Outreach

Cameron and Maisie attended a careers fair last week, at the Humanities Department of the University of Winchester, to speak to prospective trainees studying there.

Their career stories, insights and advice were much appreciated and described as inspirational and demonstrative of fabulous graduate outcomes by the Uni’s Faculty Employability Adviser. PCA will be attending the next careers day there too.

Last week Sian (Finds, Environmental and Archiving Manager at PCA Cambridge) took part in a ‘Careers Carousel’ event at Swavesey Village College, with a presentation to five classes of Year 9s about archaeology as a career.

‘Form the Future’ is a community interest company set up to help young people discover exciting opportunities for the future. Sian told the students about her background, qualifications, progression, skills and why GCSEs are important!

Kickstart is a scheme implemented by the UK government to help create jobs for young people from the ages of 16-24. Historic England approached us with the scheme and with their assistance, we searched for potential applicants. We employed Lidia Kones via the scheme, who turned out to be such a helpful, quick learner, we offered her a role in the admin side of things for the London office, once the scheme had ended.

My time in Pre-Construct Archaeology has been one of the best experiences in my career. I joined the company as part of ‘Kickstart’. The programme offered six months working experience for young people. The first six months I was working in different departments of the company. The idea behind that, was that by doing that I would be able to gain knowledge about the company, what they do, and how the company runs. When the ‘Kickstart’ programme ended, PCA offered me a permanent part-time position. During this period, I was finishing my degree, therefore, I could not work full time. Throughout my studies, PCA offered me flexibility, as I needed to change my working days and hours.

Working with Pre-Construct Archaeology for the past 17 months allowed me to improve and gain new skills, as well as learning amazing facts about archaeology. Furthermore, the working experience that PCA offered me has enhanced my determination, and prioritisation abilities. Besides that, I had the opportunity to work with incredible and talented colleagues and managers.

Lidia Kones, London Office, PCA

On Saturday Katie from PCA Durham went Ebchester, County Durham, to hold a finds display for a community group: The Friends of Vindomora.

Vindomora is the name of the Roman fort directly beneath the village of Ebchester. The group invited us for a tour of the village and Roman remains – the people who owned the farm were kind enough to let us in to see their very own hypocaust in their back garden! The group have lots of plans to encourage more awareness of the history of the village and we hope to stay involved in any way we can!

Hardwick Park, in Sedgefield, County Durham, is a Grade II* Registered Historic Park and Garden, laid out from c. 1750.

PCA would like to thank the organisers of the Balsham Feast ( particularly Richard and Debbie) for inviting us to participate in this event.

Mark Hinman and a team from PCA’s Cambridge office  will be attending the Balsham Feast tomorrow, 2 July, to host a display of findings from excavations at The High Street, Balsham sponsored by Hill Group and Linton Road sponsored by Matthew Homes And RPS Consulting.

On Saturday 2 July we’ll have a stall at the Balsham Village Feast in Cambridgeshire, with a display of finds from the two excavations we’ve undertaken in the village.

Have you got a little pile of garden treasures?

Bring them to Hilly Fields Summer Fayre in Brockley on Saturday 25 June from 12 noon to 5pm!