Prince Charles visited the new centre at Fyvie Castle

He met builders, stonemasons and slaters working on the early stages of the project, based at Fyvie Castle.

The centre will offer courses such as traditional joinery and garden maintenance.

It is backed by the National Trust of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise Grampian, BP and Communities Scotland.

It is hoped the initiative, believed to be the first of its kind north of the border, will be completed over the next four years.

Prince Charles toured the grounds of the castle on Wednesday and met some of those involved in the project.

It will teach stone masonry, traditional joinery, lime pointing and rendering, path-making, dry-stone dyking and garden and landscape maintenance.

Prince Charles shared a joke at the Buckie Shipyard

Project coordinator Marc Ellington said: "The absence of training in traditional skills has led us to the brink of a crisis, the effects of which are already being felt by the construction industry as well as by those involved in building and landscape conservation, maintenance and repair projects.

"I'm confident that in actively addressing this requirement the centre will contribute greatly to providing a more secure and sustainable future for our built and landscape heritage."

Prince Charles earlier met staff at Buckie Shipyard, where he was greeted by about 50 wellwishers.

The bulk of the yard's order book is taken up with repairing and refitting lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, of which the Queen is patron.

The prince joked with one worker, painter Neil Henderson, that he could sell his paint-splattered hard hat as a work of modern art.

A crowd of about 100 people then welcomed him to a garage in Keith.