Federation Skills Trust

Answering the call to ensure that vital skills are passed on to new generations, in 2018 the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) entered a collaboration between many organisations and individuals.

Their valued help and dedication to preserving engineering skills and heritage, has resulted in a thriving programme of restoration apprenticeship training

The FBHVC created a charity - the Federation Skills Trust - to deliver Heritage Engineering Apprenticeships, as a result of the government's revamp of apprenticeships making them more employer-led.

The programme is developed from the earlier Classic Vehicle Restoration Framework created in 2014 as a partnership between the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs and The Institute for the Motor Industry.

Today, using weekly residential block-release, apprentices attend courses delivered by the Heritage Skills Academy.  Apprentices attend training at Brooklands (Surrey) to learn bodywork skills, and Bicester (Buckinghamshire) for mechanical skills. 

These unique locations provide the finest academy in the world for the training and education of the UK’s next generation of world-class Heritage Engineering technicians.

The three-year apprenticeship is the most succesful of its type. In summer 2026 there were 170 apprentices in training and over 150 apprentices qualified as skilled engineers, having graduated from the Heritage Skills Acadamy.  Curently, 69 apprentices are on target to complete their qualifications in 2026.

All apprentices must be employed by their company from day one. In 2025, a total of 43 talented apprentices passed their End Point Assessment (final exams) and became qualified engineers within the heritage engineering and historic motorsport sector. Among them, 14 achieved an overall Distinction, an outstanding accomplishment.

For more details, visit www.federationskillstrust.org and www.heritageskillsacademy.co.uk