Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 18
First apprentices in stonemasonry and
carpentry & joinery get hands-on at
National Trust sites as new scheme
tackles heritage skills shortage
Apprenticeships in stonemasonry and carpentry & joinery are the first in new training scheme
thanks to funding from Hamish Ogston Foundation
l Heritage skills professionals at five Trust locations are mentoring the new recruits as part of a
programme to tackle the skills shortage
l Hands-on training for the apprentices has ranged from bridge repairs at Tattershall to letter carving
at Cotehele
l Next round of recruitment begins in April and the Trust hopes apprenticeship opportunities will
encourage a diverse range of young people to take up careers they may not have considered.
l
Seven apprentices are underway with their training in
heritage skills in stonemasonry and carpentry & joinery
at five National Trust places around the country.
An ageing workforce and lack of training opportunities
has led to a sharp decline in the traditional building and
heritage skills sector, putting the future of historic
buildings at risk.
The new apprenticeship scheme is aimed at tackling the
heritage skills shortage and is possible thanks to a grant
of £6.2 million from the Hamish Ogston Foundation to
train the craftspeople of the future.
Below, Hamish Ogston Apprentices - Callum and Teddy, stonemason
apprentices, at Hardwick Hall, credit NT Images-Annapurna Mellor
The scheme launched in September last year with the
first seven apprentices – five in stonemasonry and two in
carpentry and joinery, from Cornwall up to Yorkshire, and
they have already worked in their first 6 months with their
mentors on a variety of projects
Matt, a joinery apprentice based at Clumber in
Nottinghamshire said: “One of my first projects was
making a skylight. I’ve worked on windows from
Coughton Court, repairing and splicing in new pieces of
timber repairing sills. And at Tattershall we’ve been doing
structural repairs to bridges.”
Meanwhile, stonemasonry apprentice Tom has been at
Fountains in Yorkshire and explained: “…we’ve just done
a bit of dry-stone walling which has come out well,
