Local constituency MSP Finlay Carson warned last year that a chronic shortage of traditional heritage skills could become a crisis due to a lack of training opportunities.
Now Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has this week confirmed fears that some skills such as thatching, traditional stained and leaded glass making, agricultural blacksmithing and stonemasonry could be most at risk of disappearing.
It is working with the Institute of Conservation and partners to develop a new risk register to start a national conversation about the issue as well as highlight the lack of training facilities.
The Galloway and West Dumfries MSP believes urgent action is needed to ensure there are more training opportunities are there for young people wanting to learn these skills and forge a viable career option.
He said: “Before the pandemic, Scotland’s historic environment contributed £4.2 billion to our national economy, and HES cares for more than 300 properties that are of national importance, including many in Dumfries and Galloway.
“After visiting the Rebuild project in Whithorn I learned how vital it is to attract and retain fresh young talent to work in Scotland’s heritage sector, while, crucially, creating jobs at the same time.
“I met also with students at the North West Campus in Dumfries as well as pupils at Stranraer Academy to see if there was any appetite to learn such skills.
“Encouragingly many expressed an interest but were not aware of the need for such skills in stonemasonry or carpentry.”
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP praised the excellent work that the Whithorn Trust is undertaking with its trainees and believes its model should be rolled out across Scotland.
He continued: “The talent is there and young people need to be encouraged to broaden their horizons when it comes to employment opportunities.
“The trainees I spoke with were relishing the challenges of learning heritage skills that if we are not careful could disappear if we don’t make it an attractive alternative.”
It comes as a YouGov poll commissioned by HES found that the vast majority of Scots think it is important that more people learn the skills required to preserve the historic environment.
Similarly, the survey found also that 82 per cent think it is important that there is adequate training provision.
Quizzed which traditional skills they would consider learning themselves, 47 per cent opted for historic stained glass making, 33 per cent said stonemasonry, while 32 per cent said blacksmithing.
Mr Carson believes Scotland needs to scale up its training opportunities in heritage skills as demand is rising rapidly due to the need to repair and retrofit traditional buildings.
He explained: “We need a concerted effort to attract young people into the sector from schools, colleges and universities as well as encouraging skilled workers and career changers to consider this vital field.
“It is clear that traditional skills are not just about conserving the past but they are crucial to Scotland’s future.”
