A new national training centre dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional skills in Scotland has secured £3.7 million in funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Scotland's Centre of Excellence for Canals & Traditional Skills will be located near Lock 16 on the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal in Falkirk.

The Centre, a partnership between Scottish Canals and Historic Environment Scotland, will focus on developing pathways into heritage skills training, volunteering, and employment within the historic environment sector. It will offer a range of activities, including school engagement, pre-apprenticeships, modern apprenticeships, and upskilling initiatives such as 'train the trainers', aiming to create a model for skills development across the country.

This significant investment will address the critical need to retain and pass on traditional craft, engineering, and construction skills essential for maintaining Scotland's built and industrial heritage, including thatching, stonemasonry, blacksmithing, and environmental conservation.

As the National Lottery celebrates its 30th anniversary, this funding milestone also marks a landmark achievement, bringing the total National Lottery Heritage Fund investment in Scotland to over £1 billion.


Culture Secretary Angus Robertson highlighted the importance of the project: "Scotland has a proud heritage of traditional skills, and the valuable work planned at Lock 16 will ensure these skills are preserved, passed on, and used to support our historic environment for generations to come."

Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland, emphasised the urgency of preserving these skills: "We know that Scotland urgently needs to preserve and develop its traditional building, craft and rural skills so that it can properly care for its historic buildings and industrial heritage, especially in the context of climate change. Thanks to National Lottery players we are very pleased to be able to support this important work, saving our traditional skills from loss. I can't think of a better project to receive our £1 billionth pound spent in Scotland – marking 30 years of investment in over 5000 projects which have helped to protect and celebrate Scotland's incredible heritage."

John Paterson, Scottish Canals CEO, expressed his delight at securing the funding: "The funds will allow us to develop our plans for the site, which forms part of The Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, to transform this vacant building into Scotland's Centre of Excellence for Canals & Traditional Skills, a new low-carbon facility with our partners Historic Environment Scotland."

Katerina Brown, Historic Environment Scotland CEO, warmly welcomed the funding: "It is an important step in helping us to provide further provision for key skills which are at risk without support and investment from the sector and beyond, and to help us on our collective journey to preserve these skills for future generations."

The project has also received support from Falkirk Council, with Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council: "The funding secured by Scottish Canals through The National Lottery Heritage Fund will help establish Scotland's Centre of Excellence for Canals & Traditional Skills, a project that will not only support the preservation of traditional skills and the area's industrial heritage, but also regenerate a stretch of the Forth & Clyde Canal into a thriving community and training hub."

The new centre is expected to create significant opportunities for collaborative working and apprenticeship training, ensuring that Scotland's canals and traditional skills remain vibrant and alive for future generations.