Next generation of talent championed during Heritage Careers Week

The festival of career events returned for its second year to spotlight opportunities in the heritage sector.

HES, in partnership with organisations across the sector, celebrated Heritage Careers Week from Monday 27 to Friday 31 October. The programme featured a mix of online and in-person events across the country, showcasing the wide variety of careers and employers in the sector – from conservation and archaeology to digital innovation and traditional crafts.

Highlights from the week included a careers fair at Edinburgh Castle, which welcomed over 100 attendees, and a hands-on skills taster day at The Engine Shed in Stirling, where 65 school pupils engaged directly with traditional craft experts. Caerlaverock Castle also hosted a live skills demonstration, giving young people in Dumfries and Galloway the chance to see heritage skills in action.

As a hub of digital innovation and heritage science, HES’s dedicated building conservation centre The Engine Shed hosted the skills taster event with schools from across the Forth Valley. In collaboration with more than 20 Scottish employers and Developing the Young Workforce, 65 young people had the opportunity to immerse themselves in interactive demonstrations including heritage science, thatching, blacksmithing, digital skills and stained glass.

Catherine Cartmell, skills investment plan manager at HES, said: “Heritage Careers Week helps people discover the diverse range of jobs available in Scotland’s heritage sector. These events give young people and adults a chance to get hands-on, meet the experts, and see how traditional skills continue to shape Scotland today.

“We’re facing a real shortage of these skills, but we hope this week’s activities will inspire the next generation to explore careers in the industry and keep these vital skills alive for years to come. History will soon be in the hands of the next generation.”

Heritage skills are essential in future-proofing Scotland’s historic sites and, in response to sector-wide skills shortages, events like The Engine Shed skills taster day aim to spark interest among young people and encourage them to consider a career in traditional skills.

Leona Hepburn, principal teacher for positive destinations and transitions at Falkirk High School, said: “Events like these give the pupils hands-on experience so that they can have a go at different trades, bringing the subjects to life. It’s really important that events like these continue and we get more of them, because they build the picture for young people; it makes them see the jobs that are real and tangible, and not just the classroom environment.

“The young people are always buzzing afterwards! They come away and they’ve had a completely different experience to what they would in the classroom, in a safe and controlled environment. The whole event is just a lovely way to see young people grow and flourish.”