Newly Skilled Craftspeople Get Ready To Save Our Built Heritage
09 December 2008, Some of the future stars of the UK’s built heritage industry gathered to celebrate their achievements on Tuesday 9th December, after completing the rewarding Traditional Building Skills Bursary Scheme. The prestigious awards evening was held this year at the Tower of London, the most visited heritage attraction in the UK.
The 23 bursary-holders from around the UK heard speeches from Bill Martin, Conservation Director, English Heritage and were presented with certificates by Dr Jo Reilly, Head of Participation and Learning at the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Seamus Hanna, Heritage & Conservation Manager at ConstructionSkills said: “The Traditional Building Skills Bursary Scheme has received glowing reports from industry professionals, specialist workers and the trainees themselves, and has proved itself an excellent scheme offering practical training opportunities to those wanting to work in traditional building skills. This scheme aims to ensure that more people are taking up these traditional building crafts that are so important to preserving the country’s heritage buildings.”
Seamus continues: “The awards ceremony was a great way to honour the way that the trainees have embraced the opportunities open to them and recognise the indispensable support provided by the businesses and individuals that have been involved and the wider built heritage sector.”
According to the latest reports by the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG), backed by ConstructionSkills and English Heritage, the future of the five million pre-1919 buildings in England could be at risk because of the serious skills and knowledge gaps affecting specialist workers in England and building professionals working in the UK built heritage sector.
The Bursary, worth £1.2m, is designed to help address the high skills needs currently being encountered in the heritage sector and is being largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (£900,000) and is being run in partnership with ConstructionSkills, the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG), English Heritage, The National Trust and Cadw.
The scheme is designed to assist both craftspeople with transferable skills and knowledge already working in the main construction industry, and career changers who are seeking to obtain particular traditional building skills or experience in the heritage sector by funding and facilitating training placements with contractors and organisations. The main skills that the bursaries will be aimed at include brickwork, carpentry and joinery, fibrous plaster, lime plaster, stone masonry and conservation, leadwork, traditional roofing, painting and decoration, earth building and blacksmithing.
Clara Willett, Bursary Scheme Manager comments: “We are keen to work with employers who want to host placements and to hear from those keen to develop their skills in order to work in the heritage sector. This Scheme will benefit businesses, individuals and the wider built heritage sector.”
The Bursary Scheme is open to businesses of all sizes and to help craftspeople, trainees and career changers work towards gaining NVQ3 (or equivalent) in relevant heritage skills.
New placements are available regularly and individuals can sign up to the Scheme’s e-newsletter to keep them informed of these and general progress. More information is available from the scheme’s website http://www.buildingbursaries.org.uk/.
Marsh Awards
Also at the same event, Bob Turner and George Terry were awarded the prestigious Marsh Award, for an outstanding contribution to their craft and an outstanding contribution to training respectively, by The Marsh Christian Trust in conjunction with ConstructionSkills and English Heritage. The award celebrates the achievements of an individual craftsperson for outstanding work within the UK Built Heritage sector.