What is retrofit?
Retrofit means making improvements to a home so it becomes more energy efficient. It includes the insulation of walls, floors and lofts, the upgrading of windows and doors, and renewing services such as heating, hot water and lighting.
Retrofitting can make your home warmer, reduce your carbon emissions and lower your energy bills.
The need for a retrofit workforce
Britain’s 28 million existing homes are responsible for around 15% of the UK’s carbon emissions, according to the Committee for Climate Change.
10% of the UK population – 6.5 million people – live in poor quality housing.
We need a large construction workforce of skilled workers, who can carry out retrofit work needed to reach net zero for decades to come.
Retrofit requires skilled people who understand how to design, install, and maintain retrofit technology such as insulation, solar, heat pumps and more. While the North West construction sector is substantial in size, the proportion of the sector currently delivering retrofit work remains low.
As part of the Retrofit skills programme, we created these videos to explain the need for a retrofit workforce, and the opportunities for young people and businesses in domestic retrofit:
Retrofit for Young Learners
Retrofit for Employers
To retrofit our existing housing across the North West, we need to scale up and reskill our workforce.
We need a large workforce of skilled people who can take advantage of this opportunity to transform our future.
Find colleges and independent training providers in your area
North West Retrofit Skills Plan
This resource page has been created by the North West Net Zero Hub as part of our wider work to create the North West Retrofit Skills Plan. You can read the full report and supporting documentation below.
The North West Retrofit Skills Plan was created to assess of the current state of the retrofit workforce and identify the necessary steps to develop the local workforce to be able to achieve net zero targets.
The report was been prepared by Think Trinity Ltd and published by the North West Net Zero Hub supported with funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
North West Regional Retrofit Skills Plan
Further information for businesses
In the North West of England, over £300million has been awarded to Local Authorities and Housing Associations to carry out retrofit programmes.
There are opportunities for businesses to take on this funding across many programmes including;
- ECO4
- Warm Homes: Local Grant
- Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund
Retrofit measures for householders are carried out under the protection of government standards. Suppliers and contractors need these accreditations to access government funding:
Trustmark (PAS 2035)
TrustMark is a not-for-profit organisation, licensed by Government and designed to deliver consumer protection.
MCS
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificates Microgeneration technologies used to produce electricity or heat from renewable sources.
