Traditional Building Skills Toolkit released

he National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) in partnership with The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) are proud to announce the online launch of their free Traditional Building Skills Training Toolkit.

The Toolkit is a free resource available to download and read here that provides a step by step guide to putting traditional building skills and conservation training at the heart of built heritage projects. The simple approach will help organisations and community groups to consider all aspects of delivering training on a ‘live’ heritage conservation or restoration site.

This project is part of a drive to provide a sustainable future for our built heritage. It is recognised that the training and education of a new generation of skilled workforce is vital to ensure that our heritage buildings are properly rehabilitated, repaired and maintained to secure their lasting legacy.

NHTG and the CCT believe that on-site, practical training is effective and priceless. As part of a recent CCT regeneration project at All Souls church in Bolton, six paid training placements were funded on the project, by the NHTG ‘Building Traditional Skills’.  Find out more about the placements in the film below.

The Toolkit draws on the experience and learning from the All Souls Bolton project, the NHTG, and expertise from historic building and traditional materials consultants. It is hoped that the Toolkit will become an essential part of project planning documentation, and will help to ensure that training is central to any heritage building project in future.

Sarah Robinson, Director of Conservation for the CCT said ‘We are aiming to embed training, education and craft skills into our projects so that the end result is not just a conservation success, but a push forward in creating a sustainable animated workforce for the future of our heritage.’

Cathie Clarke, General Manager of the NHTG added ‘This Toolkit is a valuable new resource that has been made possible by the generosity of practicing building conservation and training experts for the benefit of the industry as a whole. We hope that clients, specifiers and contractors will rise to the challenge and use this Toolkit to offer training within all future built heritage projects.’