Balthi du Plessis & Associates is committed to contribute to the uplifting of heritage standards in South Africa.

Presently there are very few training or tutoring facilities which specialise in heritage training in South Africa. Most of the existing courses cater for post-graduate education or provide conservation training only. There is however, a huge need for specialised training outside of these areas and especially for tutoring to heritage officials within their work place. We realised that training should not be linked to existing academic qualifications, but developed to suit the specific needs of employers and employees.

Balthi du Plessis has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of heritage and museology. He has been involved with the Post-Graduate Museology Course at the University of Pretoria since 1988 and lectured in Conservation and Exhibition design. He has also been a guest lecturer and external examiner for AAA School of Advertising, Vega Art School. Open Window Art Academy, RSA Technikon, Pretoria Technikon, Conservation courses of the Southern African Museum Association, University of Pretoria and WITS. He published articles and delivered papers on: Building Conservation and Restoration, Paper Restoration, Exhibitions, Museum Collections, Funds Generation, Marketing etc.

He has been involved in various capacities in the heritage sector as Curator, Researcher, Head of various Exhibition -,  Conservation - and Restoration Departments and has held different management positions including Manager of the National Cultural History Museum. (See CV)

The training courses are designed to facilitate individual needs based on clients’ requirements. All courses include a tutor scheme to ensure that the practical application of the theory can be monitored.
Courses include:

• General Museum Practises
• Museum Education
• Basic Conservation and Cleaning
• General Museum Up-keeping and Maintenance
• Exhibition Cleaning and Up-keeping
• Basic Research Practises including Oral Information
• Museum Planning and Basic Management
• Customised courses can also be developed to suit special needs