£17m drive for heritage training placements

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) said 808 placements would be spread across 54 projects nationwide, in a move it hoped would "reinvigorate" the appeal of the heritage industry to jobseekers.

Training will include biodiversity-focused land management skills at the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, boat-building at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port and restoration of ironwork.

The chairman of the HLF, Dame Jenny Abramsky, 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.

"We're delighted to be supporting 54 projects – from learning how to digitise archives to conserving historic gardens – and we know that the range of placements on offer will attract people who might not previously have considered working in heritage."

The Minister for Tourism and Heritage, John Penrose, added: "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."