‘Skills for the Future’ at Stirling Castle
19 July 2012
Seven trainees in a UK-wide skills programme have been demonstrating what they have learned to key figures in the Scottish heritage industry.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Skills for the Future programme offers people from all walks of life the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the sector through year-long paid placements.
Based at RCAHMS, the trainees were selected from over 300 applicants in February 2012. They include the organiser of a walking tour on the Edinburgh serial killers Burke and Hare, a student of European languages, and a former Local Government customer services worker.
Held in a former ammunition store in the vaults of Stirling Castle, the event featured presentations and short films on how to curate and catalogue archive material, and how to inspire understanding and enjoyment of Scotland’s past. A demonstration of innovative education techniques included dressing up an audience member as a monk, blindfolding them, and asking them to identify herbs just by their sense of smell.
As part of the programme, the trainees have already undertaken placements outside RCAHMS at Stirling Castle, Newhailes House in East Lothian, the archives of the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Georgian House in Edinburgh, Callendar House in Falkirk, and Hawick Heritage Hub. Now they have had the chance to show their work to representatives from across the industry, including Historic Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland, the National Records of Scotland and National Museums Scotland – all potential future employers.
RCAHMS Skills trainee John Baxter said, “We have all learnt so much in the last five months. This event is a fantastic opportunity to meet some of the people at the top of the industry, and to share our passion for preserving and promoting Scotland’s heritage. Working as part of the Skills programme has the potential to open a lot of doors to help us find work in the sector in the future.”
Launched in July 2009, Skills for the Future has been supported by HLF grants totalling £26.8m across the UK. In May 2012, an additional investment of £2.2 million in Scotland was announced, with RCAHMS receiving an extra £292,400 to increase their total trainee numbers from 21 to 34, and extend the length of their programme from three years to four.
You can follow the work of the current trainees throughout the year on their own blog and Twitter feed.
