Unit 9
Backstage Heritage:
Staff, Volunteers, and Activists

Despite the critical nature of funding for human resources, policy in this area has been inconsistent; this inconsistency threatens the health of the sector. Policy is needed to ensure the availability of training for workers in built heritage preservation, as well as in other areas of conservation and management. Several proposals to sustain volunteer human resources have been put forward, notably for tax exemption incentives and other recognition strategies.

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

1. Argue in support of the voluntary sector’s importance to heritage activities.
2. Describe some of the societal benefits of heritage institutions.
3. Explain some of the economic realities that shape the heritage workplace.
4. Describe the labour problems affecting both built heritage and institutions.
5. Identify omissions in Canada’s current data on the heritage workforce.