Heritage Crafts – Trainee of the Year Award

18 March 2026

Heritage Crafts are thrilled to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the Trainee of the Year Award 2026.

Heritage Crafts aims to ensure that traditional craft skills survive into the future, and this requires a regular intake of enthusiastic and dedicated new entrants. Identifying and recruiting the right trainee can make the difference to the continuation of heritage craft businesses and in some cases crafts themselves. Broadly classified as ‘trainee’, the award winner could be on a formal apprenticeship scheme, a less formal traineeship, an institution-based course with a high degree of practical training, or even be pursuing ‘portfolio-style’ training comprising of short-courses and workshops, as long as training has formed a significant part of at least twelve months prior to applying.

The winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize and will be celebrated at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November 2026.

Click here for more information on how to nominate someone (or yourself).