Heritage Counts 2007 - On Skills

Front Cover of Heritage Counts 2007 Heritage Counts 2007, the sixth annual survey of the state of the historic environment, was published on Wednesday 31 October revealing that many more skilled crafts people and professionals are needed to tackle the challenges faced by England’s historic environment. Heritage Counts is prepared by English Heritage on behalf of the Historic Environment Review Executive Committee and the Regional Historic Environment Forums and is a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the country’s heritage.

Speaking at the launch in the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said that although those parts of the designated heritage that we can measure are in a better position in 2007 than in 2002, this masks the true picture which includes what is happening to undesignated and locally important heritage and conservation areas. He said that skills were the key to tackling the main problems currently facing the heritage and outlined those as being:

• dealing with the most difficult buildings at risk;
• erosion of the character of conservation areas;
• the pressures of housing growth in the South;
• housing market renewal in parts of the North;
• climate change (the theme of Heritage Counts next year); and
• delivering heritage protection reform.

Simon Thurley said: “The message from this year’s Heritage Counts on skills is clear. There are a lot of really positive things happening on the ground, but the sector could, and indeed must, do a lot better. ”

Many good skills training schemes are already being run and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Trust, English Heritage in association with the Institute of Field Archaeologists, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). However:

• despite all the sector’s efforts there has been a 13% fall in the number of starting apprentices and trainees in heritage related craft skills in the last two years; and
• there is no shortage of action plans and training initiatives but not enough additional people are being trained as a result.

Simon Thurley cited the need for professional heritage skills as essential to the implementation of Heritage Protection Reform over the next few years. He then announced three commitments from English Heritage to tackling the skills shortage:

• English Heritage will take the lead in supporting local authorities throughout the Heritage Protection Reform implementation process. In conjunction with heritage sector partners and with local authorities English Heritage will identify the needs and provide the necessary training to local authority elected members and staff;
• thanks to English Heritage’s recent funding increase from the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), from next year it will be starting a new three-year graduate heritage training programme to help create the next generation of heritage professionals. Traineeships in historic buildings, archaeology and historic areas will be offered for young graduates in the hope that in three years they will be getting jobs in local authorities; and 
• extra money from the CSR will also enable English Heritage to progress some of the actions set out in Inspired! its campaign for historic churches. It will be working with the denominations and with the heritage sector to find ways of extending its successful pilot programme of Historic Churches Support Officers.

Simon Thurley concluded: “The next three years will be a challenging but exciting time for all of us in the sector. We need to take up the opportunities that heritage learning offers; we need to focus on the absolutely essential issue of craft and professional skills and we need to prepare ourselves for the arrival of the new Heritage Protection system. In doing all these things we will be transforming the way we think about our heritage and breaking down old and artificial boundaries to ensure that the past plays a positive role in enhancing the world we live in today.”

While skills was the main focus of Simon Thurley’s speech, he also mentioned that the message on heritage as an educational resource is more positive. This year’s Heritage Counts demonstrates robustly, using data from the DCMS’s Taking Part survey, that being taken to a heritage site as a child is the single most important factor influencing whether people visited as an adult. Simon Thurley called on the heritage sector to redouble its efforts with young people to ensure a sound foundation for the care of the heritage in the future.

The launch co-incided with one of the Greenwich Foundation’s Heritage Craft Skills Taster Days and guests were able to meet Year 10 BTEC Art and Design students from a local school trying out stone carving, gilding and faux marbling, fine examples of which can be seen in the Hall. The workshops are led by professional craftsmen and are intended to encourage students with an interest in art and design to consider careers in the built heritage sector.

Heritage Counts 2007, a summary and full report, can be found at www.heritagecounts.org.uk

Heritage at Risk

Simon Thurley also trailed a major new project for English Heritage starting in 2008. The launch of its new Heritage at Risk programme will help to quantify the effects of the challenges facing the historic environment. Drawing on the success of Buildings at Risk in focussing resources where they are most needed, Heritage at Risk will in time report regularly on all nationally designated heritage assets at risk and set a framework for locally designated assets such as conservation areas.