The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) has secured vital funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop a new training scheme following its pioneering programme ‘Building Traditional Skills -Building Resilience, Building Community.’
NHTG writes:
The new scheme offers crucial bursary-funded training placements to people of all ages and backgrounds looking to either enter, or progress within, the arena of heritage building crafts. It also helps to arrange and provide a wide range of courses and qualifications for its trainees, or for those already working within heritage building businesses and organisations. This latest funding win means that over the next two years NHTG will offer a total of 30 placements to carefully chosen individuals, each of whom will enjoy on-the-job training in their chosen heritage craft discipline
In line with its goal of building lasting resilience in traditional building companies, BTS also provides crucial training to help businesses market themselves more effectively, and to develop skills for carrying out building and restoration work within strict heritage guidelines. NHTG Interim Chief Executive, Karen Houghton, outlined plans for the scheme’s future, ‘We’ll further improve the services that we give to placement providers as well as trainees, building heavily on our previous experience and successes. We want to expand and improve the training available to the placement providers we work with, as well as encouraging more reflection among our trainees. We’re also very keen to help our trainees build dynamic and successful career portfolios, and that means we’ll be helping them to embrace increasingly important tools like social media.’
One of 60 trainees already benefiting from the BTS previous scheme is Sally Fraser, an aspiring blacksmith currently learning the trade with the help of an HLF funded placement. Sally has plans to grow a blacksmithing business of her own, and explained, ‘Having the BTS scheme behind me hasn’t just helped me gain vital skills and confidence, it’s made starting my own business possible on a practical level. Without it, I just wouldn’t have had the finance or flexibility to fit all the training in around my busy day-to-day life.’
The confirmation of future funding is extremely welcome news for NHTG, as board member Paul Simons commented, ‘This latest announcement is a great confidence boost for NHTG, not least because it marks clear support for the aims of the BTS scheme and its success to date. Since funding is always heavily dependant on measurable outcomes, the fact that we’ve got the go-ahead means that the NHTG is having a very tangible impact on real lives, and also that we’re able to prove it.’
NHTG Chairman Ray Robertson added, ‘I am delighted to see HLF recognition and support for the NHTG in its determination to further develop the awareness and appreciation of our heritage sector. We have a fresh opportunity to engage with those interested in developing or acquiring the skills and knowledge to become the craftspeople of tomorrow in order to properly preserve our architectural inheritance. I applaud the efforts of the NHTG team in successfully securing the funding to enable us to address this specific and vitally important area.’
