IHBC officers have roundly applauded the recent launch of the free online toolkit for traditional building skills, developed by The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT).
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘It’s great for communities, trainees, trainers and others to be able to take advantage of another critical tool to help them better understand and practice heritage work.’
‘And of course having a step by step guide to how to put traditional building skills and conservation training at the heart of built heritage projects is essential if everyone is to get more involved in heriatge, not only in its conservation, but also in securing a sustainable future for conservation practice itself.’
And of course this also chimes perfectly with the IHBC’s own forthcoming national conference, our Annual School, which will explore how communities and non-specialists can really help make a difference in caring our places. It’s called ‘People Power – Catalyst for Change’, aptly enough, and will take place in Worcester on 23-5 June.’
The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) writes:
The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) in partnership with The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) are proud to announce the online launch of their free Traditional Building Skills Training Toolkit. The Toolkit is a free resource that provides a step by step guide to putting traditional building skills and conservation training at the heart of built heritage projects. The simple approach will help organisations and community groups to consider all aspects of delivering training on a ‘live’ heritage conservation or restoration site.
This project is part of a drive to provide a sustainable future for our built heritage. It is recognised that the training and education of a new generation of skilled workforce is vital to ensure that our heritage buildings are properly rehabilitated, repaired and maintained to secure their lasting legacy.
NHTG and the CCT believe that on-site, practical training is effective and priceless. As part of a recent CCT regeneration project at All Souls church in Bolton, six paid training placements were funded on the project, by the NHTG ‘Building Traditional Skills’.
The Toolkit draws on the experience and learning from the All Souls Bolton project, the NHTG, and expertise from historic building and traditional materials consultants. It is hoped that the Toolkit will become an essential part of project planning documentation, and will help to ensure that training is central to any heritage building project in future.
Sarah Robinson, Director of Conservation for the CCT said ‘We are aiming to embed training, education and craft skills into our projects so that the end result is not just a conservation success, but a push forward in creating a sustainable animated workforce for the future of our heritage.’
Cathie Clarke, General Manager of the NHTG added ‘This Toolkit is a valuable new resource that has been made possible by the generosity of practicing building conservation and training experts for the benefit of the industry as a whole. We hope that clients, specifiers and contractors will rise to the challenge and use this Toolkit to offer training within all future built heritage projects.’
Early notice on the IHBC’s 2016 school
View the press release including information on CCT projects
View and download the toolkit
