I have been lucky enough to work for a long time in the heritage sector, but it took time for me to get really hands on with heritage for the first time, via a project recording historic buildings in Northern Ireland during my postgraduate degree.

If our Future Heritage Leadership programme – which we launched earlier this month and is open until 10 December – had been available back then, I would have jumped at the chance to apply. So I am delighted that from 2026 we’ll be welcoming and supporting young people aged 18–30 who care about saving historic buildings, protecting the natural environment and preserving cultural traditions to join our organisation for a unique 18-month paid opportunity. We really want you to apply!

Kickstarting heritage careers – no experience necessary

In our 10-year strategy, Heritage 2033, inclusion, access and participation is one of the four investment principles that underpin all our decision making, because we want to ensure everyone has opportunities to share and explore heritage.

I’ve met countless young people who have a passion for the heritage in the places they live. But I’ve also heard from those same young people how hard it can be to get involved and get the experience needed to have meaningful engagement.

With that challenge in mind, our Future Heritage Leadership programme has been designed to increase the diversity of heritage workforces and leadership and provide opportunities for young people to develop skills and explore heritage.

The paid, 18-month roles will involve shadowing our committees across the UK, visiting heritage projects, networking with heritage experts and playing an active role in deciding where we invest our funding. Full training, and coaching throughout the programme, will be provided. I truly believe this opportunity can help kickstart the careers of the heritage leaders of tomorrow. And importantly, no previous experience is necessary to apply.

Good for young people, good for heritage

I know opportunities like this can make a real difference – both for the young people involved and the heritage sector more broadly.

Between 2022 and 2023 we invested £3million in New to Nature, a programme to provide paid work placements for young people in the natural heritage sector. Eighty-two host organisations offered placements to 98 trainees and learned valuable lessons about inclusive recruitment along the way. One of the trainees, Lisa Manning, went on to become a policy officer for Wildlife and Countryside Link, the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, and was named a Future Game Changer by The National Lottery earlier this year.

Our £10m Kick the Dust programme aimed to make heritage more relevant to people aged 11–25. Between 2017 and 2023, over 5,000 young people were participating in heritage projects across the UK at any one time. Our funding also gave heritage organisations the time and resources to trial new approaches to engaging with young people. Participants gained valuable hands-on heritage experience – one, Niamh Kelly, went on to a paid role as a project assistant and youth ambassador in Northern Ireland – and some organisations made structural changes to permanently embed what they learned.

Elsewhere, we funded Wentworth Woodhouse’s digital volunteers programme, which has provided valuable experience and led to paid work for participants and boosted the historic house’s audience and fundraising efforts. And our investment is enabling Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust to partner with local universities and colleges to provide apprenticeship and volunteering opportunities, preserving endangered heritage skills and ensuring the future of Britain’s last working bell foundry. One student volunteer, Kira Mills, has gone on to a full-time paid role.

Fresh voices and perspectives

It is important for us that most of our funding decisions are made directly by people with local knowledge and expertise. Inviting young people into each of our six area and nation committees to bring fresh voices and perspectives will enrich that decision-making even further. And in turn, it will boost the skills and experience of those young people and foster a new generation of heritage leaders. It is an incredibly exciting programme!

If you – or anyone you know – is curious and passionate about heritage and wants to build valuable career skills and confidence, we’d love to hear from you. I’m looking forward to meeting the 12 successful candidates next year and working together towards our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.