1 HERITAGE SKILLS IN CONSERVATION Commissioned by the IHBC, this is an independent sector-wide survey and review of the availability of specialist skills for the conservation, maintenance, retrofit and repair of historic and traditionally constructed buildings. It was prepared by Cathedral Communications Limited in November 2025 following surveys of: • accreditation in building conservation • courses and training in building conservation • industry perceptions of the availability of heritage skills. KEY FINDINGS The good news is that a little over two percent of architects and surveyors in the UK are accredited to work with historic and traditionally constructed buildings. As only two per cent of the building stock is listed, the proportions match perfectly. Not so good is the fact that the UK does not have enough specialist contractors, particularly in fields such as thatching and traditional plastering. Accreditation levels among contractors and craftspeople is particularly low. Out of the 350,000 construction companies registered in Great Britain less than 250 are accredited to carry out conservation and repair work. That is less than 0.1 per cent. The bad news is that it is not only the listed buildings that needs these skills. Roughly 6.5 million buildings – one in four of all buildings in Great Britain – are traditionally constructed using materials and techniques that are incompatible with modern ones. Most of these buildings need to be retrofitted to minimise heat loss, but as recent retrofit schemes have shown, poor design and installation errors trap moisture, leading to black mould and damp. We cannot make the same mistakes again. Teaching stonemasons to knap flint at HG Matthews’ brickworks
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