Case Study: Using Heritage Projects to Create Opportunities for Young People to Learn New Skills

What is this case study about?

This case study is about the Youth Blacksmithing project by Newbigin Community Trust. Local young people learned traditional and transferable blacksmithing skills and, throughout the project, had further opportunities to gain additional experiences and training beyond blacksmithing, which helped to build their confidence, skills, and employment prospects.

It demonstrates that when working with heritage skills, project leads can seek out opportunities for participants beyond the heritage skill itself to create a fuller experience and a meaningful legacy, especially for young people.

This case study was produced with the Newbigin Community Trust. This embedded, community-based organisation aims to provide a place of welcome, inclusion and social cohesion for neighbours in Birmingham's Winson Green and Handsworth areas.

The project was funded through Historic England's Everyday Heritage Grants.

What are the key points?

What was the project about?

The Youth Blacksmithing project supported local young people in learning blacksmithing skills and turning knives donated by West Midlands Police into symbols of hope and peace. Through the medium of blacksmithing, the project celebrated the community, local young people, and the rich local industrial working-class history of the area.

Up to 30 young people took part in a series of workshops to be trained in Blacksmith techniques. They designed and produced hand-made items, such as jewellery, keyrings, and candle holders, using traditional methods. They sold these items from a stall at Mosely Market and learned additional branding, marketing and sales skills.

The young learners also supported demonstrations to local groups of younger teens, and additional showcases to the local community and touring adult groups such as mental health, student, and Christian groups.

The final product of the project was a pair of sculptural hanging plant holders. This was a collaboration between the young people and adults and used knives donated by West Midlands police. The plant holders were stylised as sunflowers to represent hope and peace and were hung at the entrance of the 1922 United Reformed Church in Winson Green.

What were the outcomes?

• The project increased young people’s understanding and enjoyment of the traditional skills of blacksmithing and raised awareness and interest in the history of metalwork in Birmingham
• Community members who may otherwise find traditional educational settings challenging were able to learn about heritage and gain new practical skills; some of whom were paid for their time, others chose to continue blacksmithing training, and all improved their employment prospects in the future
• Young people learned about the industrial history of Birmingham, which increased their knowledge of local heritage and connected them to their place and the everyday working people who came before them
• Young people and the wider local community were brought together through the learning and teaching of heritage skills. The young people shared their newfound expertise through showcases and demonstrations with adults
• Transferable skills were gained that have increased the employability of young participants
• Relationships were strengthened between local adults and young people, and critically, between the young people and the West Midlands Police, which is reported to be poor typically
• The project provided a platform for deep conversations with young people about local knife crime, gangs, social cohesion, and the consequences of carrying a knife
• The project created opportunities and safe spaces for local young people, organisations, and authorities to have open dialogue around the prevalence of knife and gang crime in the area where they live and work in

What did the young people get out of being involved in the project?

Winson Green is amongst the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods nationally, and many young people there are at risk of offending or being involved in gang violence.

This project addressed a need by providing opportunities for young people. In addition to the above outcomes, young people had the opportunity to:

• Build their confidence through learning and practising heritage skills
• Build new transferable skills, including designing, branding, sales and social media
• Gain further training in Manual Handling, First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, and Safeguarding
• Build new relationships
• Improve their wellbeing through physical activity, creativity, and spending time outdoors
• Gain their first employment: local teens were paid to learn and to demonstrate to others. This helped to build up their CV and give them some work experience to talk about in future job interviews
• Continue employment: 2 of the young people remained on the payroll following the end of the project. They continue to learn blacksmith techniques and demonstrate to children and young people

What lessons were learned?

• Consider potential inflation for materials and other costs when budgeting for your project. Newbigin Trust had to seek additional funding to cover unexpected expenses due to the cost-of-living crisis
• Allow extra time for agreeing on the best time for teenagers to meet regularly; this was more challenging than anticipated
• When training people in traditional skills or crafts, look for additional training opportunities to upskill your participants further. The young people gained a wealth of experience in sales, branding and marketing and took part in additional training. These transferable skills mean that participants get even more out of being involved that they can take away after the project
• Explore the possibilities of creating further employment opportunities for participants. This might be through seeking additional funding or opening existing roles for those who have participated in your project. This is especially useful with historic crafts or skills that may be at risk of dying out
• When training young people in new skills, create opportunities for them to become trainers or demonstrators themselves. As well as being a great way to reinforce their learning, it also helps build confidence and further skills in facilitating or teaching
• In addition to learning more about local history through your project, you can use the opportunity to facilitate conversations around current issues that impact your participants. In this case, using knives as the material to create new objects provided an ideal platform to talk about knife crime in the area
• Projects such as these, with high community engagement, create a rare opportunity for an area's youth to meet and communicate with the local police force, which can create better relations and understanding
• When planning your project, consider the long-term outcomes for your participants. This will help you plan for providing a rich programme of meaningful opportunities, which will be the real legacy of your project

Further reading

Find out more about the work of the Newbigin Community Trust.

See more photos from the project