Extra Funding for Skills Programme

29 May 2012

The RCAHMS Skills for the Future programme is set to benefit from an additional Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Grant of £292,400. The grant will allow for an increase in total trainee numbers from 21 to 34, and for the length of programme to extend from three years to four.

The news comes as the HLF announced a further investment of £13.6m in 51 skills projects through its Skills for the Future and Training Bursaries programmes.  This money will deliver 788 new placements across the UK, adding up to 700 years’ worth of paid training opportunities for people seeking a career in heritage.  It will not only support traditional conservation training but also a wide variety of more contemporary skills, such as using social media to get people involved in heritage.

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the HLF, said, “This extra money expands our tailored skills programmes at a time when demand for training opportunities is extraordinarily high.  The Heritage Lottery Fund has been championing work-based placements for a number of years and we are pleased to be able to give even more financial support through the Training Bursaries and Skills for the Future programmes. Together, they are on course to deliver 2,200 training places by 2015.  This is good news for the heritage sector which a decade ago feared that many key skills would be lost.”

Rebecca Bailey, RCAHMS Head of Education and Outreach, said "We have had a very strong response to Skills for the Future since it began in 2010 - last year alone we received over 350 applications for seven traineeships. The trainees we have had to date have all been enthusiastic, talented and passionate about developing a career in heritage, and we are very proud that five of our first group are now in permanent employment in archive and heritage organisations.

"The skills that the trainees are developing are making a difference not just to their own lives, but also to the wider cultural landscape of Scotland."

You can follow the work of the current trainees throughout the year on their own blog and Twitter feed.