Posted on May 11, 2010
I did a Learnership under Palm Springs Consultants for a period of eight months. The training programme was for a national certificate in Heritage Practices. The course covered topics which included the management and preservation of heritage and we also learned about marketing.

During my Learnership I went to do service at Red Location Museum where I received a warm welcome as we were given mentors. My mentor was Annette du Plessis and I'm glad to say I worked comfortably under her supervision and she found no problem working with me, as I was keen to learn about everything she was doing. She is the marketing director of the institution.

On my arrival at the museum I was interviewed about my feelings and expectations about working there. I indicated that I loved working with people, doing administration and reception work and educating people about issues. I told them that I need more skills in marketing, organising, presentations and the internal workings of the museum.

We then read through and discussed the museum's marketing plan. I was given a soft copy to work with. We agreed upon three hours per day for marketing of the institution and three hours of personal development time. The curator approved a computer for me to use.

During my Learnership I worked with people, helping and assisting where I could; educated and informed others about issues; and did administration and reception work.

I learned about marketing research by interviewing some of the museum visitors.
I also learned about the inner workings of the museum and the drawing up of a marketing plan, and participated in the discussion on the museum's marketing strategy.

After a while I proceeded to make appointments with the schools for the museum schools' presentation programme. I captured the information on an electronic template which was given to my mentor. Two of the schools I organised were visited. I also participated in the presentation to the learners, and was commended for this.

As I've stated, I was keen to learn and to gain more skills, particularly in marketing, organising, presentation and communication and all the internal workings of a museum, and specifically Red Location Museum. My mentor commended me on my abilities and reported this to Palm Springs in a report.

Sipokazi Nhanhana was a participant in a heritage learnership programme initiated by the MAPP SETA