Meet the apprentices involved in reviving centuries-old careers with a little help from Historic Scotland

The guardian of Scotland’s ancient buildings, Historic Scotland, is leading a new charge in helping to re-establish some endangered skills – and bringing job hope to a new breed of young apprentices in the process.

The government agency announced in November that it was recruiting 30 new apprentices over the next three years, doubling its apprentice numbers. While many will learn the more modern trades of electrician and plumber, others will be taught skills such as stonemasonry and thatching.
And some, such as the agency’s painters, joiners and gardeners, will learn modern techniques using up-to-date tools alongside vital conservation skills and traditional methods.
According to director of 
conservation David Mitchell, the new generation of apprentices will not only help maintain the agency’s 345 historic sites across the country to the highest historical standards, they will also help keep alive endangered trades for future generations.
“Some skills in Scotland are close to dying out or have died out,” he says. “Thatching, for example, is in demand in rural areas, but is close to being lost completely. This is about these skills being lost, but also about raising our estate maintenance standards.”
Historic Scotland currently employs 350 craftsmen and women. READ MORE