The Heritage Crafts Association's second forum for traditional craftspeople took place at 45 Millbank, London, on Wednesday 11 May 2011.

• Skills Forum summary
• Skills Forum full report
• Speech from John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
• Blog report

Summary

The Heritage Crafts Association Craft Skills Forum brought together over one hundred delegates representing a broad cross-section of the sector. Many were the chairs or representatives of individual craft guilds and membership associations.

In small discussion groups delegates considered three key questions; comments were noted and collated in the full report and are summarised below. The questions were:

• What is working in craft skills training?
• What are the problems with current skills training?
• What needs to be done to address these issues?

In order to prioritise the recommendations each table selected up to five key points for action and delegates then chose the ones they thought were most important.

There were very strong messages but if it could all be summarised in one point it would be that the emphasis of craft skills training and funding needs to move away from bureaucratic training organisations and back to the craftspeople and the crafts guilds and membership organisations, and away from the formality of the classroom and into the practicality of the workshop.

Delegates were also keen to see craft back in mainstream education and also felt that a change in perception of craft was needed.

One delegate referred to her son’s school prospectus for metalwork GCSE which said ‘good choice for the less able student’ and compared this to the skills development of a concert pianist or Olympic diver which must begin at a young age.

The attitude of craft being suitable for the less able seems widespread yet previous surveys show that craftspeople are academically well above average with over 50 per cent of basketmakers and over 40 per cent of blacksmiths and green woodworkers qualified to level 5 and above.

Key points selected by delegates

The most important aspects of craft skills as chosen by delegates are as follows:

Sector-lead skills development

• Craftspeople or crafts organisations to take the lead in organising apprenticeships and their funding.
• Simplify the support structures, routes to public funding and access to information to ensure that small organisations can deal with them.
• Strengthen the HCA in its role as the advocacy voice for the sector and encourage it to work with like-minded bodies in the Heritage and Crafts sectors.

Workplace focused apprenticeship and informal adult learning

• Funding for adult returners/post 20 career changers to learn specific craft.
• Support informal learning including non-accredited and post-19.
• Craft training for all ages (not just 16-19 year olds).
• An introduction of serious, properly funded 3–5 year apprenticeships for young people to aspire to.

Primary and secondary education

• Making craft a part of education at all levels – particularly primary and secondary.
• Craft to be embedded in education from an early age – from primary onwards.
• National Curriculum needed to ensure that crafts are included and valued.

Change perception of crafts

• Government to change perception of crafts so that schools and parents see it as a worthwhile career.
• To improve the perception of crafts and technical skills by inclusion in the education of young people.
• Increase exposure and publicity for the crafts through local and national initiatives.
• Celebrating craft excellence from school to national masters of craft.

Key recommendations

• Crafts organisations should play a lead role in organising skills training and support and funding should be simplified to enable this.
• Crafts should be reintroduced to schools at all levels and shown as a viable career path.
• Facilitate entry paths for post-19 year olds with funded training.
• Change the perception of crafts. To be successful in craft requires years of dedication, training and intelligence, this should be recognised.

The Heritage Crafts Association is setting up a working group for Craft Skills. This will serve as a focus for ongoing work on the topics discussed and press for action on key recommendations. If you have time amd skills to offer this working group then please contact Greta Bertram at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it