A new industry partnership has been announced to ensure the construction sector has the skills to carry out work on traditional buildings.

The 'Strategic Skills Partnership Agreement' is made up of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the Welsh Government's Historic Environment Service (Cadw), Historic England and Historic Environment Scotland (HES. It was launched at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings in Shropshire on Friday, 24 March.

With over 6.5 million traditional buildings (pre-1919) across England, Scotland and Wales, the Agreement and Action Plan will help ensure the industry has the knowledge, understanding and skills for the continued and sustainable use of traditional building stock.

Each partner will help integrate the knowledge and skills for working traditional buildings into mainstream construction training by:

• Supporting the reform of Further Education and apprenticeships to meet the needs of the heritage construction sector and boost apprenticeship numbers

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• Increasing the uptake of training related to traditional  buildings leading to qualifications to match the individual's skill level

• Supporting employers to attract and retain people by setting out opportunities and entry routes that exist within the heritage construction sector

Mark Noonan, Industry Relations Director for CITB, said: "This is a milestone agreement and one that is crucial to ensuring we have the right skills in place to conserve, repair and maintain our traditional building stock.

"We want young people to see that you can have a great career working with traditional buildings. Indeed, our current Apprentice of the Year, Sophie Turner, is a stonemason who learnt her trade working on a medieval church.

"Together with Cadw, Historic England and Historic Environment Scotland, we want many more young people to follow in her footsteps and help preserve these fantastic buildings for future generations to enjoy."

Dr David Mitchell Director of Conservation at HES, added: "I am delighted to sign this agreement and confirm our partnership with CITB and our fellow heritage bodies. Access to knowledge, skills and materials are at the heart of ensuring that our traditional buildings continue to contribute to the sustainable growth of our economies.

"This agreement will ensure that we work together to help our colleagues in the construction industry equip themselves with the skills required to take our traditional buildings in to the future."

Image: (L – R) Jason Thomas,  Commercial & Property Operations, Historic Environment Service (Cadw), Colin Tennant, Head of Traditional Skills and Materials at HES, Mark Noonan, Industry Relations Director for CITB and Chris Smith, Director of Planning at Historic England.

(LM/MH)