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With the ever-changing demand for skills, The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) has identified a national crisis in the availability of traditionally-skilled craftsmen.

 

The construction industry is the country’s largest employer, covering a wide range of disciplines and skills and employing over 2 million people. Our built heritage is all around us; it is vital that we preserve the distinctive national and regional styles that enrich our land and townscapes. A high quality of craftsmanship and a specialist workforce is needed to meet the unique challenges of our historic buildings.

 

The Heritage Academy:

“Demand is outstripping supply and increased recruitment strategies are required to attract the estimated 6’590 craftspeople needed to solve the current skills shortage.” (National Heritage Training Group 2005)

 

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Stone MasonryStone Masonry

 

Stonemasons prepare, cut, trim and fix stone and blocks for a variety of purposes including the repair and maintenance of historical buildings and monuments; the production of architectural features such as window frames, lintels, archways and ornamental garden pieces; cladding for new-build construction projects; and the creation of memorial headstones for the funeral sector. Stonemasons work with a range of materials such as sandstone, slate, marble and granite.

 

There are two main roles:

Banker masons cut and shape stonework with a range of hand and power tools, working from templates and moulds, to give it a textured or polished finish (dressing), in accordance with design plans; they may also be involved in carving figures, lettering or pattern-work.

 

Fixer masons work on site, setting out and bedding down the pre-prepared stone or cladding with mortar or specialist fixings, following architects' blueprints; they also deal with the repair of existing stonework.

 

Skills and Interests

To be a stonemason you should:

Training

Mandatory units include the preparation of materials and the work area, followed by optional units for:

By 2010, workers within the construction sector must hold a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or be registered with an affiliated scheme. Many construction firms and their clients already insist that operatives hold a relevant CSCS card to work on site. To receive a card, a worker must hold an NVQ/SVQ or acceptable equivalent and pass a health and safety assessment.

Cards are graded according to qualifications and experience. Experienced workers without formal qualifications can use On-Site Assessment and Training (OSAT) or Experienced Worker Practical Assessment (EWPA) to achieve an award.

 

Opportunities

Masons are employed by stonemasonry and construction companies. If working for a small firm, a mason would be expected to cover both banker and fixing duties. Some masons are self-employed, sub-contracting their services to larger building firms.

 

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Lime plasteringLime Plastering Practical Course

Lime is a traditional and environmentally-friendly building material that was largely replaced by cement during the 20th Century, but is now coming back into fashion. Various types of lime are used in building as mortars, renders, plasters, slurries and washes. All are made from limestone, which is a sedimentary rock made from the dead bodies of sea creatures that produce calcium carbonate (coral, shellfish, some planktons). Most limestone was laid down in the Cretaceous period (60-150 million years ago).

A 5 -day course for modern (gypsum and cement) plasterers, providing an introduction to lime plastering . The course covers the use of fat lime and hydraulic lime for masonry, repointing, plasterwork, rendering and roughcasting.

 

Students will be using different materials (riven lath, sawn lath, reed) and practising 3-coat lime plastering which covers the pricking-up coat, the floating coat and the setting coat.

 

Practise is done on walls and ceilings.

 

This is a chance to meet skilled craftsmen who have been using lime for decades. These are practical experts, not just theorists, and you are encouraged to get hands-on experience of a wide variety of skills. Subject covers:

 

• Why use lime?

• Slaking

• Analysing and mixing plaster

• Roughcast

• Hydraulic Lime

• Limewash

 

Fibrous Plastering (this course is delivered by request only)
You will be responsible for creating often complex ornamental decoration such as domed ceilings and mouldings. These internal features were popular in both grander buildings as well as everyday buildings in villages and towns. So you can expect to be involved with conserving or repairing a variety of decorative features.

 

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Dry Stone WallingDry Stone Walling

 

Who can do the qualifications?

Developed in association with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, the Level 1 Certificate in Dry Stone Walling and Level 2 Certificate in Dry Stone Walling aim to include:

What do the qualifications comprise?

The qualifications consist of a single unit titled 'Strip down and rebuild a section of dry stone wall'. For level 2 this incorporates a straight end or cheekend.

The unit is divided into a number of parts:

Part 1

Strip down dry stone wall and prepare for rebuild

Part 2

Prepare for and lay foundations for dry stone walls

Part 3

Building and packing of dry stone walls

Part 4

Place and pack throughstones

Part 5

Set and secure copestones/ toppings

Level 2 only

Part 6

Building the cheekend / wallhead

 

How are the qualifications assessed?

Assessment is by a practical test requiring candidates to strip down and rebuild a section of dry stone wall not less than 1 metre in height and totalling 2.5 square metres and be completed in the presence of Examiners within a period of seven hours. For level 2 the wall must incorporate a straight end or cheekend.

 

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ThatchingThatching

 

Thatchers are skilled craftspeople who roof, re-roof and repair thatched properties. They have to conform to strict rules governing the materials and methods they use in order to preserve the building in its original form.

 

The preparation of the roof and materials before work starts is vitally important. When starting a job, thatchers:

Thatchers secure bundles of straw or reed to the roof battens using tarred cord or metal hooks fixed to the roof timbers. They work section by section, starting at the eaves and working up to the ridge along the top. They secure the courses as they move up the roof, and fix the ridge in position with hazel strips and hooks. They shape the ridge into patterns, which can be quite intricate.

Thatchers use a range of cutting and fixing tools, including:

Skills and Interests

 

As a thatcher you should:

You may need to relocate to an area where thatching skills are in demand.

 

Training

You receive on-the-job training with day or block release leading to NVQ/SVQ qualifications. You work towards NVQ in Roofing Occupations (Thatching) at levels 2 and 3. Units include:

In Scotland, you work towards SVQ Thatching at Level 2.

The National Society of Master Thatchers has a membership scheme with various grades for experienced thatchers and trainees, and associate membership for those who simply have an interest in the craft.

 

Opportunities

Most thatchers are self-employed, working alone or with one partner, one trainee and/or one labourer.

 

Most thatched buildings are in specific rural areas of the country, such as the West Country, East Anglia and the Midlands. Small numbers of thatchers work in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

 

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