Taster Day

The Sussex Heritage Trust is delighted to announce an exciting new programme to encourage more young people into building conservation and the construction industry.

Working in partnership with the Chichester College Group, Weald & Downland Living Museum and South Downs National Park Authority, we will be offering 40 young people from the College a ‘Taster Day’ opportunity to try out building conservation crafts at the Museum in early June 2024.

“With the bursary and these courses, you get to learn from top quality craftsmen. For us to have the opportunity to learn this at such as young age is a really good experience… what you walk away with is amazing. You can get a job for life with the skills they teach you.”

Callum, 24, Stonework – 2022 bursary recipient

Taster Day

Impact Report 2024

View Flipbook

Learn from Experts

Each student will try their hand at four different building conservation skills and trades, supported by expert practitioners:

Conservation Skills

  • Brick making
  • Wattle and Daub
  • Hurdle Making
  • Practical Timber Repairs

©Weald & Downland Living Museum

Survival

You might have heard of the work Heritage Crafts have been doing with reporting on Endangered Crafts and the likelihood they will survive into the next generation. Shockingly, the list features 40 building conservation crafts, 20 of which are listed as endangered or worse: unless something is done, there will not be enough young people training in these trades for them to survive into the future.

VIEW REPORT

Hurdle Making

©Weald & Downland Living Museum

Free Places at Short Courses

We want to show the next generation of builders that there are exciting opportunities in the construction and building conservation sectors. A critical part of this is working with the industry to develop a professional pathway through apprenticeships and work placements.

Following the Taster Day, the Sussex Heritage Trust will offer free places at short courses in building conservation through our Bursary Scheme and connect with training and apprenticeship opportunities with industry partners, providing a pathway to further employment.

Contact Us

Wattle & Daub

©Weald & Downland Living Museum

In partnership with:

With thanks to the generous financial support of