EN:Able Communities hosts regional summit to tackle skills gap

Contractors and consultants from across the construction industry have come together to address the growing skills gap in retrofit at a summit held in Yorkshire by EN:Able Communities.

The Retrofit Skills Growth Summit Yorkshire, held this month at Printworks, Leeds City College, brought together retrofit contractors and consultants appointed to EN:Procure frameworks and leading training providers in Yorkshire to explore the challenges of delivering the skills and workforce needed to meet the demands of the growing requirement for retrofit works to reach current net zero goals.

Funded by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, and sponsored by Lovell Partnerships, the conference saw a range of expert speakers from the National Homes Decarbonisation Group, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), Leeds College of Building, Good People, the National Retrofit Hub, and Exeter College discuss national policies, innovative learning pathways, and the current and future landscape of retrofit-related training in Yorkshire.

In a survey of contractors carried out prior to the summit, Efficiency North found that the demand for those needing to develop retrofit skills is set to rise in the next three years, while more than 55% of respondents expected retrofit workforce shortages in the next 12 months. The survey found that key barriers to upskilling workers included lack of funding for training and lack of retrofit apprenticeships, but that both further education and independent training providers plan to introduce more courses in this area over the next three years.

The DESNZ is expected to announce £1.25bn of funding for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Scheme, the largest wave of funding the scheme has seen so far. The summit saw experts across the sector identify pathways and solutions to overcome the skills deficit in social housing retrofit works in West Yorkshire and beyond, so that workers can be fully-equipped once this funding is delivered.

Simeon Perry, head of operations at EN:Able Communities, said: “Understanding the challenges the sector is facing is crucial to tackling them, and bringing together experts from across the industry has been a fantastic way for us to get a real insight into how we can make a difference.

“Hearing from so many different voices about how we can shape the future of retrofit training has helped give us a clear direction of how we want to work with these training providers to both address the skills gap and better serve our local communities. Now we’ve opened the conversation, we can work on key partnerships that will allow us to jointly deliver what’s needed in terms of sector upskilling.”

As a result of the discussions EN:Able Communities is seeking to partner with training providers to help nurture and increase the number of skilled people in the retrofit sector, in turn supporting social housing landlords to serve their communities. The majority of those who attended the summit have pledged to become actively involved in steering skills development in the region, while a number of others have also pledged to maintain engagement in regional retrofit upskilling.

Nikki Davis, CEO and principal at Leeds College of Building, said: “I was delighted to attend the EN:Able Communities Retrofit Skills Growth Summit, and share the work being done by Leeds College of Building and the wider further education sector in the green construction skills space. The event led to great collaborative work, sharing of practice and an understanding of the issues faced by the different organisations in delivering real change. We look forward to working with others to lead this agenda, ensuring all students have the opportunity to develop green skills.”

More about the event, including presentations, speaker information, photo gallery and how your organisation can get involved in the West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Retrofit Skills Forums HERE