The Silchester Field School has been running as an undergraduate 2nd year module for 10 years now. University of Reading undergraduates have to attend for either 4 weeks (compulsory for Single Honours Archaeology students) or 2 weeks (optional for Joint Honours Archaeology students). My aim has always been to provide Reading students with those skills vital for employment after graduation – both archaeological field skills, but also the more generic transferable skills which working on a large communal project can provide….team working and communication skills for example. Over the years we have built up a strong reputation for turning out field graduates of high quality – and we have developed strong links with commercial archaeology units such as Oxford Archaeology (OA), Wessex Archaeology, Thames Valley Archaeological Services (TVAS), PreConstruct Archaeology (PCA) and Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). We reached our pinnacle in 2006 when all of our Silchester field graduates found employment in commercial archaeology – indeed Oxford Archaeology was the 2nd highest employer of all University of Reading graduates (after the NHS!).
And then the recession hit and the construction industry slumped, taking with it commercial field archaeology. Tough times. But even then I believed that the kinds of skills gained on an archaeological excavation prepared our field graduates for many other jobs. We kept the faith!
And this year it has paid off again…..and as I write 4 of this season’s Silchester Trainees and 2 of our Assistant Supervisors have been offered paid employment with OA and MOLA. I am so proud – they have all worked so hard for these opportunities. And the Silchester Field School has played its’ part. Well done Kat, Rich, Riz, Tom, Jim and Lee – and I believe more are to follow…..
Silchester staff listen to a 'pitch' by Ben Ford, Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archaeology
Ben Ford - once a Reading student and a Silchester Supervisor himself!