This funding will provide work-based training and skills development opportunities in England to equip people for a career in the built heritage sector or expand and improve their knowledge and skills sets. This will be achieved by the NHTG working with English Heritage, The National Trust, ConstructionSkills and regional Heritage Skills Groups.
The project will offer 60 variable-length traditional building skills placements, available towards the end of 2010/beginning of 2011 This will greatly enhance the capacity of the built heritage sector to deliver sustainable training and share good practice through a range of training – from taster courses, Heritage Specialist Apprenticeship Programmes and mentoring – leading to recognised heritage skills qualifications. Training and live site-based work experience will be available for people from new entrants, career changers and those looking to up-skill from mainstream construction covering beginners right up to the pinnacle of master crafts status.
The live, site-based training opportunities will be developed with regional Heritage Skills Groups in England to ensure that there is suitable geographic spread.
This project complements the existing Lottery-funded Traditional Building Skills Training Bursary Programme which English Heritage has run for the last four years, delivering a wide range of skills training – including blacksmithing, botanic gardening, stone masonry, thatching and book conservation. Over 700 placements have been created providing accredited work-based training with highly-skilled crafts people and environmental specialists.
In November 2004, English Heritage and ConstructionSkills signed the first ever Sector Skills Agreement for the historic environment sector co-ordinate the development of traditional building craft skills in England to continue working together to address the skills needs of the sector.
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