Zero Waste Scotland grant offered to pay for staff training

People working in the third sector are to be offered training in upcycling and repair skills.

Zero Waste Scotland is making grants of up to £1,800 so charities can offer staff a place on one of its courses.

The grants are available to cover the costs of tuition, travel and subsistence, and any materials or equipment needed for the course.

Interested third sector groups should be able to demonstrate how training up staff and volunteers will increase their re-use activity, and should have Revolve – Zero Waste Scotland’s official mark of quality, for both products and services, in the re-use sector – accreditation or equivalent.

The new nationwide fund aims to get over this barrier by helping workers to gain training skills in repair or upcycling for four types of common items: electronic equipment, furniture, bicycles and textiles.

Louise McGregor, head of circular economy, Zero Waste Scotland, which estimates over 150,000 tonnes of re-usable goods are still going to landfill in Scotland every year, said: “Increasing repair skills in Scotland is vital to increasing the amount of goods being re-used.

“Building on and expanding existing repair skills also has the potential to create many new, sustainable jobs in communities across Scotland.

“We need to preserve the skills we have and attract new young people to learn the skills of repair, which will be increasingly important to our economy in the future.”

Online applications must be received by 5pm on 31 August.