Coppersmithing (stills)

Skills include hammering and shaping the copper, welding, and cutting using a water jet cutting machine.

• Skills issues: Still making is a specialised craft and requires training from scratch.
• Market issues: The global rise in the popularity of whisky means there is increased demand for coppersmiths to make, repair and replace stills.

• The Balvenie (1 coppersmith)
• Abercrombie Coppersmiths at Alloa (43 coppersmiths) – take on two apprentice coppersmiths and engineers a year.
• Forsyths (15 coppersmiths) – take on three trainees per year for a five-year apprenticeship.

Number of trainees: Abercrombie Coppersmiths take on on two apprentice coppersmiths and engineers a year, and Forsyths take on three trainees per year for a five-year apprenticeship. An apprenticeship includes an engineering course at a Further Education College, followed by four years in the workshop working alongside trained coppersmiths. After completing the apprenticeship it takes another five years or so to fully master the craft.