The Art of Facilitating Archiving Workshops in South Africa, in Order to Develop Skills in the Archival Profession Accommodating Unique Challenges

Abstract

The core of this article is aimed at highlighting the challenges in the facilitating of archiving workshops in South Africa. Apart from formal training of Archivists (of which some available qualifications and courses are discussed), there is a huge need for shorter, hands-on training. Learners represent a variety of working environments, backgrounds, levels of education, languages and cultures. The current situation in terms of formal training is briefly outlined. Available, more informal training and workshops are discussed as a means of filling the gaps for a specific sector in the archival profession. The challenges and the outline of workshops’ content are shared. Current research in order to establish loopholes and needs regarding archival skills in the workplace, is mentioned. The majority of the article has been written against the background of the author’s own experiences.