| From Crafts in Crisis to Rubbish in Retrofit: |
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| Heritage Skills in Conservation Report |
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| I am delighted to welcome the IHBC’s response to a new report into ‘Heritage Skills in Conservation’, supported by the IHBC’s CREATIVE Conservation Fund. |
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| Background |
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| The new report into ‘Heritage Skills in Conservation’ follows on from the IHBC-led research ‘THE VALUE OF HERITAGE: FIRST REPORT of the APPG on Conservation, Places & People’, which consolidated views, priorities and initiatives in heritage values from across key sectors and our diverse partners. |
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| Now, the IHBC is looking at a practical priority for us: ‘Heritage Skills in Conservation’, our first step in commissioning a single vision of the skills challenges that directly constrain conservation outcomes across ALL areas of practice relevant to us. |
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| The research was designed to identify critical areas of concern for us. These range from the familiar – linked to capacity, demand and supply – to the catastrophic, such as the billions wasted on usually well-meaning but often inappropriate retrofit initiatives. |
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| Skills sit at the centre of the IHBC’s own cross-sector and interdisciplinary conservation objectives. As we advance our ambitions for interdisciplinary built and historic environment conservation practice, this work helps us shape our support for all conservation skills. |
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| The new report into ‘Heritage Skills in Conservation’ follows on from the IHBC-led research ‘THE VALUE OF HERITAGE: FIRST REPORT of the APPG on Conservation, Places & People’ |
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| ‘The Value of Heritage’ APPG report |
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| Pressure Points |
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| The Pressure points we find reveal a skills landscape in conservation that is critically fragmented and side-lined, often due to prejudices and short-term objectives. Inevitably, lessons are ignored, opportunities missed, and money wasted, as demonstrated by: |
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| Wasted investment |
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| The debacle of publicly-funded retrofit insulation recently highlighted by the National Audit Office, well-meaning but un-informed and exceptionally damaging. |
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| A small part of that funding targeting heritage-related VAT relief, such as in refurbishment and repair, would create demand, underpin skills and deliver sustainable outcomes. |
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| Sidelined successes and missed opportunities |
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| Traditional & craft skills, whether achievements or challenges, are barely recognised outside their own areas. |
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| For trade skills, calls for better regulation tied to skills are passed over. |
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| Professional conservation accreditation schemes underpin specialist standards, but practitioner numbers are tiny and many key professions have yet to grapple with the issue. |
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| Though planning sits at the heart of today’s challenging balance of development and environment, critical support still demands the most energetic lobbying. |
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| Scan here to access |
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| references & related links |
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| IHBC’s ‘Five Commitments’ to Help Heritage Skills in Conservation |
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| 1. Advocate |
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| Present targeted parliamentary-level briefings across the UK and its Home Nations. |
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| 2. Educate |
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| Enhance access to IHBC standards and services across all built and historic environment practices and operations. |
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| 3. Investigate |
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| Investigate the complex challenges in heritage management processes and skills and respond accordingly. |
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| 4. Celebrate |
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| Celebrate the achievements of heritage skills in conservation, helped by our CREATIVE Conservation Fund. |
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| 5. Integrate |
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| Establish and host a new network, open and free, to support service leads delivering conservation-related learning, training and education. |
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| Helping Conservation and People |
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| Add value and support your personal conservation priorities with confidence. |
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| IHBC CREATIVE Conservation Fund Allocation Table |
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| Conservation Funding Area |
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| Specific Purpose |
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| Sample Initiatives and Allocations |
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| General Aims |
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| Celebration |
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| The IHBC’s |
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| Charitable |
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| Objects |
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| Scan for more information |
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| Research |
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| Education |
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| Apprenticeship |
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| Training |
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| Innovation |
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| Visioning |
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| Exploration |
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| Donate to any, or all, of the funding areas |
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| November 2025 |
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| © 2025 Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) |
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| Registered & Business Office: Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA. |
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| Visit: www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a Charity in England & Wales: No. 1061593. Registered as a Charity in Scotland: No. SC041945. Listed in Northern Ireland. Company Limited by Guarantee; registered in England: No.3333780. |
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