Information for Applicants
The Peatland Restoration Training Scheme – Machine Operator is now open for applications.
Partners across Peatland ACTION have highlighted the shortage of machine operators skilled and experienced in peatland restoration as being a significant constraint on the delivery of restoration projects.
Stakeholders highlighted the need for training and mentoring to provide on-the-job experience, given the nature of the work in highly sensitive, wetland environments and the specialist nature of the technical skills required.
We are offering funding to employers to offset some of the costs of training machine operators during their initial learning phase, this short-term funding aims to increase the number of new entrants being brought into the sector.
We will offer funding to relevant organisations and businesses to provide work-based, learner-focused training and mentoring of 6 weeks in duration. The scheme is limited to 8 training placements. Funding will be offered to those who are best able to demonstrate the provision of a good quality training experience and willingness / intention to assist the mentee to enter or develop their skills in the industry at the conclusion of the training period.
Subject to the consent of landowner and project manager, an applicant business may choose to train the new entrant across one of more sites funded by any Peatland ACTION delivery partner.
Any business or organisation working (or expecting to work in this financial year) on a Peatland ACTION funded project and which is able to provide a good quality training placement is welcome to apply.
Closing date for applications is 22nd September 2023.
Last updated:
Expand for further information on eligibility criteria, what we will fund and how to apply
About Peatland ACTION - Background
The following information sets out the fund's eligibility criteria and what information to include in your application.
Peatland ACTION is a national programme to restore peatlands across Scotland. It is led and funded by Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with NatureScot, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, Scottish Water and Forestry & Land Scotland.
Restoring peatlands is one of the most effective ways of locking in carbon and reducing emissions, offering a clear nature-based solution to both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Peatland restoration plays a key role in Scotland’s green recovery and is helping deliver a just transition to net-zero by supporting the rural economy through the creation and development of land-based jobs and skills across Scotland.
In February 2020, the Scottish Government announced a substantial, multi-annual investment in peatland restoration of more than £250 million up to 2030.
Aims of the peatland restoration training scheme
Partners across Peatland ACTION have highlighted the shortage of machine operators skilled and experienced in peatland restoration as being a significant constraint on the delivery of projects. With an increase year-on-year in the area of restoration being funded, the skills shortage risks being a potential limiting factor in addressing degraded peatland. As the pace of delivery of peatland restoration increases, the need to find new ways to creatively address this issue becomes more pressing.
Stakeholders highlighted the need for training and mentoring to provide on-the-job experience, given the nature of the work in highly sensitive, wetland environments and the specialist nature of the technical skills required.
NatureScot, as a delivery partner in Peatland ACTION, has created this training scheme to help develop capacity in the workforce delivering restoration work on the ground. We know that part of the difficulty in introducing new people to the sector lies in the lack of knowledge of the particular techniques required and the time cost to the business of mentoring new entrants.
By supporting employers to offset some of the costs of training machine operators during their initial learning phase, this short-term training scheme aims to increase the number of new entrants being brought into the sector.
The grant is not intended to provide full cost recovery for the business taking on the trainee, but to recognise the costs to the business of deploying an experienced mentor to provide training and to cover a proportion of the costs of developing a new entrant to the peatland restoration sector.
The Peatland Restoration Training Scheme – Machine Operator (‘The Project’) aims to address identified skills shortages and support the development of machine operator skills in the expanding peatland restoration sector.
The Project will offer funding to relevant organisations and businesses to provide work-based, learner-focused training and mentoring of 6 weeks in duration. The scheme is limited to 8 training placements. Funding will be offered to those who are best able to demonstrate the provision of a good quality training experience and willingness / intention to assist the mentee to enter or develop their skills in the industry at the conclusion of the training period.
What training do we want to fund?
We are seeking applications from prospective host businesses, willing to provide a training placement which offers good quality, on-the-job learning and development experience. Subject to the consent of landowner and project manager, an applicant business may choose to train the new entrant across one of more sites funded by any Peatland ACTION delivery partner.
The training grant is separate from the main restoration grant and any work delivered by the trainee will be additional to work already costed into the delivery project. The time spent mentoring should not be lost to the restoration project(s).
The 6-week long training period must not begin before funding is agreed and must be complete by mid-March 2024. The learning experience of the trainee should be central, with a focus on helping individuals to develop the skills and experience required to move into employment in this sector.
The funded training must provide skills that trainees do not already have.
Skills developed will vary from project to project, depending on the restoration techniques specified. Businesses applying for this funding to host a trainee are invited to describe the techniques they would train new entrants in, within the limits of the site(s) available. While this list is not exhaustive, we would anticipate that trainees will develop skills in two or three of the following techniques;
- Drain-blocking and reprofiling
- Wave-damming and zipping
- Re-profiling of hagg and peat bank and peat pan walls
- Creation of peat / turf dams in gully bases and channels
- Construction of leaky barriers
- Creation of deep and/or surface bunds
- Tree and/or stump & root plate mulching
- Furrow-blocking
- Ground-smoothing
Who can apply?
Any business or organisation working (or expecting to work[1] in this financial year) on a Peatland ACTION funded project and which is able to provide a good quality training placement is welcome to apply. Applicants must be able to demonstrate their commitment to Fair Work[2] practices in the delivery of this training placement.
Applicants are invited to demonstrate how they will meet the requirements of The Project, helping to equip trainees for work within the sector and ensuring the trainee and their learning journey is at the heart of the process.
We have developed criteria for participation and information setting out what will be expected of businesses providing the training / mentoring. Only applications which, in the view of the panel, meet these criteria will potentially be eligible for funding. In the event of significant interest from applicant businesses in the training scheme, funding will be awarded to applicants who achieve the highest ranking against the criteria.
The training scheme will focus on the learning experience of the trainee and what they should expect in terms of training and experience. Applicant businesses will be invited to set out
- how they intend to provide training and mentoring,
- the job specification for the trainee
- the skills and experience of the mentor
- the line management and supervision arrangements
- what they will do to further support the trainee into the industry
- how they will promote the opportunity to undertake this training
- evidence of consent from landowner(s) and agreement of project manager(s) to deliver training alongside restoration work
Applications will be quality-assessed to ensure they meet the criteria outlined below and have the potential to deliver the desired outcomes.
[1] We appreciate that not all contracts are currently secured. Businesses may apply to support a trainee in advance of having secured work. We also realise that expected work may not materialise within the timeframe, in which case, a business would be able to withdraw the application for hosting a trainee.
[2] More information on Fair Work practices can be found in the Fair Work tool: https://fairworktool.scot/
What will we fund?
Funding will be capped at a maximum of £21,200 per trainee for the 6-week period. This figure will include support for
- training time, line management and supervision
- machine and fuel costs,
- trainee wages and travel
- relevant insurances, payroll, HR and admin
Support for costs of machine use/hire and mobilisation, diesel used per day and trainee travel are offered on an ‘up to’ basis and funding will be based on actual costs incurred. Salary to the trainee should be at least £150/day.
|
Item |
Unit cost: Hour |
Unit cost: Day |
Unit cost: Week |
Unit cost: One-off |
No. of units |
Total |
|
Training / mentoring - 12 hours a week (averaged, with more time in initial weeks) |
£50 |
|
|
|
72 |
£3600 |
|
machine use/hire / day (up to*) |
|
£250 |
|
30 |
£7500 |
|
|
trainee wage / day |
|
£150 |
|
30 |
£4500 |
|
|
diesel use / day (up to*) |
|
£110 |
|
30 |
£3300 |
|
|
trainee travel costs / week (up to*) |
|
|
£100 |
|
6 |
£600 |
|
machine mob / demob (up to*) |
|
|
|
£600 |
2 |
£1200 |
|
Staff overheads including payroll, admin, insurance |
|
|
|
£500 |
1 |
£500 |
|
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
£21,200 |
Payment will be made in arrears, based on evidence of trainee attendance and, as noted above, actual costs incurred. If required for cash flow purposes, payment in arrears can be made on a fortnightly basis.
All training participants must be resident in Scotland. A trainee must not be a current or past employee of your business or a member of your immediate family.
Funding is offered subject to NatureScot standard Terms & Conditions
What do host businesses need to provide?
As recipients of funding through the Project, host businesses will be responsible for:
- Providing sufficient time from an experienced member of staff to mentor the trainee (induction, supervision, review, feedback and support)
- Evidence of attendance by the trainee, i.e. completed timesheets signed by the trainee.
- Supporting the trainee to produce a record of work
- Brief End of Training Evaluation Report with sections completed by the trainee and the manager/mentor.
As employers of the trainee, host organisations will be responsible for:
- Recruitment of the trainee
- Payment of wages to the trainee, at least £150 per day gross
- Provision for the trainee to be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses up to £100/week.
- Appropriate PPE for the trainee so they can carry out their role.
- Induction for the trainee including health and safety briefing
- Employer’s liability insurance
What other support will NatureScot Peatland ACTION provide?
NatureScot Peatland ACTION may be able to help with or advise on advertising the training placement but the host organisation must provide the contact details for applications and manage the recruitment process.
Peatland ACTION will offer each trainee an introductory 2-hour online session on the theory and principles of peatland restoration. For efficiency, the intention is to offer this once to cover all trainees in the Project, but if start dates vary significantly, we will endeavour to find each trainee a relevant introductory course in which they can participate.
How will we assess the effectiveness of the training?
The trainee will be expected to keep a training record ( including photo and/or video evidence) of work they have carried out. Towards the end of the training period, we will ask a Peatland ACTION project officer to visit the site where training /mentoring is taking place. They will watch the trainee working, look at the record of work and chat to the individual to assess their understanding of the techniques they are deploying.
If the work is of sufficient quality, the Project Officer will be able to sign off the techniques they have seen evidence of.
Criteria for evaluation of applications
Applicants must provide enough detail to enable their application to be assessed against these criteria. If the application does not meet the Mandatory criteria or scores less than 2 on any other criteria, it will be rejected. (Questions refer to questions in the Application Form).
|
Application assessment criteria |
Score |
|
|
(Question 5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL SCORE (Out of a possible 20)
|
|
(Question 8) |
Mandatory |
|
Mandatory |
(Questions 8, 16) |
Mandatory |
Scores will be awarded on the following basis:
| Evaluation | Description | Scoring |
|---|---|---|
|
Outstanding |
Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. It is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides robust detail and innovation. |
4 |
|
Good |
Response is relevant and good. It is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirement will be fulfilled. |
3 |
|
Acceptable |
Response is relevant and acceptable. It addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details in how the requirement will be fulfilled. |
2 |
|
Poor |
Response is partially relevant but poor. It addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient and/or limited explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. |
1 |
|
Unacceptable |
Nil or inadequate response. It fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. |
0 |
How to apply
If this is of interest to you, please contact [email protected] to arrange an initial discussion. We will then send you an application form.
Please submit the completed application form plus any further information you deem relevant to [email protected]. Applications must be submitted by the closing date of 23:59 hours on Friday 22nd September 2023.
Successful applicants will be notified in the week beginning 25th September allowing recruitment to begin immediately.
Additional Information
Successful host businesses will be offered funding for a period of 6 weeks to support a training placement. Businesses will be paid in arrears for each full week in which the placement is hosted. If one or other of the parties to the placement terminates the arrangement, the funding support will terminate, unless a replacement is found for the training place. A replacement will only be accepted if at least 4 weeks of the training placement remains.
