Historic England is undertaking research into England’s heritage building skills sector for recommendations on how best to preserve and protect the country’s historic and older buildings.
Research agency Harlow Consulting is carrying out a survey into the supply and demand of heritage building skills to help identify skills gaps and shortages.
Construction companies that work on older buildings are invited to participate in the survey, which will be conducted between January and February 2024.
Historic England also said it was vital to understand how best to retrofit older buildings if the UK is to reduce carbon emissions and reach net zero.
Tess Gale, sector resilience and skills director at Historic England, said: “The skills needed to maintain, repair, adapt and retrofit England’s traditional buildings are specialist. This research project will help Historic England, and partners in the sector, to better understand where skills needs are most pressing, enabling effective and collaborative action to address these.”
Jennifer Brennan, director at Harlow Consulting, added: “This work will map the profile of the workforce and relevant training provision, identify skills gaps and shortages, and make recommendations about how best to preserve and protect our heritage building skills.
“We strongly encourage those working in this sector to take part in the survey. Their views are incredibly valuable and will help Historic England and their stakeholders understand what actions can be taken to support vital skills and training.”
