English Heritage (English Heritage), supported by the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG), hosted a roof-top tour at Audley End House and Gardens to showcase their pilot scheme requiring Heritage Skills CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) cards for specialist leadworkers working on significant projects at EH properties.
EH writes:
David Brown, Senior Project Manager at English Heritage explains: ‘The Audley End Representation project was selected to implement the pilot scheme, because the skills of specialist lead workers were needed to undertake essential repairs to the significant lead sheet roofs and gutters on the south wing.’
English Heritage has long supported heritage skills training and the accreditation of skilled craftspeople and building professionals to demonstrate their suitability to work on heritage buildings. The visit gave the opportunity for representatives from CITB, RIBA, Federation of Master Builders, National Federation of Builders, Construction Skills Certification Scheme, NFRC Heritage Committee, IHBC, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) to discuss the benefits to clients of a skilled and qualified workforce, the current barriers and potential solutions to increasing uptake of the range of training available and the tests of competency to work on traditional buildings which underpins the Heritage Skills CSCS cards.
Jim Walsh of Fairhurst Ward Abbotts, and Michael Cain of T and P Roofing Ltd, the contractors for the project gave the opportunity to see the works in progress and answered the many questions. The guests were interested to hear about the conservation approach and to see for themselves the standard of workmanship and the high level of professionalism from all on the site.
Grant Barker, Contracts Director, described how of Fairhurst Ward Abbott shares English Heritage’s supported heritage skills training and the accreditation: ‘We have fully supported the requirement of English Heritage to have Heritage Skills CSCS cards for the lead workers on Audley End House. The quality of workmanship is wonderful and a credit to the operatives who all hold the cards. FWA also have an ongoing commitment to training apprentices and have directly employed apprentices for the historic plasterwork and masonry at Audley End and we are delighted with their standard of work.’
The English Heritage Team, Linda Kilroy, Estates Director and Kate Gunthorpe, Senior Building Surveyor, emphasised the importance of quality of workmanship on the English Heritage estate and how criteria were included in the tendering and procurement processes to deliver these standards. They highlighted the significance of the flagship project in showcasing demand for Heritage Skills CSCS cards and explained that any extension of the scheme to other craft occupations would be dependent on the up-take of the cards.
The pilot scheme will run to the end of March 2015 and English Heritage will then determine whether this requirement should be continued and consider options to extend it to include other trades and to their grant schemes. Commenting on the site visit, Ray Robertson, Chairman of the National Heritage Training Group said:
‘I am extremely pleased to see the Heritage Skills CSCS Card initiative launched by English Heritage now take tangible form in the specifications for the leadwork contracts placed for the extensive repairs at Audley End House and Gardens. II applaud their commitment to recognising quality standards in this way, which I am sure has been equally welcomed by the Lead Contractors Association, who also support the Heritage Skills CSCS card as an easily recognisable quality standard for appropriate skills, knowledge and experience. It serves as a marker for other craft trades to now follow suit. Equally I hope that other heritage agencies, client bodies, local authorities, architects and specifiers now have a similar commitment to English Heritage in specifying Heritage Skills CSCS card holders exclusively for their traditional roofing and building work.’
EH & NHTG news article: LINK
For the IHBC Newsblog archive on CSCS cards see: LINK
