This forum aims to support regional retrofit skills development, part of its push is to support green skills in the district and region, specifically relating to Retrofit Skills.
Bolsover District Council will be the lead partner on behalf of councils, colleges, universities, independent training providers and retrofit and associated employers from across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
The forums will ensure that business needs are fully represented which includes identifying key challenges, gaps and pinch points for the retrofit and energy efficiency sectors.
Overview
Agenda:
- Update on the progress of the EMCCA Retrofit Strategy, plus detail of the East Midlands Biggest Warm Homes Contractor Event - Adrian Prestidge, Green Growth Project Manager, Place Directorate, East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA)
- Qualified Isn’t the Same as Competent: Building Quality, Confidence and Careers in Retrofit - Josh Wakeling, Head of Training, Elmhurst Energy
We will explore why qualifications alone are not enough to deliver high quality, low risk retrofit at scale. Drawing on Elmhurst Energy’s experience at the centre of training, software, accreditation and competency schemes, the session will unpack the difference between being qualified and being competent.
We will also detail the benefits of using accredited Elmhurst members, including the Quality Promise and the systems in place to support consistent standards, accountability and continuous improvement, plus the upstream challenge of skills development through stronger collaboration between industry, FE and HE - embedding whole building thinking before bad habits form.
- Shaping Green Skills in Construction: From Insights to Action - University of Nottingham and Nottingham College
This session will share emerging insights from a collaborative research project with Nottingham College on green skills in construction, alongside findings from a targeted Retrofit research webinar with industry stakeholders. Building on this evidence, the session will focus on identifying practical priorities for action – including how to better align industry demand with training provision, address barriers to uptake (particularly for SMEs), and strengthen coordination across the system. The discussion will invite participants to reflect on what a more joined-up, responsive approach to green skills in the East Midlands could look like in practice.
Joining us for this event will be project researcher Rebecca Sarah Ciarla (other colleagues tbc).
