Training scheme will help traditional skills

October 28, 2019 | Culture

The Prince’s Foundation is launching a fully-funded nine-month training programme in collaboration with Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.

The Foundation has underlined its commitment to producing future generations of expert practitioners of traditional craft skills with the scheme.

The charity, whose headquarters are at Dumfries House in Cumnock, East Ayrshire, is seeking applications for the first intake of its new Building Arts programme, which will launch in February next year. It will be delivered alongside QEST, the charity supporting the training and education of individual craftspeople since 1990.

The course complements The Prince’s Foundation’s existing suite of built environment-related courses that attract students from all over the world, including an eight-month vocational Building Craft programme and summer schools designed to pass on a wide range of traditional skills and techniques.

Typically, graduates go on to work at heritage sites across the UK, where the skilled workforce is typically nearing retirement age and has traditionally not been backed by a succession of emerging skilled talent.

The Building Arts programme will be delivered at Dumfries House, the estate and 18th-century country house saved for the nation by The Prince of Wales in 2007.

Successful applicants will be drawn from disciplines in architecture, building crafts, decorative and applied arts, and will display a good level of proficiency in their individual area of practice. Fundamental to this is the desire to develop a broader understanding of the built environment and the craft of building.

Michael Goodger, built environment education manager for The Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House, said: ‘Students from a broad range of discipline areas will learn together, exploring both the interdisciplinary nature of architecture, the decorative arts and traditional craft, and the role that these practices can continue to play in shaping the world around us.

‘We hope to inspire a future generation of designers, artists, and makers to create a built environment which draws on a vast array of different skills, and celebrates the physical, temporal and even symbolic connections which can be realised through our buildings and places.’

Students embarking on the Building Arts programme will be fully-funded, receiving a full scholarship to cover course fees as well as a monthly £1400 bursary to help cover the cost of travel and accommodation.

Throughout the programme, students will take part in a series of lectures, visits and practical workshops that will demonstrate the holistic nature of our built environment, as well as expanding their hand skills, and ultimately refining their practice. Students will engage with the built environment from the perspective of the urban form and the people that occupy it, right down to the materiality and symbolism of its decoration and ornament.

Prince’s Foundation student Tom Stainer works on part of an obelisk to be installed at Poundbury

During a period of industry placements, students will have the opportunity to learn first-hand from master craftspeople new skills and expand their network as they carve their own path within the sector.

Deborah Pocock, CEO of QEST, said: ‘With nearly 30 years’ experience of supporting excellence in British craftsmanship, QEST is delighted, once again, to be collaborating with The Prince’s Foundation on this new and exciting programme. We will draw on our wide network of master craftspeople to ensure the skills that they have learnt are passed onto the next generation. This course presents a wonderful opportunity for students to learn from each other across a broad range of craft disciplines.”

Those interested in applying for the course can access more information and an application form at https://princes-foundation.org/building-arts-programme

Applications must be submitted by midday on Monday 4 November, 2019 to michael.goodger@princes-foundation.org

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) funds the education of talented and aspiring craftspeople through traditional college courses, apprenticeships or one-to-one training with master craftspeople. QEST was established to help support craftspeople of all ages, from all backgrounds, at a critical stage in their careers, thus sustaining the evolving tradition of British craftsmanship.

As a charity of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, QEST was established in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Association and the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. In May 2017 HRH The Prince of Wales became the charity’s Patron with Vice-Patrons The Earl of Snowdon and the Marquess of Salisbury. Since 1990 the Trust has awarded over £4.3 million to over 500 craftspeople, working across more than 150 craft disciplines including thatching, millinery, luthiery, enamelling, printmaking, textiles and much more.