Project to protect the Dales

Young people from across the Dales are invited to be part of a project which aims to provide the next generation with the skills and experience to pursue a career in countryside management.
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Potential employers and young people aged 16 to 24 from the area are wanted for the new trainee programme, which will run for the next two years, courtesy of Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT).

According to the charity, young people across the region often struggle to find suitable employment locally and a recent decline in the number of people entering the countryside management sector has led to a shortage of young people with the skills necessary to maintain the Dales landscape in the future.

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Jo Boulter, a project officer for the new Dales Rural Trainee Scheme at the charity, said previous training programmes had been a success.

“We are delighted to be able to offer another group of local young people this potentially life-changing opportunity to forge an interesting new career for themselves in countryside management here in the Yorkshire Dales,” she said.

“It is wonderful to be able to help with the personal development of the next generation of custodians of this fantastic landscape.”

Those who sign up will be given hands-on work experience with local employers including private contractors, large estates and public environmental bodies. They will also study a level 2 qualification in an appropriate subject, such as environmental conservation, forestry, horticulture or game keeping.

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Opportunities will also be given for the apprentices to complete a specialist training course to gain certificates in the likes of chainsaw and brush cutter use, off-road driving, habitat surveying and tree planting.

The project is being supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation, Lord Swinton’s Charitable Trust and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Two trainees will also be given the chance to take placement with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Alan Hulme, the authority’s head of ranger services, said: “This is not just a fantastic opportunity for local young people, but also for employers. We have had a number of apprentices over the last 10 years and they bring a fresh outlook and ideas to our work. Staff also benefit by passing on their own skills and experiences in the knowledge that the countryside will be in safe hands for the future.”

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Organisations interested in employing a countryside apprentice, or individuals wanting more details about the scheme should contact Jo Boulter at YDMT on 015424 51002 before the closing date for applications on Thursday, September 19.

Last chance for upland farmers

Aspiring uplands farmers aged 18 and over have until Monday, September 30 to apply for a place at a new training academy.

Fresh Start, an industry led initiative backed by the Prince’s Countryside Fund, is opening an academy in partnership with the National Centre for the Uplands at Thirsk Auction Mart to provide ten train-ing sessions between Nov-ember and next February.

It aims to arm partici-pants with relevant entrepreneurial skills. For details, contact Graham Bulmer on 07734079459 or [email protected]

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