Simon Hancock AMA

Curator, Haverfordwest Town Museum

I have been curator at Haverfordwest Town Museum since 1998. I did the AMA because I was keen to move my practical skills on to a professional footing, benchmarking my knowledge and experience by undertaking a structured programme of goals, development plans and continuous professional development.

I have gained really valuable insights into so many aspects of museum practice with which I had only been vaguely familiar before. I met a number of museum professionals from a variety of backgrounds – local authority, national and independent.

Progressing through the AMA has increased my knowledge, skills, understanding and confidence as a museum professional and enhanced my job satisfaction and performance.

In terms of impact on my day to day work, I have found that our procedures and processes work better. For my work-based project I collated a code of practice entitled Working More Effectively Together with Volunteers. It has really improved our working and we have recruited six new volunteers since April.

I can thoroughly recommend the AMA to others. It opens your eyes to the wider museum world around you and improves your knowledge and skills. It could not be better and more worthwhile in terms of boosting self-awareness, confidence and personal development.