NFRC Marks RMI Sector Skills Plan and Publication of Research
NFRC supports this launch and its aims.
The plan focuses on two areas: domestic retrofit, and heritage and traditional buildings. £3.8 million has been allocated to fund tailored strategies, projects and interventions for each area. NFRC sits on the plan's advisory group which helped inform the plan and which will determine funding allocations.
The sector plan has three objectives:
- Deliver funding in line with the principles set out by new domestic retrofit research
- Improve competence in the RMI/retrofit workforce
- Streamline training initiatives and create clear standards to train towards
These objectives strongly align with NFRC's ongoing work to improve the roofing industry's understanding of competence requirements, improve access to training and CPD, and overall to professionalise the sector.
RMI work is central to upgrading the UK's 30 million-plus homes. The sector is worth £40.7 billion. Yet RMI has long faced limited recognition of key skills, no minimum competence standards, and stop-start policy from government.
NFRC Members carry out a significant share of RMI work, particularly as retrofit measures increasingly touch the roof: insulation, ventilation, and solar. Poor quality retrofit creates real risk. It can damage buildings and harm the people living in them. A skilled, competent workforce is the only way to deliver retrofit safely and at the scale needed.
The research behind the Sector Skills Plan
The plan is underpinned by new research, commissioned by CITB's RMI Sector Skills Advisory Group and carried out by Oxford University and Nottingham Trent University. The report, Energy Retrofit, Repair, Maintenance and Improvement of Homes in Great Britain: Towards a Sector Skills Strategy, sets out three guiding principles for the sector:
- Understand better the technical, market, institutional and policy context of retrofit and existing housing
- Foster collaboration across the training sector and with external partners, including devolved and place-based approaches
- Clarify goals, including a shared vision for career pathways, quality standards and funding reform
The report also recommends that future funding prioritise coordination, competence, and quality assurance, backed by independent assessment and certification.
We encourage members to read the full report and watch the summary video, both available on the CITB's website here.
If you have ideas for a programme that could improve the UK's RMI skills landscape and think NFRC should apply for funding through the sector skills plan, contact [email protected].
