foundational, basic skills of conservation. Furthermore, Peter and archivist, Nicola Crews, have trained me in cataloguing and given me insights into the various software that govern Archives & Collections.
Nicola provided me with interesting work on the Listed Building Files created by Birmingham City Council, and this involves the cataloguing and rehousing of the files. This has been an excellent opportunity to allow me to have a lot of agency and work independently. The initial instruction was clear, friendly and informative and the subsequent confidence to allow me to work and self-supervise has increased my confidence in working independently and I am thankful for this lesson. Furthermore, I was trained to do retrievals in the archive stores by the Archives & Collections Co-ordinator, Paul Taylor. This is a task I do on Monday mornings and I really enjoy it: it prepares me for the day and allows me to become more accustomed to the archives.
What I would like to draw attention to is that during this placement I have received nothing but valuable instruction and been made extremely welcome. While Lucy is my direct supervisor on the Kickstart placement, the A&C team cannot be commended more for ensuring an informative and successful Kickstart placement.
The Dyche Exhibition
The main body of work undertaken during the Kickstart placement was rehousing the photographs from Dyche’s studios. This was for From City Of Empire To City Of Diversity: A Visual Journey, with some of the photographs on display in the exhibition in the Gallery on level 3 of the Library of Birmingham. ‘From City of Empire to City of Diversity’, encompasses and celebrates the diversity of Birmingham and the history behind migration from former British colonies.
This is, in my opinion, a huge collection with seemingly thousands of photos. All photos were given a reference number respective to the Dyche catalogue and sleeved and then moved to the store. Furthermore, I learned how to ‘flush mount’, the process of mounting the materials on card in preparation for display. Lucy also provided me with the opportunity to frame two photographs used in the Dyche exhibition. What surprised me the most was the scope of the framing process, by no means is this a quick or simple process. The attention to detail and concentration needed to ensure a presentable and secure frame is poignant. While more recently I have been focussed on tasks such as cataloguing, the practical skills I obtained working in Conservation with Lucy were interesting, enjoyable and fulfilling.
Aside from the day to day activities in the preparation for the exhibition, I was also provided opportunities to work with the curators to facilitate their ideas. In addition, with the entertaining and clear guidance of Tom Epps, Cultural Partnerships Manager, we prepared the lighting for the gallery space. The exhibition looks fantastic, and if you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to check it out!
Kickstart: aiding my employability
The other arm of the Kickstart scheme is to aid employability skills, CV writing, job applications and ensuring that in the future I can find better roles so that I don’t require the assistance of a scheme such as Kickstart again. Lucy and I have a fortnightly one to one where we can look at my CV, talk about job opportunities, and answer any questions I may have. This has been extremely valuable. Although the Kickstart scheme is now over, which while a shame, hopefully in the future another Kickstart scheme will be available to give other students and young people the help I have benefitted from.
A wonderful opportunity aided by wonderful people
Overall, I have loved my time in the A&C office at the Library of Birmingham. I have experienced a genuinely fantastic work environment and consistently interesting projects and tasks, turns out I also make pretty good coffee too!
In the past five weeks I have been working diligently to find a permanent position utilising my degree, and everyone around the office has been helpful, offering me interview prep or any run throughs I may desire or to look over any cover letters for a second opinion, demonstrating just how welcoming and supportive this office is.
I never knew I would enjoy working in archives so much, and it has provided me with plenty to think about career-wise. It is the transferrable skills gained during this placement that have been invaluable. I have found myself getting more interviews than ever, because I have had an opportunity to start actually believing in myself.
Tom Mannering, Kickstart Conservation Assistant
The Iron Room 