We have collected anecdotal evidence over the years that the rural skills training has had a positive long-term impact on the future prospects for the trainees, but we wanted to check that what we deliver was in fact doing that. To that end in March 2025 we partnered with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Centre for Living Sustainably to independently evaluate the wider impact of our Rural Skills Training, engaging with trainees who have completed the training with us since the very first course back in 2016, and write a protocol to help us to better evaluate outcomes moving forward.
The research showed that the training:
- Directly helped trainees find employment:
“Dun Coillich was one of the deciding factors when interviewed for my job. Already having qualifications made a big difference.”
- Helped with confidence- through leadership practice, new social and practical skills:
“I had very low confidence in myself, the course helped me reach out and take opportunities and made me realise I was capable of achieving my goals”
“I became a much stronger leader, and I’m much more self-reliant now.”
- Social growth and grounding, improving mental health:
“The course helped me overcome difficulties with socializing and with being more confident as a person.”
“Was really good for my mental health – working on a set task, with others, outdoors in a beautiful place- usually left feeling a lot more upbeat/optimistic/satisfied.”
- Self-realisation and finding new paths: The course opened new career and life paths; introducing new opportunities and spotlighting enjoyable and obtainable roles.
“It made me realise how much I enjoyed working outdoors and how good it is for me personally.”
The full evaluation report can be read here: Rural Skills Training UHI HPCLT Final Report 2025
We are grateful to the Scottish Funding Council Standard Innovation Voucher programme for supporting this research. Following on from the success of this collaboration we are hoping to continue this partnership with the UHI team in 2026 to look at the wider community impacts of the work that we do, and how we can further increase this impact.
