The benefits to taking heritage management courses are best shown by looking at the numbers. Canada has 2,500 museums and related institutions that include not-for-profit museums, art galleries, science centres, aquaria, archives, sports halls-of-fame, artist-run centres, zoos, and heritage sites. Annually, these places attract more than 59 million visitors annually. A further 60 million visit our historic sites and natural parks. These types of establishments and facilities require professionals trained in a very particular skill set and thus equipped to manage such culture and heritage resources. At Centennial College in Toronto, Ont. students can learn all of the skills they need to establish long-lasting careers in culture and heritage site management by attending the culture courses and heritage management courses of the Culture and Heritage Site Management program. Taking just two semesters to complete, this offering is designed as a post-graduate program that results in an Ontario College Graduate Certificate. As such, applicants are required to possess a college diploma or university degree in any discipline. In addition a resume with relevant work experience may be requested. The Culture and Heritage Site Management program will consider applicants with partial post secondary education and relevant work experience in the field. Once they are accepted, students will be based at the Progress Campus location. As this campus houses all of the School of Tourism and Hospitality’s programs, making it convenient for students to network and socialize with peers from similar programs and use hospitality and tourism facilities to their advantage. Meanwhile, the culture courses and heritage management courses in the offering cover practical management topics as well as industry-based subjects relevant to this largely publicly run or not-for-profit culture and heritage sector. Specific culture and heritage management courses include: Innovative Technologies in the Culture and Heritage Sector (through lectures, readings, case studies, learners gain insight into the process of determining whether, and how to invest in social networking strategies and/or add an online component to an organization’s profile and the concomitant challenges/opportunities having such exposure creates for culture and heritage sector managers); National Historic Site Management (provides an understanding of the increasingly specialized nature of the workplace by touching on myriad aspects of managing National Historic Sites); Culture and Heritage Marketing and Strategy (involves the scaffolding of marketing principles and practices and developing strategic objectives in relation to a site or facility’s mission, resources, opportunities and challenges. Learners are introduced to the singular marketing challenges encountered by not-for profit and public sector culture and heritage organizations, and explore mitigating strategies); and more. Partnerships with local, regional, provincial and national institutions and establishments facilitate in helping to place students during a two-day-per-week, 15 week field placement during the second semester. This is an opportunity for students attending Centennial College’s culture course and heritage management courses to apply what they have learned as well as learn from industry professionals currently practicing their art.
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