Research highlights need for specialist craftspeople ahead of Parliament restoration

Hundreds of new heritage craftspeople and conservation specialists will be needed to fill roles in traditional crafts ahead of essential work to restore the Houses of Parliament.

The restoration programme is expected to explore the potential for training centres and funding student bursaries and will aim to work with the wider heritage sector to promote skills initiatives, with the first cohort of apprentices already starting work on the restoration.

Heritage plasters and carpenters, stonemasons, and historic window restorers are just some of the jobs that will be in high demand throughout the Parliament restoration programme, and a national assessment of thousands of suppliers and training providers has found that more specialists will be needed in some areas.

In some areas such as heritage plastering, research suggests that more than a third of the specialists currently working in the UK will be needed in the complex programme of essential work to restore Parliament. The restoration programme could also need as many as 34% of all heritage window specialists in the UK.

Mike Brown CBE MVO, Chair of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, said: ‘Restoring Parliament will create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships across the UK, but this will hinge on getting the right numbers of skilled people to work with us.

‘This Skills Assessment has allowed the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Programme to identify areas of shortage and engage with our key industries and training providers to create new jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities which will be vital to the restoration of one of the world’s most widely recognised buildings.’

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive at Historic England, added: ‘This research provides clear statement of intent to the heritage construction sector and its partners. The Restoration and Renewal of the Houses of Parliament presents an unprecedented opportunity to address long-standing heritage skills construction shortages in England and the wider UK, focussing on areas of greatest need, such as plastering and joinery.

‘The Hamish Ogston Foundation Heritage Building Skills Programme managed by Historic England is already training people in these skills in the North of England, but there is need for even greater investment across the whole of the country. We look forward to working with our existing network of training providers to explore how models of excellence might be extended.’

Photo supplied by Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal