29th May 2010, 03:29 PM
Although I agree that there's no substitute for experience, the CBA bursary programme is a step in the right direction. Everybody has to start somewhere, even a cynical old site hack like myself had to start again and learn many new skills when I moved from the commercial sector to Community Heritage, being a good archaeologist is only part of the skillset required. The indications I've seen from the CBA suggest that that the training bursary holders will be placed with host organisations who can demonstrate significant experience in community archaeology/heritage so they will be guided by some of the best practitioners that the sector has to offer. There is also the Community Archaeology MA offered by Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincon http://www.bishopg.ac.uk/?_id=10513 to consider. One MA course and the CBA programme might not be an all-inclusive approach to CA but at least it's a start and something we can build on.