Human Resources in Canada's Built Heritage Sector: Mapping the ...

MAPPING THE WORK FORCE AND SETTING STRATEGIC PRIORITIESOrganizational Gap:Within the built heritage sector there are both discipline-based and multi-disciplinary organizations. Mostprofessionals in the sector have a “home discipline” and maintain membership in the professional associationrelated to that discipline. It is also common for professionals in the sector to belong to multi-disciplinary bodies,such as the Association for Preservation Technology. The Canadian Association of Professional HeritageConsultants has a significant multi-disciplinary membership, drawn largely, though not exclusively fromprofessionals offering specialized services to the sector. A significant gap in the sector’s organizational fabricis an organizational “home” for professionals who are employed in the public sector and by heritage institutionsin the non-profit sector. These professionals, whom we estimate to number approximately 2,500 to 3,000 persons,have a number of common interests that currently do not find sufficient organizational expression. Amongthese common interests are the need for professional training, the need to keep abreast of developments in theprogram and policy field and the need to have an organized interaction with professionals in other fields, suchas urban planning, who can have a significant impact on the built heritage sector.Professional Recognition:“Recognition of skills is a bigger problem than skill shortage.”Workshop Participant, HalifaxA recurring theme among persons interviewed, or who participated in workshops, was the need for greaterrecognition of the sector and for the contribution made by persons who work in the sector. At the root of thisconcern are two related perceptions. The first is that the role and skills of professionals in the builtheritage sector are not understood by others (planners, developers, project managers, contractors) whomake decisions that can impinge profoundly on the sector. The second, and related perception, is thatmany tasks in the built heritage sector, indeed sometimes entire projects, are undertaken by persons whohave either no knowledge or insufficient knowledge of conservation standards or techniques. Componentsof a building or ornamentation may be unnecessarily replaced or damaged. The result is that much of theheritage character of a structure is unnecessarily lost. Professional recognition is a circular problem. As longas key actors in the built heritage sector, such as planners, developers, project managers and contractors,lack an understanding of conservation standards they will not seek out professionals who are expert in theapplication of those standards. The fact that restoration and conservation work is then done by personswho are poorly equipped for these tasks only compounds the problem of professional recognition. Indeed,it reinforces the view among project managers, developers, etc. that no special skills are required and thatrestoration skills are no different than new construction skills. Something must be done to break into thiscircular problem and promote a more constructive dynamic in the sector.©CULTURAL HUMAN RESOURCES COUNCIL21