Results from comprehensive surveys of Australian professional archaeologists undertaken in 2005 and 2010 are considered in the context of disciplinary trends, focusing on changes in access and participation, archaeological workplaces, qualifications and skill gaps. Strong growth is demonstrated in the professional archaeology sector between 2005 and 2010, showing substantial restructuring in the last five years, with an increase in Indigenous archaeology and a corresponding decrease in other subfields, especially historical archaeology. An analysis of self-assessed skill sets and skill gaps shows that the training of many professionals continues to leave significant gaps in core skill and knowledge areas which are consistent across industry subfields. • Used archaeological skills in paid employment during the calendar year preceding the survey census year; and, • Worked in Australia, or was based in Australia and worked overseas.
The school education system is an important public sphere where popular notions of archaeology and the archaeological past are produced and reproduced. Within the framework of an interpretive public archaeology, schools represent a significant social context in which archaeologists might seek meaningful engagement with the wider community. Analysis of the Queensland Education Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) syllabus reveals that there are many opportunities for the inclusion of Australian archaeology examples in the curricula of both primary and secondary schools. In this paper we develop a public outreach strategy for engaging the Queensland school curriculum and report on two case studies from southeast Queensland where this strategy was implemented.
Cultural heritage management (CHM) of Indigenous places is the dominant area of professional practice in Australian archaeology, yet relatively few Indigenous Australians take up a career in the sector. The internet is providing new and effective avenues for Indigenous outreach programmes. This paper describes a self-contained, web-enabled, freeto-user cultural heritage training programme designed in consultation with, and for the use of, Indigenous Australians. It includes a consideration of the potential and design requirements of web-delivered courses for more effectively introducing Indigenous communities to the professional CHM sector and thus achieving the long-term goal of increasing the participation of those communities in professional work.
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