From digitising archives to identifying species, these work-based training opportunities have been designed to include more contemporary heritage skills, such as using social media and developing digital material, as well as more traditional conservation skills.

HLF has earmarked funding totalling over £3million through its Skills for the Future programme for the projects which are being led by Museums Galleries Scotland, Scottish Council on Archives, National Galleries Scotland, Natural Networks and the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. 

First launched in 2009, Skills for the Future was originally planned as a one-off strategic initiative as a response to the impact of recession. Scotland has already benefitted from £3.77million investment through the programme, creating 162 placements.

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the demand for our Skills for the Future programme. The heritage sector is becoming more and more popular as a career option with demand for places far exceeding supply.

“There is also great demand from the organisations that run these programmes. Skills for the Future has enabled them to develop their training capacity and plug heritage skills gaps. Through championing work-based placements, we are giving people the experience and training to pursue a career in heritage while ensuring that the sector is in a strong position, given that a decade ago many feared that key heritage skills would be lost.”

Skills for the Future offers work-based training in a wide range of skills that are needed to look after buildings, landscapes, habitats, species, and museum and archive collections, as well as equipping people to lead education and outreach programmes, manage volunteers and use new technology. It's focus is on vocational learning, helping meet the skills shortages identified by heritage bodies. A new feature of Skills for the Future in 2013 is the inclusion of business skills, equipping new people to set up and run the next generation of small businesses that will sustain the industry. Through this programme HLF also continues to support organisations in diversifying their workforce, encouraging more young people or those from diverse cultural backgrounds to make their career in heritage.

Skills for the Future Programme
Projects that have received additional HLF support include:

Museums Galleries Scotland Traineeship Programme – Museums Galleries Scotland
Initial support for £432,900 HLF bid including £10,500 Development funding.
Museums Galleries Scotland aims to create a new route for non-graduate entry to the museum and galleries sector with a one year accredited vocational workplace training programme. The project will provide 20 trainees work placements in skills such as collections management, public programmes, volunteer management, digitisation and environmental management.

Opening Up Scotland’s Archives – Scottish Council on Archives
Initial support for £540,400 HLF bid including £27,000 Development funding.
Led by the Scottish Council on Archives, this project will bring together partner organisations to deliver training across the archives sector. The training will support service improvement and include skills such as digital preservation and digitisation, and developing a good understanding of medieval documentary Latin, old Scots and Gaelic to facilitate access to older documents.

Collections Online Traineeships – National Galleries of Scotland
Initial support for £613,000 HLF bid including £10,600 Development funding.
The National Galleries of Scotland will deliver ‘Collections Online Traineeships' to enable more of the Scottish national collection of photography and works on paper to be made available online. Driven by the increasing demand for collections to be made available online, twelve people between the ages of 18 and 24 will be recruited to undertake Collections Management for Online Delivery qualification, which will be developed specifically for this project.

Natural Networks – The Conservation Volunteers Scotland
Initial support for £733,800 HLF bid including £8,600 Development funding.
Natural Networks is a UK-wide programme that will provide 32 year-long placements in green network skills such as species identification, biological recording and habitat conservation techniques. In addition to the trainee placements, the programme will provide up to 9000 community-based learning opportunities, helping volunteers develop the skills and confidence to undertake stewardship of local green places.

The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community – ‘Young Heritage Apprentices’ 
Initial support for a £779,300 HLF bid, including £19,600 Development funding.
The Prince's Foundation for Building Community plans to train 36 young people aged 16-18 years-old in five traditional heritage skills: stonemasonry; carpentry; plastering; land crafts; and roofing. Each trainee will undertake a one-year course comprising two five-month placements and a range of short courses such as business skills. The project will address skills shortages identified by employers as well as heritage employers and will be specifically targeted at people in East Ayrshire where levels of poverty and unemployment are high.

For information about placements and project details please go to the Skills for the Future page.

Notes to editors

A first-round pass means the project meets the HLF criteria for funding and HLF believes the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.

On occasion, an application with a first-round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the development of their scheme.

Launched in July 2009, Skills for the Future is an HLF programme supporting organisations across the UK to develop vocational learning programmes. HLF has awarded grants totalling £47m under this programme enabling high-quality work-based training, the development of new qualifications and capacity building in the sector.

Further information

Shiona Mackay, HLF Scotland on 01786 870 638 or 07779 142 890 or Katie Owen, HLF Press Office on 020 7591 6036/6032 or 07973 613 820.

Fiona Brown, Museums Galleries Scotland on 0131 550 4100 or eithnenc@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk

Victoria Brown, Scottish Council on Archives on 0131 535 1362.

Michael Gormley, National Galleries of Scotland on 0131 624 6247.

Kerry Riddell, TCV Scotland on 01848 200 381 or 07827 873 773.