Applications are invited by the York Foundation for Conservation and Craftsmanship for bursaries to assist the training of Craftsmen and conservators. Bursaries of up to £1,500 each are available to further the knowledge and skills of craftsmen and conservators at various stages of their careers. This can include CPD courses. Bursaries of up to £3,000 are offered to encourage and assist established craftsmen and conservators to take on a new apprentice/trainee.
The total sum available is £12,000, made up of £8000 from the Foundation’s own Bursary Fund, £2,000 funded by the York Company of Merchant Taylors, and £1,000 each from the Freemasons and from the Historic Houses Association (Yorkshire Region) in association with Coutts Bank. While the Merchant Taylors award is restricted to young people with links to York and its surrounding area, the other awards have no such restriction (though if all other things prove equal, preference will be given to an applicant living, training or employed in the Yorkshire Region).
Applications will be judged on merit and need, and there are no restrictions on who may apply. Employers may apply on behalf of employees. Bursaries will not generally be awarded to assist the funding of a student’s undergraduate degree or equivalent course. In the case of individual applications preference will be given to those seeking advanced skills or training in crafts/specialities in short supply.
The Trustees are particularly keen to facilitate the taking on of new trainees/apprentices. This would include someone starting out or part way through a three year apprenticeship, or a person not yet in the trade/profession but who, having had some basic skills training or relevant experience, needs further skills training to qualify. Applications for such bursaries would normally be expected from the potential employer, and could be used in a variety of ways to reduce the employer’s costs, e.g. those related to the introductory training demanded by legal requirements. That should not preclude applications from employers for other purposes, nor from potential trainees who have identified a committed potential employer.
In 2008 seven awards were made ranging in value from £500 to £2,000. The winners included a self-employed carpenter, a firm of decorative plasterers, and conservators of books and armour. A full list of 2008 and previous year’s winners can be found here.
Application forms can be downloaded here or may be obtained from the Secretary of the Foundation
by email: conservationyork@hotmail.com
or by post: The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate, York YO1 9XD
The closing date for receipt of applications is Saturday 28 March 2009