Greater Manchester needs around 5,000 workers to retrofit hthe city region’s buildings built before 1919, generating £570m of direct economic output every year according to a report out from Historic England
For the first time, local data on the estimated need for retrofitting skills to deliver Net Zero for England’s historic buildings has been made available by Historic England, accompanied by information on how areas across England stand to benefit from growing the green economy by making historic buildings more energy efficient.
Alongside partners from the property and heritage sectors, Historic England is calling on decision-makers across the country to use this new data to act now to build England’s retrofitting workforce and address the skills gap. The public body is providing them with advice and guidance.
Historic England is encouraging the 38 Employer Representative Bodies responsible for implementing Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) across England to develop proposals to train new and existing workers on how to work with traditionally constructed buildings, including skills bootcamps, apprenticeships and training courses, designed to provide the right skills for local retrofitting needs.
Buildings in England are responsible for around a fifth of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, with one in five being built before 1919. On average, 86,500 new workers per year will be needed until 2050 to retrofit England’s traditionally constructed buildings in order to meet Net Zero targets, generating around £12 billion in direct annual economic output.
Investment opportunities from making much-loved local historic buildings more energy efficient, whilst conserving their historic significance, are quantified for towns and cities, allowing local authorities to develop tailored skills proposals.
Historic England’s Director of Policy and Evidence, Ian Morrison, said:
We’re delighted to be sharing the first blueprint for delivering long term, high quality retrofitting jobs across our towns and cities, delivering energy efficiency for our much-loved historic buildings and seizing a massive opportunity to drive sustainable growth. Prioritising the re-use and retrofit of historic buildings helps to conserve those places
