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Cadw and the IHBC have joined forces to offer Conservation Officers in Wales expert training on a programme to ensure all have the right skills for their central roles in planning and heritage and environmental care.

IHBC’s Education Secretary Chris Wood said:

‘Making sure that conservation officers are well informed and equipped to address proposals that deal with climate change is essential if decisions on retrofit and other work are going to be the right ones.’

‘In Wales, the IHBC, working with Cadw, has facilitated 2-day training courses for conservation officers. This also enables them to achieve the qualification recognised in the BSI standards on retrofitting traditional buildings, the Level 3 Award. These are in-person courses, which last month took place in Swansea, south Wales and more recently in Conwy, north Wales.’

Jill Fairweather, Cadw’s Historic Environment Skills Manager, said:

‘We are delighted to be collaborating with the IHBC to deliver this important training in Wales. Knowledge and understanding are key to improving the energy efficiency of traditional and historic buildings.’

‘We strongly encourage everyone involved in the design and installation of energy efficiency measures to undertake this qualification.’

The Cadw-IHBC courses are delivered by IHBC Technical Panel Chair Professor John Edwards, an expert practitioner and educator in the subject, who said:

‘We are only too pleased to be delivering this training and to see Cadw seizing the initiative in making it happen with ourselves and the IHBC, It means that we would have trained nearly all conservation officers in Wales’.

Cadw have produced guidance for anyone who wants to improve the energy efficiency of a traditional or historic building. There are good reasons for doing this, including lowering carbon emissions and fuel bills, and often making the building more comfortable to live or work in. It is also part of living more sustainably: How to Improve Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings in Wales