The apprenticeship programme is being spearheaded by The Royal Collection Trust, based in Windsor Castle, and successful candidates will work for the first two years in the Royal Bindery, which was founded in 1770 by George III and is also located in the castle.

Over the subsequent three years, time will be allocated to working and gathering experience externally at two livery bookbinders: Shepherds, Sangorski & Sutcliffe and Blissetts, who along with the Royal Bindery are the chosen skills providers for the scheme.  

Royal Warrant holder Blissetts has provided bindery services for The Royal Collection Trust, among other clients, for many years, and managing director Gary Blissett said the scheme had come about through a mutual concern for the trade.

"The Royal Collection Trust has a massive collection of books that needs looking after for generations to come and we also want to ensure the trade and the family business lasts long into the future," explained Blissett, whose grandparents founded the company in 1920.

"Our industry has been in massive decline over the last 25 years. There are many binders that do certain kinds of work, but we’re one of only about three mainstream binders that do the whole range of binding. We are seriously skilled and there are very few of us left."

The pilot programme is due to start this autumn, in around September, and will run for seven years with two new apprentices taken on each year for the first three years. 

Apprentices will be assessed against the City & Guilds programme, undertaking foundation levels one to three in the first two years and specialist levels four and five in the remaining three years. 

Level three is currently being written and levels four and five will be an extension of the foundation levels, designed to reflect the extremely high level of craftmanship involved across the whole spectrum of work. 

Candidates can expect to learn a wide range of bookbinding skills from fine-leather binding, edge-guilding and gold finishing, to case- and box-making and restoration. 

Students, who will be considered as employees of the Royal Collection Trust, will be continually assessed and must pass each level to progress to the next year. On completion of the first two years, apprentices will be indentured to their livery company and on completion of the five-year scheme will be made a Freeman of that company. Those showing excellence in their work will be encouraged to apply for a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust scholarship. 

Blissett, who has previously provided apprenticeship training at his 40-staff, £1.7m-turnover business, said it is not something that should be taken lightly. 

"It’s very expensive, in both time and money, to provide training for apprentices over four or five years and sometimes you put the resources in and you lose them to better paid unrelated jobs, which is disappointing. I do understand but it’s a problem. It’s not the highest paid job so you have to be really passionate about it and then it's incredibly rewarding," he said.

"Bookbinders used to be paid much more than printers and that has been turned on its head, although I do think that may change again in the future as skilled bookbinders become much more sought-after," Blissett explained. 

The seven-year pilot of the Queen's Bindery Apprenticeship will cost around £500,000 and is being backed by eight charitable founding partners: Royal Collection Trust, Antiquarian Booksellers Association, City & Guilds of London Institute, The Clothworkers' Company, The Leathersellers' Company, The Printing Charity, Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust and The Stationers' Company.

Hopeful candidates, who will all undergo the strict screening process required by the Royal Household, have until 31 July to submit their applications online. No previous experience is required.