Ben Lawers welcomes apprentices

Jamie and Tony are both graduates of the Dùn Coillich Rural Skills Traineeship, which has been running since 2016. It runs one day per week for six months and aims to train local young people in Perth and Kinross.

They have now been accepted onto a new Modern Apprenticeship programme developed by the Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership.

The partnership includes the National Trust for Scotland, Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust (HPCLT), Forestry and Land Scotland, and the Dalchosnie & Kynachan Estate. Jamie and Tony will work between each organisation four days per week over 12 months.

HPCLT has orchestrated the programme with support from the other bodies. They will host the apprentices for 40% of their time, while the pair will work at Ben Lawers for 25% of the programme, or one week per month.

With backing from Rural Skills Scotland, the programme will receive an ongoing review from a Scottish Vocational Qualification assessor and full support from supervisors across the partner organisations. After the training, Jamie and Tony will qualify with a Modern Apprenticeship in Rural Skills SCQF Level 5.

Andrew Warwick, Ranger at Ben Lawers, said: ’This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Trust taking Ben Lawers into its care, and we have so much conservation and engagement work taking place across the estate. We are well-known for conserving diverse mountain flora, and we are one of the most important sites in Great Britain for rare mountain plants, lichens, and mosses. We have an extensive monitoring programme for rare arctic-alpine species, and we pioneered the restoration of mountain willows.

’We also support the Trust’s footpath team with building, conservation, and repairs to protect the stunning mountain landscape and its natural habitats, attracting thousands of visitors annually. There is so much for Jamie and Tony to learn and do; it will give them a great overview of various types of conservation work and community engagement. We can’t wait to have them with us.’

Heather Hamilton, Project Officer at HPCLT, said: ’Our new, year-long apprenticeship is an extension of our own long-running Rural Skills Training programme, designed to give young people further experience in rural land sector skills, ranging from habitat monitoring to forest management, visitor engagement to site maintenance.

’Thanks to this new partnership, our apprentices will benefit from the chance to work with a diverse range of organisations operating across multiple locations in Highland Perthshire, giving them a fantastic opportunity to engage with a wide variety of tasks, earn a wage, and gain an industry-recognised qualification in rural skills at the same time.

’This innovative apprenticeship model will give young people an unrivalled opportunity to work with a wide range of organisations across the public, private and charity sectors. We really need to attract new talent to safeguard the future of rural skills, and partnerships such as this demonstrate our united passion for investing in future career paths for aspiring individuals such as Jamie and Tony.’