The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) will detail the new arrangements for the operations there at its forthcoming 2012 conference ‘Making it happen’ on 18 October, and interested delegates and sponsors should follow up the contacts below if they would like to join in this major event.
The conference will take place at the National Trust’s Quarrybank venue near Manchester Airport, at which NHTG partners, volunteers and supporters will speak and exhibit. A small number of free delegate places is still available, on a ‘first come’ basis, as well as some great value sponsorship and exhibition opportunities.
If you are interested in a place at the conference please email your contact details to Karen Smith at karen.smith@cskills.org and we will let you know as soon as possible if there is a place available.
If you are interested in supporting the NHTG’s development, and gaining profile for your work across its membership through sponsorship there, please contact Seán O’Reilly at director@ihbc.org.uk
The statement from the NHTG reads:
New NHTG Goes Public at First Conference
In taking on the ‘exciting challenges faced by the sector’ new Chair Ray Robertson is looking forward to the first Conference of the National Heritage Training Group.
‘It will give us the opportunity to explain how we are restructuring the organisation to make best possible use of the phenomenal talent we have in our team’ he said.
The National Heritage Training Group was formed in 2002 as part of a Sector Skills Agreement between English Heritage and Construction Skills to investigate, identify and address the perceived skills shortages in the heritage sector of UK construction.
It has reported extensively on the state of the traditional building sector in each of the four home Countries and in doing so has identified alarming skills and age gaps, which it is in the process of addressing through a variety of initiatives.
‘There is a very real danger that the architectural legacy we have all inherited will not be available to future generations because of the lack of knowledgeable craftspeople.’ said Ray ‘We must make sure through our training and development programmes that skills and knowledge are passed on to today’s generation of potential experts whilst they have the opportunity to learn through their own experiences.’
‘That is only half the battle however’ he continued ‘because we also need to make sure that only those contractors with the appropriate skills and knowledgeable are given the responsibility of preserving our built heritage. We must overcome the current mindset of cost cutting, short term expediency and look instead towards long term value for money.’
The first NHTG Conference will be used to outline the new structure of the organisation including its plans for the £1.36M grant received from HLF to develop the Skills for the Future programme through training bursaries and placements. There will also be presenters from HLF on their proposals for the new grant framework, CADW on ‘Heritage Misunderstood’ and the NFRC on how they have recognised that heritage sites require specialist attention.
The first NHTG Conference is being held at the National Trust’s Quarrybank Mill in Styal nr Manchester on Thursday 18th October.
Admission to the conference is strictly limited, but there are some free places still available. Anyone involved in the traditional building skills sector is encouraged to put their name forward for selection, subject to space, to Karen Smith at karen.smith@cskills.org
To find out about sponsoring and display opportunities contact Seán O’Reilly at director@ihbc.org.uk
For more background to the conference see: LINK
For further details of the Skills for the Future project ‘Building Traditional Skills’ contact Karen Houghton, National Project Manager: t – 07515715485; e – karenhoughton1@me.com
