Internships & Early Career Learning
Internships and early-career roles play an important role in building skills, confidence, and professional networks within the museum and heritage sector. At RMDC, these roles are designed as learning experiences that balance practical work with mentorship, reflection, and skill development.
Interns are introduced to the realities of working in a small, community-based organization while gaining experience in areas such as research, documentation, public engagement, and organizational operations. Learning is supported through a combination of orientation, hands-on projects, and ongoing supervision.
These roles are shaped to support transferable skills that extend beyond a single position or organization, helping participants prepare for future work in museums, archives, cultural organizations, and related fields.
RMDC is committed to fostering inclusive, respectful, and accessible learning environments and to supporting emerging professionals as they build sustainable careers in the cultural sector.
Navigating the Heritage Sector: A Launchpad for Emerging Professionals
To support your professional journey, we have compiled key external resources, networks, and industry standards developed by provincial and national heritage organizations. Use these links to deep-dive into the specific career paths and professional communities that shape our sector.
-
Joining professional associations is one of the best ways to access professional development, webinars, and sector-specific networks. Many offer discounted student or transitional memberships, as well as many free resources.
BC Museums Association (BCMA) – The primary hub for cultural heritage in B.C. Check out their resource guides, webinars, and provincial advocacy work.
Archives Association of British Columbia (AABC) – For those interested in the documentary heritage, records management, or archival streams. They offer excellent "Archives 101" workshops and distance education courses.
Heritage BC – The provincial hub for built heritage, historic sites, and cultural conservation. Crucial for understanding how physical places and community planning intersect with public history. They also offer excellent webinars on reconciliation and difficult histories.
Arts BC – A massive provincial network supporting community arts councils, cultural leaders, and creative entrepreneurs. Excellent for interns aiming to work in community-driven cultural management and event programming.
BC Alliance for Arts + Culture – A key provincial advocacy group. They maintain a highly active job board and host regular workshops focusing on professional development, equity, and sector sustainability.
Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) – An invaluable organization for understanding how cultural heritage, community-led tourism, and Indigenous storytelling are ethically managed and supported across the province.
Canadian Museums Association (CMA) – The national voice for Canada's museum sector. Essential for tracking national trends, professional standards, and national conference info.
Emerging Museum Professionals (EMP) Canada – A dedicated network specifically for early-career workers, offering peer-to-peer support, networking, and discussions on the realities of entering the field today.
Canadian Association of Science Centres (CASC) – Connecting science centres, museums, and planetariums across the country. A phenomenal resource for interns interested in science communication, public tech, and STEM/STEAM education initiatives.
-
Understanding how regional and community museums are funded helps you navigate the job market more effectively. Almost all early-career museum positions in Canada are tied to specific government grant streams.
CMA Jobs in Heritage Board – A premier job board for museum work across Canada, including specialized search functions for student and graduate positions.
AABC Job Board – A targeted job board specifically for archival, records management, and digital preservation roles in B.C.
Young Canada Works (YCW) Portal – If you are looking for internships, you can register a profile here. This portal handles both YCW in Heritage Organizations Short-term student jobs and YCW Building Careers in Heritage graduate internships.
WorkBC Career Profiles is also useful for reviewing broader provincial labour market data, average wages, and projected growth for Conservators, Curators, and Archivists in B.C.
-
If you want to understand the modern ethics, challenges, and standards of the industry before writing a cover letter or starting an assignment, these open-access publications are considered industry "must-reads."
CMA’s "Moved to Action" Report – A foundational toolkit for Canadian museums to activate and support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) Notes – The gold standard for preventive conservation. These free, highly detailed care sheets explain exactly how to handle, store, and display everything from historic textiles to industrial mining machinery.
A Manual for Small Archives (AABC) – An incredibly practical, open-access handbook designed specifically for managing small, community-based archival collections.
Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing – The standardized vocabulary used by Canadian heritage institutions to name and classify objects in collections databases. It's a must-know tool for any collections intern.
Our Approach to Learning
RMDC approaches internships as structured learning opportunities rather than short-term labour. Interns are supported through:
Clear orientation and onboarding
Supervision and mentorship from staff
Opportunities to apply skills through real projects
Time and space for reflection, feedback, and professional growth
Because RMDC is a small organization, interns are often exposed to multiple areas of museum work. This provides a realistic understanding of how museums operate in rural and community contexts and helps interns develop adaptable, transferable skills.
-
While responsibilities vary by role and department, interns at RMDC commonly develop experience in:
Research, documentation, and record keeping
Working with historical objects, photographs, and archival materials
Public engagement and visitor interaction
Event and program support
Communications, marketing, and digital tools
Working collaboratively in a small team environment
These learning areas reflect practices used across museums, archives, and cultural organizations, both locally and nationally.
-
Interns are supported by RMDC staff through regular check-ins, guidance, and feedback. Learning goals are discussed early in the placement and revisited throughout the internship to ensure expectations remain clear and achievable.
In addition to hands-on training, interns are encouraged to ask questions, explore areas of interest, and gain insight into the realities of working in the cultural heritage sector, including funding, governance, accessibility, and community accountability.
-
RMDC is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive, and accessible learning environment. Internship roles are shaped with an awareness of individual needs and barriers, and we strive to create supportive conditions that allow participants to learn and contribute meaningfully.
Our work is informed by principles of accessibility, collaboration, and care for people, collections, and community. Interns are expected to engage with these values as part of their learning experience.
-
The skills developed through internships at RMDC are intended to support future work in museums, archives, cultural organizations, and related fields. Interns are encouraged to document their learning, reflect on their experiences, and translate their work into professional language for resumes, portfolios, and future opportunities.
Additional training, project-specific guidance, and orientation materials are provided to active interns through internal systems and supervision.