NO FUTURE: FROM MSC schemes to Master of Science Courses
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 23/01/2021

The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was set up by Ted Heath in 1973 and ran till 1990. During that time its role was to help reduce the unemployment figures. It did this through community projects, which could be in any area e.g. archaeology, environmental work etc., so long as lip service was paid to training. To participate you had to have been unemployed for a year, unless in a management position in which case that was waived. On most archaeology projects there was a clear class divide between university educated mainly middle class archaeologists who supervised and managed the projects, and unemployed working and under class people who were there to labour.

The authors come from white working class backgrounds and both started work in archaeology via MSC schemes in the early 80’s. Both have had long careers within different archaeological sectors. Sherlock now works as an advisor to Highways England on a variety of road projects currently the A14, Hoaen as an academic primarily in widening participation.
Both have run community archaeology projects such as the long running Street House project (Sherlock) and the Matterdale Archaeological project (Hoaen and Loney).


In this paper we want to reflect on the impact that MSC schemes had and continues to have on contemporary archaeology and our own histories as working class archaeologists. We will discuss our varying approaches to increasing access to the archaeological and heritage professions via our work as professional archaeologists, educators and community archaeologists. We will outline the major barriers to participation for working class and BAME groups and suggest ways to overcome them.


Andy Hoaen, Open University; Stephen Sherlock, Independent