We believe that heritage can enhance life, and that helping people develop heritage skills can prepare them for a future of worthwhile employment in a sector that desperately needs skilled professionals.

With that in mind and enabled by the support of The Heritage Lottery Fund, we have developed and trialled a teaching module which can be offered to young people in colleges offering vocational skills such as bricklaying and pluming.  These young people have been introduced to the heritage sector for the first time and have been inspired, in ways we could not have imagined, to engage with heritage.

PARTNERING WITH THE HERITAGE SECTOR

Integrating Commercial Practice into Heritage Skills Training

Heritage skills specialists who are drawn from the commercial sector, many of whom run their own businesses- with day-to-day experience working on historic buildings. Their commercial work is used to inform and inspire the course, broadening the curricula to enable a rich and diverse understanding of our built heritage and the skills necessary for its preservation and care.

Workshop-Informed Curriculum Design

It is important to connect with commercial heritage craft businesses to shape the module curriculum so that it responds to sector needs, and to facilitate potential engagement and/or employment opportunities for the students with heritage workshops.

Towards a Collaborative Training Network

We would like to build a network of training and education partners to develop a curriculum that is flexible and responsive- putting commercial heritage projects at the core of the learning process and filling real skills gaps by ensuring the course content remains relevant and transferable. This network would also facilitate a sustainable “off-cut” scheme, whereby workshop “waste” material (excess stone, wood, glass etc) is collected for student use- giving them the opportunity to work with a range of materials.

THE TRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS MODULE

In partnership with East Riding College, we developed an enrichment module which teaches traditional skills. It is called the Traditional Occupations Module (TOM).

Through this module we aim to:

  • Promote engagement with St Mary’s Church through heritage skills education and outreach
  • Increase understanding of our built heritage, traditional skills and heritage conservation
  • Inspire the learner to pursue a deeper knowledge of the field and to consider a career in the sector
  • Mitigate barriers to participation in the sector with an inclusive, flexible curriculum
  • Develop the skills that are most needed to protect and preserve our cultural heritage.

THE COURSE FRAMEWORK

The TOM module is an introductory, hands-on heritage training course designed to engage learners with the foundational skills, tools, and techniques essential to the care and conservation of historic buildings. Rooted in practical learning and inclusive access, TOM offers an immersive pathway into the world of heritage skills and conservation.

At the heart of this framework is a collaborative partnership connecting three key elements:

·  An education provider, delivering tailored learning and support

·  An historic building, providing a real-world context and site for hands-on experience

·  Heritage skills workshops, offering expert-led practical training

Collaboration between these three components forms the foundation for the success of the TOM module, ensuring learning is relevant, engaging, and deeply connected to authentic conservation practice.

Working closely with departmental tutors to accommodate learner’s needs, the module provides an opportunity to unlock potential new avenues of professional engagement for individuals who may not have had access to heritage skills education, or who may feel that the knowledge embodied in our heritage landscape, including buildings, is not available to them.

You can find out more about the details of the course structure by clicking here – The Course Structure and Curriculum