Scotland needs world-class training to protect its unique historic landscape.

That's the message from two leading providers of traditional building skills.

Historic Scotland, the national heritage agency, and CITB-ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council and industry training board for UK construction, have committed to an action plan to keep up the skills needed to maintain buildings across the country.

The Sector Skills Agreement was signed at Historic Scotland's new state-of-the-art stonemasonry training facility at Forth Valley College in Stirling.

In September the first intake of ten new Historic Scotland apprentices will begin training there as part of a Scottish Government commitment to provide 30 traditional skills apprenticeships over three years.

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David Mitchell, Historic Scotland Director of Conservation, said traditionally-built structures account for about 20% of Scotland's infrastructure.

Graeme Ogilvy of CITB-ConstructionSkills Scotland said: "Traditionally built structures are part of Scotland's culture and help provide a sense of place; they also reflect the diverse geography, as traditionally built structures are constructed with local indigenous materials that require distinct skills and knowledge to work. It is imperative that this built heritage is repaired and maintained and that it is done so correctly, as using inappropriate materials and methods has proven to be more damaging and costly in the long term."

This commitment from both partners will establish a world-leading system of traditional skills training that meets the needs of a modern, innovative and competitive construction sector, a key commitment in the Traditional Skills Strategy launched by Scottish Ministers in April 2011.

(NE)