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Heritage Lottery Fund: £17 million boost for Skills for the Future |
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On Tuesday (8 June), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced it will be investing £17 million in 54 projects under its Skills for the Future programme. Launched in July 2009, Skills for the Future supports organisations across the UK to create new training places within the sector. Grants range from £100,000 to £1million for a number of traineeships over a period of up to five years, with an emphasis on high-quality work-based training.
The £17m announced on Tuesday will deliver 808 placements, and adds-up
to 780 years' worth of paid training opportunities for people seeking a
career in heritage. The funding will not only support traditional
conservation training, but also a wide variety of more contemporary
skills; such as managing volunteers and using social media to engage new
audiences with heritage. Newly appointed Heritage Minister John
Penrose, who attended the launch at the British Museum on Tuesday
morning, said: “This investment is a great way of giving people access
to practical on-the-job training, at a time when we need to do all we
can to give people a helping hand to follow their careers. Making sure
we have a skilled workforce for the future will also help to protect the
very best heritage from our past."
Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the HLF, said: "When the recession
kicked-in last year we thought very hard about how the Heritage Lottery
Fund could make a difference to people's lives at a time of real need.
The answer was an innovative and ambitious programme focusing on
equipping people with practical skills to help them secure future
employment. We have been astounded by the response, which clearly shows a
great hunger for skills training within our sector.” To support the launch, a vodcast has been produced, which includes our 2009/10 intern, Leanne Tonkin, at the People's History Museum. Watch it here .
A full list of the 54 projects, can be found on the HLF website . Those who may be interested in applying for a
placement with one of the 54 projects can read more here . Placements will commence towards the end of
2010/beginning of 2011. The full HLF press release can be accessed here .
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