Salaries

Niccolo Caldararo has highlighted an important issue for our
profession: low salaries (Conservation DistList Instance: 27:28
Saturday, January 4, 2014).  Icon's Conservation Labour Market
Intelligence Research 2013 has discovered that the median salary
(for full-time conservators) earned in conservation (UKP26,000) is
about the same as that of the UK workforce as a whole (UKP26,500)
but a full UKP10,000 less than the national median earned in other
professional occupations.  While it is very challenging to do so in
an environment of economic austerity, Icon's aim is to influence
salaries in the right direction.  Icon will not advertise posts that
are remunerated at levels below our recommended salary minima.
However, these are currently very out of date and we have set up a
Task and Finish Group to propose new salary minima levels to the
Icon Board for approval in March 2014.

Regarding the matter of accreditation, it is true to say that
individual accreditation does not necessarily carry with it a larger
salary, however over time, the accreditation of conservators should
provide justification for rewarding conservators appropriately for
their professional skills.  Icon is putting extra resources into the
promotion of accreditation to employers, commissioners, and
insurers, in order to gain more recognition for our industry quality
mark.  Conservators can help by always referring to their accredited
status in their communications.

Alison Richmond
Chief Executive Icon, The Institute of Conservation


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:29
                Distributed: Saturday, January 11, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-29-003
                                  ***