DBR has announced a 3-year partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), to support an annual scholarship to enable an individual to further their craft skills in the conservation of our built heritage. DBR has committed funding until 2025 as part of our Year of the Master Craftsperson campaign, and in memory of our Chairman George Henderson. Adrian Attwood, DBR Executive Director explains “This is an important development in our commitment to provide opportunities for the next generation of skilled craftspeople and, as a Royal Warrant-holding company, QEST was our ideal partner, as a charity of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, upholding the values of quality and excellence. We are extremely proud of our highly skilled craftspeople and this annual DBR scholarship will ensure our legacy to continue to support the future development of crafts skills in the UK” Deborah Pocock, CEO QEST said “DBR’s commitment to developing and sustaining craft skills makes them an ideal partner for QEST. We must all be concerned about passing on skills to the next generation and ensuring that we have appropriately trained individuals to conserve our built environment. We are grateful to DBR for enabling this annual scholarship.

Apprentices and Apprenticeships are paramount to the continuation of craft skills. We at DBR are committed to taking on local apprentices for every project with a duration of 1 year or more. Throughout the 1-year project, we aim to convert all new apprentices to level 2 attainment and all level 2 students to attain level 3 status. We have an excellent track record of providing placements for apprentices and supporting them both financially and educationally, through on-site mentoring, to achieve the relevant qualifications necessary for a pathway to Master craftsmanship.

Since our foundation just over thirty years ago, DBR has been at the forefront of the UK’s built heritage conservation. Over the decades, we have watched our team of highly skilled craftspeople develop and preserve the traditional skills needed to keep our historic buildings and landmarks standing, and in good condition, providing a legacy for future generations. However, the industry is now facing one of its greatest challenges to date: a severe skills shortage. Not only will this impact the buildings & monuments which we seek to preserve, but it also runs the risks of time-honoured crafts being lost forever. We believe this is a completely avoidable situation, but also an opportunity to champion everything from stonemasonry and carpentry, to wrought ironwork and leadwork. Earlier this year, our Executive Director, Adrian Attwood, wrote an article for Building Magazine in which he highlighted the importance of the construction industry, policy makers and educators coming together to discuss this issue further. Particularly, he outlined how we would like to see more of the UK’s young people made aware of the myriad skilled professions within conservation construction and the rewarding career path it offers. To ensure the industry’s preservation, he also highlighted our ambition for more current practitioners to become instructors, passing down their expertise to the next generation, as has been tradition for centuries. It is this modest aspiration, as well as positive feedback from colleagues and peers, that has inspired us to campaign for 2023 to become the ‘Year of the Master Craftsperson’, championing those currently practicing and enticing others into it, regardless of background, circumstance, race, religion or gender. Ultimately, we want to celebrate the talent, skill and expertise of those who work tirelessly to ensure our historic architecture survives, and show how we can quickly establish a home-grown workforce to guarantee the national legacy of traditional skills. However, we cannot do this alone. The support, input and involvement of all sides of the industry, policy makers, educators and the public themselves, will be crucial to the success of this initiative. It’s only through collaboration that we’ll make the ‘Year of the Master Craftsperson’ a reality. Over the next twelve months, we’ll be reaching out across UK business, industry and government to promote this cause, supported with research, events and insight into how the sector operates, as well as showcase the amazing, unique work undertaken by craftspeople day-in-day-out. Specifically, we’d like you vocal support towards our campaign to get the sector we love recognised on a national platform