Heritage Engineering Apprenticeship Funding Given Green Light

Student funding for a Heritage Engineering apprenticeship course has been given approval. The apprenticeship had initially been allocated funding by the government in May, but this was insufficient to cover the course costs. Fortunately, an appeal has resulted in additional funding being approved, meaning that the course can go ahead this year as planned.

The course, run by Heritage Skills Academy, takes place at The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs’s dedicated facility at Bicester Heritage. It was first offered to students in 2014 and is now being relaunched in August 2018 to meet the government’s new Trailblazer criteria.

Created by a panel of restoration businesses and advice providers, the course has been designed to ensure that training meets the needs of the heritage sector. It places greater emphasis on preserving basic engineering skills and practices, including heritage aviation, marine, steam, and road vehicles. It will also be future-proofed to meet the growing needs of the historic sector by including a number of specialisms that are not currently available, such as Trim and Coachwork.

In the Autumn, the course will be opened up to older students, allowing those looking for a second career to apply, including former service personnel wanting a role in civilian life.

Brand new course

Skills Director, Karl Carter, said the Federation is delighted by the news. He said: “Two months ago we received the news that the Heritage Engineering Apprenticeship scheme we have been working on for over a year had been allocated a funding band which was insufficient to make the course financially viable to deliver.

“The difference between the funding and the delivery cost has to be paid by the employer on top of paying the apprentice salary and travel costs.

“We, therefore, appealed the decision and I am very pleased to confirm that the appeal was successful and we have been allocated a higher funding band which allows us to launch the new course in the Autumn.”

To find out more about the course, visit the Heritage Skills Academy website.