STICK Conference

STICK will hold our annual conference on Friday 11th October 2024. The theme of this conference will be Industrial Heritage Skills and it will be held at Discovery Point home to the world famous RRS Discovery.

The STICK conference on Industrial Heritage Skills believes that it is evident that now, more than ever, industrial heritage skills are at risk and it’s only by having these conversations now can we do something about skills retention before they are entirely lost.

Bookings now open here. Download our flyer to share with others.


Earlier this year Historic Environment Scotland launched the Skills Investment Plan in collaboration with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and sector stakeholders such as the Our Place in Time Skills and Expertise Group. This plan aims to ensure Scotland has the skills it needs to promote, manage and protect our historic environment.


The STICK conference will explore whether this is the case, what is the status of Industrial Heritage Skills in Scotland today and share different projects and initiatives underway to address the challenges that managing and caring for industrial heritage collections present.

The conference will feature the following speakers: Mel Ruth Oakley (DHT), Matthew Moran (HMS Unicorn), David Mann (SMM), Ross McKirdy (GTM) and Jim Mitchell (Conservation Engineers).

There will also be a tour of RSS Discovery and a discussion panel on the future of industrial heritage skills.

Programme

09.45 – 10:15 Registration

10.15 – 10.35 ‘Get Ready to Doc n Roll’, Mel Ruth Oakley (Dundee Heritage Trust)

10.35 – 11.00 ‘HMS Unicorn Conservation Challenges’, Matthew Moran (HMS Unicorn)

11.00 – 11.15 BREAK

11.15 – 11.40 ‘Powering Our People’ David Mann (Scottish Maritime Museum)

11.40 – 12.05 ‘Are industrial skills at risk in the heritage sector?’ Ross McKirdy (Grampian Transport Museum)

12.05 – 12.30 ‘The Skills crisis: How do we fix it?’ Jim Mitchell (Industrial Heritage Consulting)

12.30 – 13.10 LUNCH (40 minutes)

13.10 – 14.10 TOUR: RRS Discovery conservation project

14.10 – 14.50 Discussion Panel

14.50 – 15.15 Next Steps, Final Remarks and thanks

FLYER

Accomodation

Attendees to the Conference who wish to stay over the night before and/or after the STICK conference can save 20% at the The Sleeperz Hotel (immediately above the station and a pedestrian crossing away from the venue) in Dundee. A 20% discount is available by using the code HERITAGE when booking. Early booking is advised.

Pre-conference visit

Also, there are a few places available for a visit to Verdant Works Museum, West Henderson Wynd, Dundee on Thursday 10th October, 2:15pm-3:30p. You can join Collections Curator Mel Ruth Oakley, who will be speaking at the STICK conference the following day, to see a trio of items from the costume collection and discuss the difficulties collecting the clothing worn by the working class who manufactured the textile, jute.  This will be followed by a demonstration of the textile machinery which was used to turn jute from fibre to fabric. There are limited places on a first come first served basis. Please contact the Curator at collections@dundeeheritage.co.uk for further details.


Call for Papers

STICK had a Call for Papers in early 2024 and welcomed a wide range of submissions. Proposals for papers (20 mins long) might include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • What are Industrial Heritage Skills and why are they important?
  • Identifying skills gaps for industrial collections
  • Training opportunities
  • Partnership working
  • Materials training
  • Overview of who is doing what and where regarding Industrial Heritage Skills