The National Federation of Builders (NFB) Heritage Group has met with Nigel Huddleston MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to discuss skills shortages and wider structural challenges facing the heritage and traditional building sector.
The meeting took place at the Houses of Parliament and brought together senior figures from heritage construction and conservation businesses, alongside representatives from the NFB.
Skills shortages and ageing workforce in heritage construction
Discussions focused on a number of challenges affecting the sector, including severe skills shortages, an ageing workforce, and fragile training provision for specialist heritage trades.
Participants warned that without a clearer pipeline of heritage and conservation work, employers are increasingly reluctant to invest in training apprentices and new entrants.
The lack of long-term certainty was identified as a key barrier to sustaining specialist skills required to maintain and restore historic buildings.
Training gaps and routes into heritage careers
Members also raised concerns that current education and training pathways do not adequately support heritage skills development. They said inconsistent access to specialist training, particularly through further education colleges, is limiting the sector’s ability to attract and retain new talent.
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.”
READ MORE: Addressing the UK construction skills shortage: training for tomorrow’s industry
Net zero retrofit and risks to historic buildings
The meeting also examined how current net zero and retrofit policies fail to adequately account for traditional and historic buildings.
Sector representatives warned that poorly designed retrofit programmes risk damaging heritage assets while missing opportunities to upskill existing specialist contractors.
They said policy frameworks need to better recognise the distinct construction methods, materials and performance characteristics of older buildings.
Procurement barriers for specialist SMEs
Procurement processes were identified as another barrier, with members stating that specialist heritage SMEs are often excluded from public sector work due to procurement models that do not reflect the scale or specialist nature of conservation projects.
The group called for procurement approaches that better support smaller, specialist contractors with the expertise needed to deliver heritage projects.
Industry engagement with policymakers
James Butcher, Deputy CEO of the NFB, said engagement with policymakers was critical to addressing these challenges.
“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 said targeted support for heritage careers promotion, clearer national and regional work pipelines, improved access to specialist training, and SME-friendly procurement models are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the heritage construction sector.
