History

Our History

SMSA’s now Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder came to this country from his homeland in South Africa and began working in community development for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils. It was through this work that he noticed a pattern – where were all the men?

Jason consulted with colleagues across Scotland and voiced his concerns on the challenge to engage men and that this was sadly being experienced all across the country.

In 2009, Jason heard about a talk on a new initiative called ‘Men’s Sheds’ taking place in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Having not heard of the concept before, Jason got researching and was amazed to learn about the Movement in Australia. At the talk, Jason met Dr Neil Bruce – a retired GP who is the Chairman of the New Zealand Men’s Sheds Association – and was inspired.

Jason kept in touch with Dr Bruce and it spurred him on to set up the first-ever Men’s Shed in Scotland in Westhill, Aberdeenshire. Working alongside the Westhill & District Men’s Shed’s committee and Jill Sowden from Aberdeenshire Council, it took three years to get everything in place to open the first Shed in February 2013.

In its inaugural year, the Shed had 3,000+ individual visits and a demand was being shown for more Sheds in Aberdeenshire. Funding from the Aberdeenshire Council’s Change Fund created a two-year full-time post for a Men’s Sheds Development Officer to be hosted by the Aberdeenshire Council for Voluntary Service (now known as Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action). Jason went for the interview and got the job and then went on to work in Banchory to roll out what happened in Westhill across Aberdeenshire.

“By August 2016, there were 11 Sheds in Aberdeenshire in a two-and-a-half-year period.”

Over the course of the two-years, Jason created a development plan, talks, films and presentations and researched maps, demographics, road transport links, retirement ages and went targeting men (and their wives/partners) in those areas to talk to them about Sheds. By the end of year one, there was six Sheds in Aberdeenshire.

Nearing the end of the post, the Aberdeenshire Council’s Innovation Fund granted a third year with a remit to get the existing proposed Sheds up to opening stage and not start up new Sheds, however, by August 2016 there were 11 Sheds in Aberdeenshire in a two-and-a-half-year period.

Jason was also a co-founder of the UK Men’s Sheds Association and represented Scotland for all enquiries. Unfortunately when a road show for Sheds was proposed across the UK in 2013 he found out the funding was only for England and he decided to create Scotland’s own Men’s Sheds Association.

Due to Scotland having specific legislation as a devolved nation different from England and Wales, it made sense to start an Association just for Scotland – ‘In Scotland, For Scotland’ – to support and grow the Movement. Jason got to work, recruiting Trustees, registering the charity and organising a launch event and the Association was born.

The charity was established on the 30^th September 2014 and launched to the public in 2015 at The Lighthouse in Glasgow to an audience of 300 people. The rest they say is history as the SMSA continues to support and grow the movement across Scotland and celebrates it’s first decade in 2024.