Heritage Trainees Showcase Skills in Stirling Castle “Gunpowder Vault”

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), 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 the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the seven 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.

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, Callendar House in Falkirk, and Hawick Heritage Hub.

Today they will have 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.