Funding award to support heritage skills training in Lincolnshire

Posted:

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded grant funding to Lincolnshire County Council’s Heritage Service under its Skills for the Future programme.

The Heritage Skills project will aim to conserve vital heritage skills by training people in crafts that will help to maintain heritage buildings, such as heritage brickwork, lead work, lime mortar work and joinery. The council will work closely with Lincoln Cathedral and the Heritage Lincolnshire Trust to offer 12 and 18 month apprenticeships at a variety of locations, including the Heritage Skills Centre at Lincoln Castle, and Lincoln Cathedral.

The council has been awarded £15,000 in the first phase to develop the project. If successful in phase one, Heritage Lottery Fund will award £585,000 to deliver the full programme.

Cllr Nick Worth, Executive Member for Heritage and Culture, said:

“We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. The heritage service already offers hands on experience and training through taster days, short courses and demonstrations in craft, conservation and traditional building skills. This gives us a chance to build a wider programme to fill the skills gap and preserve endangered heritage crafts.”

 

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

“There is no quick fix to this problem. The heritage sector has been slow in widening the profile of its work force and as a consequence is on a long-term learning curve. We wanted to build on the legacy of our existing targeted skills funding – £47m to date – and make a further financial commitment of just over £10m. Why? Because we know the Skills for the Future programme can drive successful and lasting change. It’s simple yet highly effective: trainees paired with experts gain access to knowledge plus practical, paid, on-the-job experience.”

 

Back