09/06/2026
Part 9: Training Is Leadership - full article via link in bio.
This is the final post in this series. I want to reflect on what we’ve covered, be honest about why I wrote it, and leave you with something concrete to take away.
Over the past weeks I’ve written about skills and inconsistency, about the retirement parties I’ve attended twice, about pipelines narrowing and the gentrification of art education. About the contradiction of refusing a freelancer’s rate and then paying considerably more to an external supplier for the same work. About hiring decisions made without the frameworks to make them well. About a standards committee that couldn’t get off the ground because nobody could resource it properly.
None of this is new information. What I hope this series has done is say it clearly, say it together, and make it harder to look away from.
Training is not an optional extra. It is how skills are built, standards maintained, knowledge transferred, diversity supported and collections protected.
Training is leadership. And leadership is a choice.
If you are an employer or institution:
* Document your technical standards, even in the simplest form
* Pay your freelancers fairly before calling an external supplier
* Get in touch with ArtTechSpace if you need support
If you are a technician or freelancer:
* Know your worth — BECTU rate guidance at bectuarttechnician.com/arttechnicianpayrates
* Keep your skills and competencies documented
* Stay part of this conversation — your voice matters
If you are a funder or sector leader:
* Resource the development of shared technical standards
* Invest in workforce development as infrastructure, not an afterthought
Because art and artefacts don’t protect themselves. Skills do. And skills don’t build themselves either. They need investment, leadership and people willing to say — clearly and repeatedly — that this profession deserves better.
