News
Local Traditional Joinery Skills Boosted Through Heritage Training
CITB NI has hosted the first ever Heritage Specialist Apprenticeship Programme in Wood Occupations in Northern Ireland. 11 local experienced carpenters and joiners completed the first 10 days of a 20 day off-the-job training programme delivered at Nutts Corner Training Centre. The training programme focused on structured practical training to enhance trainee joinery skills for the traditional building sector.
The training will also include 11 months on-the-job training where the trainees will receive training and assessment with experienced heritage contractors including: the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, National Trust, National Museums NI, Millar Woodcraft, JRC Construction, The Ballykelly Group and Piperhill Construction Limited leading to the achievement of the Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Heritage Skills (Construction) – Wood Occupations. They will also be mentored by experience heritage ambassadors/mentors throughout the training programme.
Also as part of this programme, 3 College lecturers, Alex Boyd, South West College, Kieron Flannery, Belfast Metropolitan College and Raymond Palmer, South East Regional College have commenced the Training the Trainers CPD programme and will assist in the delivery of the off-the-job training programme so that the Heritage Specialist Apprenticeship Programme can be rolled out in their respective colleges to interested carpenters and joiners who want to upskill into the heritage sector of the construction industry in Northern Ireland.
The training was organised by CITB NI, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund through their Skills for the Future programme and delivered by The Traditional Building Skills Company.
Barry Neilson, Chief Executive, CITB NI said, “Our built heritage really matters, flexible on-site training schemes and obtaining relevant heritage qualifications are essential to preserve our vast range of historic properties. This project will provide an opportunity for craftspeople to obtain a recognised heritage qualification, widen the scope of their construction activities making them more employable, but crucially it will increase the skills base of the construction industry in Northern Ireland It has been great to see the enthusiasm of the trainees attending the training over the last two weeks and to witness some of the traditional joinery practices that they are being taught.”
For more information on the this project and the other heritage work we do log on to http://www.citbni.org.uk/Heritage.aspx keep up to date with the project on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CITBNorthernIreland and follow the discussion on Twitter @CITBNI.
Photo caption 1 – Amanda Stevenson, CITB NI with Heritage Wood Occupation Trainees and lecturers at the Heritage Specialist Apprenticeship Programme