Two young Black men sitting on black chairs wearing casual clothing. One has laptop.A big thank you to all museums in the South West who participated in the national skills needs survey delivered by Museum Development England, with support from Arts Council England.

Museums in our region made up 17% of survey respondents. This survey, the first of its kind, gives us a robust picture of museum’s skills development needs at regional and national level. Feedback in our region told us that…

  • You want a blend of online and in-person training in the future.
  • The biggest barriers for training are cost and time.
  • Audiences are a top priority for you, closely followed by digital.
  • Museums are placing a much bigger emphasis on Equality Action Planning and environmental sustainability than when we previously ran a similar survey in 2019, potentially following wider shifts in society.
  • The needs of South West museums broadly reflect the needs of museums across England.

There are further findings from the survey to explore. We’ll be incorporating these into future training and development opportunities for museums in our region.

Remember you can continue to let us know your skills development needs through your local Museum Development Officer or by emailing us at [email protected].