Work experience

“I always feel happy when I wake up in the morning and I remember that I’ll be going to work at The MERL that day.”
Ways into Work Supported Intern

At The MERL we know how important it is for young people to experience the world of work to give them an insight into a range of careers and to learn essential skills to aid their employability.

SUPPORTED WORK EXPERIENCE FOR SEND STUDENTS

We offer Supported Work Experience opportunities, tailored to students’ needs, which provide an insight into the world of work in arts and heritage, but which also enable students to develop transferable workplace skills and build confidence.

To discover more, listen to Edward’s experience as he discusses his work placement at The MERL.

We currently partner with Ways into Work to deliver a supported internship at the museum. These supported internships are study programmes for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an EHCP (education, health and care plan), combining studies alongside time in the workplace. Take a few moments to read this blog to learn more about the experiences of our intern.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Our work experience offer for school and college placements at The MERL is currently under review.

In the past we have offered a very limited number of formal work experience placements, and have never been able to meet all requests for work experience, so we encourage you explore other avenues as well if you need a prompt reply.

There are other ways to get involved, participate and develop skills with our museum volunteering programme, including:

  • The Museum Partnership Reading youth panel volunteering opportunity for young people aged 14-18 which meets monthly on projects inspired by our collections and project themes.  The next intake will start in April 2024.

Please look at the youth panel link on our website if you want to find out more.