Foundation commits £29mn to heritage skills training in largest ever pledge to cause
Melanie May | 10 August 2023 | News
The Hamish Ogston Foundation has announced nearly £29 million in funding to heritage skills training in the UK and around the Commonwealth – marking the largest private commitment to the cause in history.
The funding is being shared between four organisations: English Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, Commonwealth Heritage Forum and Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship, and will support a range of training, from hands-on practical craft skills to strategy building, administration and financial planning for projects to preserve and protect historic buildings around the world.
Up to 2,700 heritage conservation apprentices and trainees will be financed by the grants, with 19 Commonwealth nations across five continents receiving funding, from Fiji and Bermuda to Pakistan and Ghana.
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Under the instruction of heritage conservation experts, the trainees will learn the centuries-old techniques required to maintain and repair historic buildings across these nations including stonemasonry, carpentry, joinery and flint knapping.
Buildings to benefit from the funding
The buildings include England’s Canterbury Cathedral and Bury St Edmunds Abbey Church Ruins and Abbey Gate, the Herbarium at the Botanic Gardens in Kolkata, India, and New Zealand’s Christchurch Cathedral.
Heritage funding awarded
The funding pledged breaks down as:
- £11.2 million to English Heritage for the establishment of The Hamish Ogston Foundation Heritage Craft Skills Resilience Programme
- £5.2 million to Historic Environment Scotland for the establishment of the Craft Your Career programme
- £11.5 million to the Commonwealth Heritage Forum for Phase 2 of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme
- £535,000 to the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship for Phase 5 of The Hamish Ogston Foundation Craft Training Programme
The 2,700 apprentices and trainees will learn specialist heritage conservation skills including:
- stonemasonry
- carpentry & joinery
- flint knapping
- painting
- plastering
- roofing.
Additionally, some trainees will receive business training and learn how to create financially sustainable historic places for the general public to visit and enjoy.
A total of £43 million has now been committed by the Hamish Ogston Foundation to heritage skills training, which is financing the training of up to 3,300 heritage conservation apprentices and trainees globally.
By funding heritage initiatives, it is Hamish Ogston’s goal to create financial sustainability in the heritage conservation sector, encouraging others to join the movement to protect historic buildings around the world for the enjoyment, benefit and appreciation of generations to come.
Commenting, Hamish Ogston, CBE, Founder of the Hamish Ogston Foundation said:
“A sustainable, future-facing ecosystem of heritage conservation expertise is what is needed to solve the chronic skills shortages and gaps in the heritage sector, and to ensure the survival of some of the greatest historic buildings around the world.
“With this new funding, we hope to establish such an ecosystem, so that more young people, no matter who they are or where they come from, can access the unique opportunity of a career in heritage conservation through one of our skills training programmes. We aim to inspire the industry and to establish a coherent and accessible training infrastructure for those looking to learn skills in heritage conservation.”
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- £40 million fund launches for at-risk heritage assets (2 July 2021)
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.