A new two-day course in energy efficiency for historic properties, developed to Scottish Qualification Authority’s (SQA) Level 3 by CITB’s National Construction College and historic building consultancy Edwards Hart, is being offered to IHBC members at a special discount of 10% when booking using the coupon code noted below.
John Edwards of Edwards Hart, and an IHBC trustee, writes:
The first course takes place on the 2 and 3 November 2015 with other dates set for the rest of the UK – Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.
The course has been developed by CITB’s National Construction College who teamed up with historic building consultancy Edwards Hart with participants receiving a Level 3 award upon satisfactory completion.
The Edwards Hart team is led by John Edwards, formerly of English Heritage and Cadw, who initiated and led the Welsh Government’s first live energy efficiency research project involving traditional buildings. According to John Edwards: ‘It’s all about expertise and this project brought together a team of experts from around the UK to capture the very latest research, practice, guidance and decision making tools to develop a unique learning resource’. John added: ‘This has been eighteen months in the making and I am proud to be the one who delivers this important and unique training across the UK in something that is desperately required’.
The project was initiated by the Construction Industry Training Board who spotted a gap in knowledge and skills in retrofitting traditional buildings. Their Project Manager Bill Brown explains: ‘With a quarter of our building stock traditionally built we owe it to the country to make sure that we are equipped to properly treat this valuable resource and make sure that retrofitting is money well spent’. Bill added: ‘Only with the right knowledge and skills deployed at the very beginning and through to work implementation can we be assured that we are not taking undue risks with unintended consequences, which includes possible impacts on the health of occupants’.
This course is unique in that it provides a qualification at the end of it, independently accredited by the Scottish Qualification Authority.
Bill Brown continued: ‘CITB is making sure that this is good quality training based on the most up to date and relevant knowledge, delivered by experts who are also qualified trainers and educators’.
This initiative is also supported by the National Trust, who are responsible for many of the UK’s finest mansions but also thousands of small dwellings.
Rory Cullen of the Head of Buildings at the National Trust said: ‘This is a very welcome course on retrofit, as it develops learners’ knowledge so they can understand how sustainability can be appropriately built in to our heritage. It will provide a recognised qualification which should go a long way towards improving the efficiency of our traditional and historic buildings whilst protecting their aesthetic quality’.
The programme is designed to appeal to a wide range of occupational groups which includes contractors, consultants and clients as well as conservation officers, building control officers and others.
As well understanding traditional buildings of different types and age it will also cover thermal performance as well as energy and efficiency assessments, the impact of installing energy efficiency measures and the range of energy efficiency systems and measures available.
These courses are bookable through the Environment Study Centre.
When booking please use the coupon code ihesc415.
