Genuine professional development is key for developing staff on the frontline of delivering visitor experiences.

However, good training can be pricy, and many museum and heritage organisations are feeling the pinch right now.

If you fancy learning something new or bolstering your skills, here’s a list of some free resources across the web:

Association for Cultural Enterprises

The Association for Cultural Enterprises has it’s own Cultural Enterprise Academy, and it’s worth checking whether your organisation is a member, because there’s loads of great stuff on offer, from webinars with sector leaders to introductions to Mental Health First Aid. They have also just launched a new video series I created all about Visitor Experience issues, like Increasing Donations and Measuring Customer Service.

Museums Association

The Museums Association also runs it's own online training, but you have to be an individual member to access this. They already have courses on Working Ethically, Working with Collections and Working with Community Partner, and say they plan to add more in the future.

MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance your career and deliver quality educational experiences at scale.

Some of them are even run by museum and heritage organisations, such as these ones from Historic Royal Palaces or the V&A.

FutureLearn

You can access one course for free at FutureLearn (plus 14 days after the course finishes) making it a great option for short-term learning. There are loads of interesting art and history subjects covered, as well as practically useful topics for FOH staff, including this one on Understanding Autism.

MoMA

The Museum of Modern Art has a good variety of online courses that can be completed for free, including ones on contemporary art, fashion design and interpreting photographs.

British Sign Language

Sign language is an invaluable tool for any front facing staff. Find out more at www.british-sign.co.uk.