9 Industry perceptions survey The Building Conservation Directory (BCD) and its website www.buildingconservation.com provides details of 400 conservation specialists, including 120 specialist contractors and conservators. Although accreditation is not needed to advertise, all advertisers are screened to ensure that they work in the heritage field and offer relevant services. These people and a selection of those who regularly use or advertise in The Building Conservation Directory were sent a MailChimp survey to discover which heritage skills they had difficulty finding in the past three years. The response rate was too low (70 people) to give a detailed statistical analysis of all the challenges, but the feedback included 30 heritage professionals in some of the leading conservation companies in the UK and 18 building contractors and craftspeople working in this sector. The broad range of participants also makes this a particularly useful guide to the state of the sector. The top six problem areas all correspond with craft where there is little or no provision for training. Top of the list was thatching followed by lime work (render/stucco, pargetting, etc), lime or fibrous plastering, traditional painting and decorating, brick repairs and pointing, ironwork (cast and wrought). LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY None Some Major Thatching 19% 31% 50% Lime work (render/stucco, pargetting etc) 24% 55% 21% Lime or fibrous plastering 31% 46% 22% Traditional styles of painting and decorating 33% 47% 20% Brick repairs and pointing 38% 45% 16% Ironwork (cast and wrought) 39% 43% 18% Masonry cleaning 40% 49% 11% Vernacular/local construction (cob, pargetting etc) 41% 28% 31% Glass, stained glass and/or glazing 41% 43% 16% Traditional window and door repairs 44% 31% 25% Stone carving 44% 36% 20% Concrete repairs 47% 44% 9% Stonework repairs and pointing 47% 32% 20% Damp and decay treatment 49% 37% 14% Structural timber repairs 49% 32% 19% Leadwork 51% 30% 19% Traditional window and door construction 51% 37% 12% Fine joinery and cabinetwork 53% 29% 18% Roof slating and tiling 55% 31% 14% Sustainability/retrofit assessment 55% 24% 21% Retrofit (insulation, draught-proofing etc) 61% 28% 11% Hard landscaping (paving, setts, cobbles etc) 63% 24% 13% Interior furnishings 68% 28% 4% Interior fittings and finishes 72% 25% 3% Comments by contributors to the skills survey highlighted the low number of specialist courses and the lack of suitable support for apprenticeships. They also highlighted regional disparities in both training opportunities and in the availability of skilled heritage contractors and conservators. Anecdotal evidence suggested that areas of the south east of England was relatively better served, while areas of west Wales and the north west of England were highlighted as being most problematic. A selection of general comments from the survey is given in the online version of this report.
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