Letter to the Editor: Ogston and Wilson Respond to Times Article on Craft Skills Shortage
The letter was written in response to an article by Laura Freeman in The Times (23 September 2021) which called for steps to encourage young people to take up endangered craft skills they may not know exist. Where, she asked, were tomorrow’s joiners, lime plasterers, stonemasons, thatchers and glazers?
In her article, Laura noted that “a recent YouGov survey found that 80 per cent of respondents did not know what a thatcher’s job entailed. Understanding was even lower among 18 to 24-year-olds. Here, 90 per cent were unable to describe the job of a stonemason and 84 per cent were blown if they knew what a glassblower did.
“We hear a lot about the skills gap in science and technology. There are many campaigns to get kids into coding. We know, too, that there’s a shortage of brickies and sparkies, and of welders, scaffolders and carpenters.
“We hear less about the arts and crafts skills gap. Experts in historic and listed building repair need apprentices as much as they need weathered old hands. You might say: this is all a bit niche. You might say that in an increasingly secular country who cares if a few rotten churches go to the (red sandstone) wall. But it isn’t niche and it isn’t just churches. According to Historic England, the heritage sector is worth £31 billion a year to the economy. It employs 464,000 people and generates £17 billion in tourist revenue.
“We cannot without serious detriment to our country and town landscapes get by without thatchers, slaters, drystone-wallers and those who know about leadwork, bricks and lime mortar.
“Plumbing doesn’t need a PR push, but stonemasonry might. I reckon there’s a cohort of kids who aren’t academic but are a mix of practical and artistic who would thrive in these jobs — if only they knew they existed. University isn’t for everyone. The first step on the career ladder might better be taken not in an office but on an actual ladder up to the clerestory windows.”
Visit hamishogstonfoundation.org/heritage/building-heritage-skills for more information on our heritage apprenticeship initiatives.