How To Learn Stone Masonry

It is one thing to know what stonemasonry is, another to take the skills required to produce it. And although some predict robots and artificial intelligence will have jobs, skills of all kinds are in short supply and employment at its highest levels since the 1970s.

In that location was no doubting the high level of masonry skills demonstrated by the students taking role in the Great britain Masonry Skills Challenge SkillBuild heats that took identify at the new Somer Valley Campus at Bathroom Higher in England and Fort Valley Higher in Scotland final month (May).

The students taking part were from some of the summit colleges teaching stonemasonry in the UK. In the English oestrus were teams from the colleges of Bath, Moulton, Weymouth and York, and the Building Crafts College in London.

In Scotland there were teams from Fort Valley College, Edinburgh and Glasgow Colleges, and Historic Scotland at Elgin.

The highest scorers from those who demonstrated the required standard will compete against each other for top place at SkillBuild during what was The Skills Show but has at present been renamed WorldSkills UK Alive. The annual Skills Show developed out of the huge success of the international WorldSkills competition at ExCeL London in 2011, when Chris Berridge won the stonemasonry Gold Medal for Team United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland.

The Masonry Skills Challenge heats are organised past Stone Federation Bully United kingdom with CITB as the organising partner.

What is now WorldSkills UK Live is a skills and careers exhibition that takes place this twelvemonth at the NEC, Birmingham, xv-17 November.

The international WorldSkills competition takes identify every other year in dissimilar parts of the world. Final year it was in Abu Dhabi. At that place were 1,249 competitors from 58 countries competing in 51 skills. Archie Stoke-Faiers, who trained at Weymouth, represented British stonemasonry and won a Silver Medal. The adjacent WorldSkills is in Kazan, Russia, 2019.

WorldSkills UK Live at the NEC is helping to heighten the profile and status of vocational (or technical) skills, with the SkillBuild competition providing live demonstrations of a wide range of occupations as the participants compete against each other throughout the exhibition.

Dr Neil Bentley, Chief Executive of WorldSkills United kingdom, a partnership between governments, business concern and education, says the change of name of the exhibition is part of "a chip of a facelift" for the upshot that final twelvemonth attracted more lxx,000 visitors, mostly school pupils and their parents and teachers.

Dr Bentley says: "The core principle backside our issue from its founding through to today remains strong: to encourage more young people to pursue apprenticeships and technical careers. That principle has never been more relevant. With governments throughout the UK united around the need to increment apprenticeship starts, farther technical educational activity and improve careers aspiration and advice, our annual issue is a one-stop-shop for all these ambitions."

Dr Bentley says success is clear. Three months after last year's issue a survey of adults who attended was carried out and all the teachers said they had engaged in at to the lowest degree one follow up action. Also, 97% of parents said they had engaged in a follow upward activity or planned to do and then. Nearly iii-quarters of teachers said they were meliorate placed to suggest young people near apprenticeships and nigh half of them said they were more likely to practice so.

Dr Bentley: "Given that WorldSkills United kingdom'south mission is to modify the national chat around technical pedagogy and apprenticeships, it'south really positive to see the difference nosotros're helping to make."

The regime wants to encourage people into apprenticeships to overcome skills shortages and break down status divisions that accept resulted from an emphasis, peculiarly in the past 25 years, on the university road.

It has left technical teaching with a prestige deficit the government is now trying to address.

One of the means it is doing that is the development of a new framework for xvi to nineteen-twelvemonth-olds of 15 technical routes to skilled employment. The routes are either classroom- / workshop-based (T levels) or work-based (apprenticeships). 11 of the routes volition exist delivered as classroom or workshop based T levels and the other four routes are apprenticeships.

The Government is at present claiming exclusivity on the word 'apprenticeship' for its new Trailblazers. They take to include off-site preparation and a final test, which is presumably going to accept to involve the colleges.

The apprenticeships accept to be developed by the industries themselves so they are relevant to employers. The stone industry is working on its Trailblazers through the Natural Rock Manufacture Training Group (NSITG), with Michelle Turner of Stone Restoration Services, Chair of NSITG, leading the development of them.

Initially the government said there had to be just one apprenticeship at level 2 or 3, simply not both. Several of the trades said that was not feasible as some people would non be able to achieve a level three qualification.

The carpenters & joiners and the bricklayers accept both been allowed to have level 2 and level iii apprenticeships and that is now the road stonemasonry is taking.

The government also wanted stonemasonry to be among the 'arts and crafts' apprenticeships, while the industry itself wants to exist considered part of 'construction' and retain the relationship information technology has ever had with CITB. That would mean companies taking on apprentices would receive £9,000 per student from CITB at level 2 and £12,000 per student at level 3.

The authorities has created Apprenticeship Officers to work with manufacture on the evolution of Trailblazers, just none of those so far appointed to assistance the rock manufacture have stayed very long and NSITG is on its 9th Officeholder. Each new i that is appointed has some element of catch-upward to become through, which has frustrated the sector's efforts. Nevertheless, progress is being made and information technology is hoped the level 2 apprenticeship volition be in place in time for the start of the new academic twelvemonth in September. The level 3 apprenticeship volition follow as soon as possible.

In both cases, there will be a general stonemasonry skills chemical element with different specialisation routes (heritage, broker, logroller and and so on) to successfully completing the overall apprenticeship.

Following the retirement of Ian Major equally the Training Officer of NSITG last year, it appointed Claire J Wallbridge to the position.

Claire Wallbridge, who has taken over as Training Officer of the Natural Stone Industry Grooming Grouping.

Claire comes from a family of stonemasons and has a groundwork in structure training and projection management. She had previously worked aslope the Rock Federation in her role every bit CITB National Specialist Federation Manager and says she welcomes the opportunity to work with the sector again.

NSITG met quarterly during 2017 to go on to promote a fully skilled and qualified workforce and to ensure that all training was in line with rock sector employers' needs, beingness attainable and affordable with minimum time spent on off-the-job grooming.

Due to changes to CITB'due south funding criteria for grooming groups, it is at present obliged to come across only twice a yr. Its agenda remains unchanged only it at present has greater flexibility for group activeness.

Since March this year, NSITG has been subject to a new Memorandum of Understanding in partnership with CITB.

CITB has decided to permit training groups to focus on their ain desired outcomes and not be restricted past an imposed set of upshot-driven criteria, which were often not in line with the sector'south own calendar for training and development.

NSITG has successfully bid for funding to help members to undertake the Stone Professional person Exercise class and NVQs, and to obtain PTLLS qualifications in training in order to exist able to assistance companies wishing to offer in-house training to employees. More than details on www.nsitg.org.uk.

During 2017 Claire Wallbridge helped 13 member companies apply to CITB'due south Flexible Skills & Training funds along with dealing with grooming enquiries new to the rock sector. This activity is intended to gain momentum during 2018.

NSITG has also been approached by CITB to aid with a review of all short duration courses currently receiving grants from CITB. NSITG members will be asked to comment on course content, viability and relevance. Claire Wallbridge says this is an ongoing process and will permit NSITG to influence the outcome of the review and ensure the sector has an touch on future courses offered.

NSITG has also been approached to engage with the Institute of Apprenticeships (IOA) and Department for Education in a review of all technical courses delivered at higher and farther education level. The review is existence carried out alongside the Trailblazer development and NSITG is ensuring the Stone Sector has significant representation.

With but Trailblazers immune to be called apprenticeships, what used to be the Specialist Apprenticeship Programme now becomes the Specialist Applied-Skills Programme (retaining the SAP acronym). The training involved is essentially the same.

Priestman Assembly, of which NSS columnist Marking Priestman is a Managing director, has been given the contract by CITB to continue to deliver the level two Facade Preservation and Stone Fixing SAPs, which it developed, while the level three Heritage Masonry SAP contract has been awarded to John Munroe at The Traditional Edifice Skills Company.

For the colleges with specialist stonemasonry and conservation courses the T-Levels and Trailblazers will crave a fleck more piece of work. Teaching seems to exist in a abiding country of flux that those on the front line somehow have to work through. With the stonemasonry Trailblazer notwithstanding to be completed and the terminal exams withal to be adamant, and T-Levels yet evolving, those trying to put together a syllabus accept less to go on than they might wish. But no doubt they will work through the frustrations and students will learn the skills they need for a career in the industry. As Paul Maggs at Bath College says: "Stonemasonry is stonemasonry."

The stonemasonry courses at Bathroom College were moved out of Bath city center terminal year to new workshops in Radstock, 8-ix miles from the site they previously occupied. I lecturer left to join CITB and has been replaced by Joe Lebra, who learnt his skills at Longleat with the belatedly Chris Lapham.

Most of the colleges are happy to help with community projects to give the students practical experience of working alongside designers and contractors.

One project that the Bath stonemasonry students are currently working on is a Woods of Dean sandstone plaque to Henry John Patch, who died at the age of 111 in 2009. He came from Combe Down, Bath, and was believed to have been the last survivor to accept seen action on the Western Front in Earth State of war I. A road is being named after him on a new housing evolution and he volition exist commemorated by the plaque.

Bath students are also repairing gate piers at Parade Gardens, including re-making big urns that used to sit on top of them using stone donated past a local Bath stone company. The locals accept go used to the Higher contributing to such projects and the College Master encourages departments to assist out where they tin can.

At Moulton College in Northamptonshire the stonemasonry students are preparing to cleave animal sculptures for what used to be Wellingborough Zoo, the owner of which was famous for taking Simba the lion to a local pub and even one time to the cinema.

Emma Dexter, the tutor in charge of Moulton's stonemasonry courses, will be etching two lions for the project and the students are producing a multifariousness of other animals carved from ane-tonne blocks of limestone. They take completed clay maquettes and will begin etching the stone during the summer. Students likewise go as far as Exeter Cathedral for piece of work experience, although Emma says: "Local companies are brilliant likewise."

She says that 80% of her third year students already accept jobs secured. "That'south what it's all most for me: getting them trained up then they're expert enough to become jobs. Then the companies take over from me. The wonderful affair hither is we have the time for them to acquire to do it past hand."

In London, the students at the Building Crafts College (BCC) have been working with the architects at MUF to create public art. They have made a stone table and accept grit-blasted blocks of pennant to create what are being called 'bees' as seats.

BCC students are also working on a 2.5m high Portland limestone obelisk for the Naval College in Greenwich. All the students produced drawings of suggestions for carvings on the obelisk and a representation of lines of longitude and latitude with star constellations was chosen.

Nigel Gilkison, who runs the stonemasonry courses at the BCC (although he says his colleague John Whitbread has taken the pb on this project), says: "There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the architect, which is good for the students. We try to care for these jobs very commercially, then the students go a feel for the real world."

Once apprenticeships and higher courses are finished, some people like to develop their skills further and there is some specific help available from bodies such equally Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) with its William Morris Fellowship, QEST with Scholarships, the Prince's Foundation and the Lettering Arts Trust. They can aid see the costs of specialist preparation.

Some useful contacts...

Natural Stone Manufacture Grooming Group
Tel: 07511 464346
www.nsitg.org.uk

National Heritage Training Grouping
Tel: 01246 252 363
www.the-nhtg.org.uk

Colleges

Urban center of Bath College
Tel: 01225 312191
www.citybathcoll.ac.uk

Building Crafts College
Tel: 0208 522 1705
world wide web.thebcc.ac.uk

City & Guilds of London Art Schoolhouse
Tel: 0207 735 2306
www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk

Elgin Stonemasonry Training Facility
Tel: 0131 221 6272
www.stoneproject.org

Glasgow Metropolitan College
Tel: 0141 566 6222
www.glasgowmet.ac.u.k.

Moulton College, Northampton
Tel: 01604 491131
world wide web.moulton.air-conditioning.uk

Due west Dean College
Tel: 01243 811301
www.westdean.org.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

Weymouth Higher
Tel: 01305 764744
world wide web.weymouth.ac.uk

York Higher
Tel: 01904 770462
www.yorkcollege.air conditioning.uk

And others...

Building Limes Forum
[e-mail protected]
world wide web.buildinglimesforum.org.u.k.

NAMM (memorial fixing/testing)
Tel: 01788 542264
www.namm.org.u.k.

National Heritage Preparation Group
Tel: 01246 252363
www.the-nhtg.org.united kingdom

Priestman Associates
Tel: 0115 975 1880
www.priestmanweb.com

The Traditional Building Skills Company
Tel: 01497 831125
world wide web.traditionalbuildingskills.co.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

Scottish Lime Centre
Tel: 01383 872722
www.scotlime.org

Prince's Foundation
0207 613 8500
princes-foundation.org/education

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
Tel: 0207 377 1644
world wide web.spab.org.united kingdom

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST)
Tel: 0207 798 1535
world wide web.qest.org.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

Lettering Arts Trust
01728 688393
www.letteringartstrust.org.united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland