The National Federation of Builders Heritage Group has held a high-level meeting with Nigel Huddleston MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at the Houses of Parliament to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the heritage and traditional building sector.
The meeting brought together senior figures from across the sector, including Paul Knox of Pearce Construction, Alan Leigh of Baxall Construction, and Tom Austin of F. A Valiant, James Butcher and Sean Houlston of the NFB.
Discussions focused on five core issues: severe skills shortages and an ageing heritage workforce, the lack of long-term certainty around heritage work pipelines, fragile and inconsistent training provision, the failure of net zero policy to properly account for traditional and historic buildings, and procurement processes that routinely exclude specialist SMEs.
Members stressed that without clearer visibility of future heritage investment, employers are reluctant to invest in training and skills. They also highlighted that poorly designed retrofit and net zero programmes risk damaging historic buildings while missing the opportunity to upskill existing heritage specialists.
Tom Austin, a Director at F.A Valiant & Son Ltd, said:
“We need to significantly increase awareness of the heritage sector within construction and better promote the appeal of the careers and opportunities it offers, including the highly skilled conservation-artisan trades that are essential to its success. This requires embedding heritage more firmly within mainstream academic and school-based routes, so it is recognised as a viable and attractive career path from an early stage. Greater partnership and integration between schools, sector-governing professionals and employers is also required. Training provision within local colleges must improve and be specifically tailored to heritage skills, while remaining aligned with core construction competencies.
“NFB membership provides us with a voice at a national level, and if the government is serious about safeguarding heritage assets, it must help to strengthen the skills pipeline and address the structural barriers affecting the sector.”
James Butcher, Deputy CEO of the NFB, said:
“Being with our members at Westminster to represent the heritage and traditional building sector matters. Nigel Huddleston is a strong champion of heritage and has been open and constructive in engaging with the challenges our members face. That willingness to listen to practical, on-the-ground experience is essential if policy on skills, training and investment is to work for the sector and the historic buildings it protects.”
The NFB Heritage Group called for targeted support for heritage careers promotion, clearer national and regional heritage work pipelines, improved access to training, and SME-friendly procurement models to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector.
More information about the NFB Heritage Group can be found here.
