Decision details

YNYCA are fund holding the DWP Trailblazer programme designed to support economically inactive individuals to move closer to the labour market through a series of specific strands of activity. York Learning have delivered 7 different projects under the Year 1 funded activity and will be delivering 5 strands of activity under the Year 2 funded programme.

One of the strands builds on the success of a Year 1 programme that provided heritage conservation training and live site experience delivered by a local heritage conservation employer supported by recruitment and assessment, quality assurance, job search and mentoring by York Learning. This project saw 20 individuals including those with disabilities and health conditions, and young NEETs complete training in this field.

Year 2’s proposal is designed to be more extensive with an expedited plan to move more people into paid employment opportunities within the heritage conservation industry which is currently seeking a further 250,000 employees nationwide over the next year.

As a result, CYC held a public procurement exercise to appoint a local employer to deliver training in lime mortar repair, timber window frame repair, and fire door upgrading as the 3 key work skills that can passport individuals into relevant employment, alongside a CSCS labourer card.

The successful organization has now won the tender- Pinnacle Conservation Ltd (with partnership support from York Conservation Trust) and as part of the contracting process we need to approve the funding amount of £159,870.06 for them to deliver this programme over the current financial year but starting in June 2026 in order to deliver to the spec.

Comments/Observations:
The plan to deliver this programme through Traiblazer funding builds on the explicit test and learn methodology recommended by DWP and also ties in with the dedicated CYC Heritage Strategy and overall, 10-year skills strategy, particularly around retro fitting for green skills. Longer term this will also improve collaborative work in the specialist construction sector, providing local labour market models that benefit our residents and lead to more employment opportunities.

Decision: To approve the award of grant to the provider identified through the tender process.

Using a local training provider to offer specialist heritage conservation training as an alternative e.g., local FE college using 16-19 funding or ASB funding.

Alternative ideas of getting a pure educational provider to deliver training do not offer robust opportunities to practice newly learned skills in a work environment, one of the key planks in improving people’s ability to get back into the labour market. There are no specialist local providers in this field with the exception of York College who offer stonemasonry at apprenticeship level only, which does not align with the targeted demographic of Trailblazer. FE college allocations are normally maxed out so there would be no opportunity to leverage funding in this manner.

Not offering a local bespoke heritage conservation training model means there are no pathways for disadvantaged young people and adults to access training or work experience in this field.