A Dartmoor-based charity is offering countryside skills training to help people who have lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic gain new skills.

Running Deer this week announced the new training programme in partnership with Devon County Council, which is also open to young people without work.

The Moretonhampstead-based community interest company uses the healing power of nature to help children and adults at risk of social exclusion reconnect with the world.

This grant comes from the county council’s Natural Capital Challenge Fund, which aims to help the recovery of the economy of Devon after Covid-19 by creating employment and training opportunities to improve the natural environment.

Running Deer’s six-week Countryside Skills courses will give learners the opportunity to gain new knowledge, practical skills, and accredited qualifications related to countryside management.

The courses will be available free of charge to workers from vulnerable sectors such as tourism, retail, food, and farming who have been displaced by Covid-19, young people not in education employment or training, and people experiencing long-term unemployment or other barriers to work.

Joanna Winterburn, managing director of Running Deer C.I.C. said: ’Running Deer are delighted to be awarded a grant from Devon County Council’s Natural Capital Challenge Fund.

’This grant will enable us to deliver a comprehensive programme of training courses that will reduce the skills gap for people facing challenges and barriers to work, including those displaced by the pandemic.’

For more information about how to get involved with the programme, visit the Countryside Skills page at www.runningdeer.org.uk/countryside-skills