Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping ...

Scottish Traditional

Building Skills

HISTORIC

SCOTLAND

ALBA

AOSMHOR

Contents

Scottish Traditional

Building Skills

Audit Scoping Exercise

FOREWORD ................................................................... 4

Project Outline ........................................................... 6

Project Methodology ................................................. 8

Project Team............................................................... 9

Project Board.............................................................. 9

Consultation ............................................................. 10

What has been analysed ......................................... 10

Limitations of the Project........................................ 11

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................. 14

Background and purpose of the ........................... 14

Scottish Traditional Building Skills

Audit Scoping Exercise (STBSASE)

Methodology and limitations.................................. 15

Report Findings........................................................ 16

Summary of Quantitative Data

REPORT FINDINGS..................................................... 26

BRICKWORK............................................................ 27

CARPENTRY & JOINERY ......................................... 36

DRYSTANE DYKING ................................................. 45

EARTH, CLAY & TURF ............................................. 47

ENERGY EFFICIENCY............................................... 48

EXTERNAL WORK/LANDSCAPING.......................... 55

FLAGSTONE FLOORS ............................................... 61

GLAZING................................................................... 66

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

GRAVEYARDS ....................................................................... 72

METAL ROOFING................................................................. 78

TRADITIONAL METALWORKING........................................ 87

PAINTING & DECORATING................................................. 93

PATTERN MAKING ............................................................ 101

PLASTERWORK .................................................................. 106

ROOFING ............................................................................ 115

STAINED & LEADED GLASS ............................................. 126

STONEMASONRY............................................................... 128

THATCHING ....................................................................... 138

WALL & FLOOR TILING..................................................... 141

Conclusion................................................................................ 145

APPENDIX A............................................................................ 146

LIST OF NOS, UNIT DESCRIPTORS & TAPS

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Foreword

Scotland has a wonderfully diverse heritage of monuments and traditional

buildings which includes the infrastructure and streetscapes that make up our

cities, towns and villages. The traditional materials used to build these structures

and streetscapes have been utilised for hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of

years. A considerable wealth of skill and knowledge of how to coax the very best

performance from these materials was passed from generation to generation. After

two world wars however, changes in construction materials and techniques

prompted a serious decline in many of the skills that were used to construct the

traditional structures around us.

In an era of ever increasing appreciation for the value of our built heritage and the

need for sustainability, it is more important than ever to preserve this heritage. In

order to do this, we need people with the right skills. Our reputation in training

and education has always been strong, and this is presently the case in

construction, but there is much more to do in relation to traditional building skills

for repair and maintenance.

There has long been a widespread belief that many qualifications do not cater for

the needs of traditional buildings. Until now, the basis for this belief has been

largely anecdotal. This report, developed in partnership with ConstructionSkills

Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Scottish Enterprise, lays out for the

first time statistical information which reflects to what degree traditional skills are

taught as part of current qualifications. This is the first and crucial step in tackling

the skills shortages that exist in many traditional building trade skills and I hope

that continued partnership working with colleagues will enable us to make

considerable inroads in redressing these shortages.

Historic Scotland greatly appreciates the help that partner organisations and

contractors have generously given during the compilation of this report.

David Mitchell

Director, Historic Scotland Conservation Group

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Introduction

Traditionally constructed dwellings, generally classified as those dating to before

1919, make up approximately 20% (446,000 dwellings in all) of Scotland’s building

stock 1 . The Scottish construction Industry generates £12 billion 2 of turnover (at

basic prices), and represents over 7% of the Scottish economy in terms of gross

domestic product at basic prices.

The provision and availability of appropriate skills and knowledge are fundamental

to effectively caring for the built environment. Repair, maintenance and

improvement accounts for approximately 46% of the total construction industry

output, of which one third relates directly to pre 1919 buildings (accounting for

approximately £1.2 billion). However, many of the skills and techniques required to

repair and maintain pre 1919 buildings differ considerably from those applied to

new buildings and it is generally felt that there is a widespread shortage of

tradespeople with a knowledge of these specific skills in Scotland. This is becoming

an increasingly serious issue for the welfare of such buildings and their occupants,

and carries considerable public health and safety implications. A number of recent

reports have highlighted this issue, including the National Heritage Training

Group’s 2007 report Skills Needs Analysis of The Built Heritage Sector in Scotland

which states in its conclusion that “A great need exists to re-establish a base-line

of general knowledge and understanding of conservation and restoration across all

participants, from craft to professional level in the conservation, repair,

maintenance and improvement sector.”

1 The Scottish Housing Conditions Survey

(SHCS) 2002, taken from the National

Heritage Training Group’s 2007 report Skills

Needs Analysis of The Built Heritage Sector

in Scotland 2007

2 Annual Business Inquiry, 2006, taken from

the National Heritage Training Group’s 2007

report Skills Needs Analysis of The Built

Heritage Sector in Scotland 2007

It is widely believed that current building craft skills training is aimed

predominantly at new-build techniques, resulting in tradespeople that do not have

a knowledge of the maintenance and repair techniques that are appropriate for

traditionally constructed buildings. This lack of understanding results in a

widespread application of inappropriate repair techniques to traditional buildings

which in many cases causes further damage to the building fabric. The

implications of this are serious; the issue of inappropriate repair techniques was

highlighted in 2000 by the tragic Ryan’s Bar incident in Edinburgh which resulted

in a fatality. Research was subsequently initiated by the Scottish Executive

Development Department which resulted in the production of a report – Risks to

Public Safety from Falling Masonry and Other Materials - Report of Skills &

Training Working Party.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

In partnership with Construction Skills Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority

and Scottish Enterprise, Historic Scotland has initiated the Scottish Traditional

Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise (STBSASE). The project aims to quantify

training that is currently available for traditional building skills and to identify gaps

in current qualification provision. From this, a work programme of qualification

development will be developed focusing on bolt-on units to supplement the

existing Scottish Vocational Qualification provision. This is the first action in the

Strategic Partnership Agreement between Historic Scotland, ConstructionSkills and

the Scottish Qualifications Authority in identifying and addressing skills and

knowledge gaps in traditional building skills and will build on the successful

introduction in 2008 of the National Progression Award in Masonry Conservation.

This project is part of the Traditional Building Skills Strategy for Technical

Conservation Group.

Project Outline

Aim

The aim of the overall Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit project is to:

1. Gather quantitative data on the delivery of traditional building skills

qualifications in Scotland

2. Identify where the gaps lie in current training provision in Scotland for

traditional building skills

3. Identify the next steps, including potential for focused working groups for key

trade areas to progress the identified “next steps”

This report (which results from the initial Scoping Exercise), forms the first and

second stages only of the overall Audit.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

The Scoping Exercise was essentially a data gathering and analysis exercise,

focusing on:

1. National Occupational Standards (NOS’s)

2. Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ’s)

3. Higher Nationals (HN’s)

4. TAPS

5. Various other training curricula

The key documentation for all the above were sourced and then analysed to extrapolate

information relevant to traditional building skills. From this analysis, statistical data was

pieced together to give an overview of the percentage of key traditional skills delivered

by existing qualifications in the key traditional building trades.

Objectives of the Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit

1. Define what is meant by traditional building skills

2. Identify what NOS’s cover topics relevant to traditional building skills

3. Identify what training currently exists (both accredited and non-accredited);

4. Identify what building skills training is required for the maintenance and repair

of traditionally built buildings in Scotland;

5. Assess the relevance of current NOS’s and training provision to traditional

building skills;

6. Identify where the gaps lie in current traditional building skills training and

NOS provision.

7. Identify the next steps, including potential for focused working groups for key

trade areas to progress the identified “next steps”

Objectives of the Scoping Exercise

1. Define what is meant by traditional building skills

2. Identify what NOS’s cover topics relevant to traditional building skills

3. Identify what training currently exists (both accredited and non-accredited);

4. Identify what building skills training is required for the maintenance and repair

of traditionally built buildings in Scotland;

5. Assess the relevance of current NOS’s and training provision to traditional

building skills;

6. Identify where the gaps lie in current traditional building skills training and

NOS provision.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Project Methodology

1. Define what is meant by traditional building craft skills and compile a framework

of these skills (please refer to attached Appendix 1.

2. Identify what NOS’s cover topics relevant to traditional building skills.

NOS’s are the foundation of building skill qualifications. It is therefore important

to identify gaps in the current provision and content of NOS’s relating to

traditional building craft skills and the needs of traditionally constructed buildings.

Identify all current NOS’s (and NOS suites) which relate to traditional craft skills.

Identify which NOS’s are currently under review;

3. Identify what training currently exists (both accredited and non-accredited);

Identify what accredited training is currently available in Scotland for traditional

building craft skills and at what accreditation level.

Identify what non-accredited (i.e. non-SQA accredited) training is currently

available in Scotland by contacting all colleges and training providers.

4. Identify what building skills training is required for the maintenance and repair of

traditionally built buildings in Scotland;

Establish working groups for each skills set

Compile list of key skills and training needs specific to traditional building skills

5. Assess the relevance of current NOS and training provision to traditional building skills;

Liaise with Project board

Liaise with skills set working groups

6. Identify where the gaps lie in current traditional building skills training and NOS

provision.

Liaise with Project Board

Liaise with skills set working groups

7. Identify the next steps to arise from the project findings

Liaise with Project Board

Liaise with skills set working groups

Identify which skills require training development

Identify what new qualifications (or Units) could potentially be developed.

Compile a prioritised training development programme

This will require developmental research with sector stakeholders.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Project Team

The Project Manager, Ali Davey (Historic Scotland Conservation Group (HSCG)),

worked in collaboration with the Glasgow Metropolitan College Teaching Fellow,

Alison McCandlish, and with Historic Scotland Research Assistant, Andrew

McMaster.

A project board was chaired by David Mitchell, Director of Historic Scotland

Conservation Group (formerly Technical Conservation Group), with a number of

project partners invited to input.

Project Board

A Project Board was established in connection with the project, the purpose of

which was to:

a. agree and finalise the brief for the STBSASE;

b. agree and finalise the methodology for the audit;

c. provide a forum to meet at regular intervals throughout the project (every two

months, or on an ad-hoc basis where required) in order to share information

and report back on progress in fulfilling the brief;

d. ensure that the needs of all the project partners are represented and any relevant

information they might be able to provide is shared to progress the audit;

e. evaluate the findings of the project and agree how to progress the objectives

based on the results of the audit;

f. provide specialist knowledge.

Membership of the Project Board was as follows:

• Construction Skills Scotland, Stephen Sheridan (Careers and Qualifications

Manager – Scotland)

• Construction Skills Scotland, Richard Groom (Heritage Skills Advisor Scotland)

• Glasgow Metropolitan College, John Halpin (Head of Craft Skills Development)

• Glasgow Metropolitan College, Alison McCandlish (Teaching Fellow)

• Historic Scotland Technical Conservation Group, Ali Davey (Project Manager),

David Mitchell (Director), Ian Walker (Building Crafts Development Manager)

• Learn Direct & Build, Jenny Kellie (Director)

• Scottish Building Federation, Michael Levack (Chief Executive)

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

• Scottish Enterprise, Brenda Joyce (Senior Executive)

• Scottish Qualifications Authority, Diane Anderson (Qualifications Manager)

• Scottish Stone Liaison Group, Colin Tennant (Chief Executive)

• Skills Development Scotland, Declan McGrath (Senior Skills Executive)

• Telford College, Edinburgh, John Laing (Head of Dept. (Construction Projects)

The Project Board comprised this membership in order to ensure that the audit was

progressed in a manner which is relevant to the needs of those involved in the

traditional building crafts skills sector, and the overall aim of the scoping exercise

could be achieved.

Consultation

In ensuring that a comprehensive analysis of the necessary skills was made, this

exercise consulted a number of traditional building skills experts both in-house and

externally. This process took advantage both of Historic Scotland’s own expertise

in particular fields, and where necessary, consulted with known and trusted

contractors and traditional building skills experts and professionals. This

consultation was not intended to be an industry consultation exercise (which will

form the next stage in this audit); it was purely in the interest of compiling a

provisional breakdown or ‘wish list’ of the necessary skills in the practice of the

identified trades. In a number of instances the relevant qualifications were read

and considered by the experts and professionals in order to identify any

shortcomings, however in most cases it was deemed more conducive to compile

‘wish lists’ to later compare with qualifications.

What has been analysed

Skills

The first step of the project was to identify which trades can be classed as

“traditional”. A list of “traditional” building skills was drafted and agreed by the

Project Board as outlined below in Table 1.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Table 1: List of “traditional building skills”

as agreed by Project Board

LIST OF “TRADITIONAL BUILDING SKILLS” AS AGREED BY PROJECT BOARD

Decorative Finishes Masonry Plasterwork

Painting Quarrying Limework – on flat

Gilding Hewing Limework – on hard

Marbling, graining Stone carving Limework – external finishes

Sign-writing Banker Decorative

Tiling Building Harling

Paper hanging Monumental Stucco

Traditional materials Machining Plastic repairs

Conservation, repair and Traditional paving and stone flooring Mosaic and terrazzo

maintenance Dry stane dyking Traditional floors

Brick

Traditional materials

Enhancement Traditional concrete Conservation, repair and maintenance

Traditional materials

Vernacular building skills - earth

Conservation, repair Vernacular building skills - clay Plumbing

and maintenance Vernacular building skills - turf Traditional materials

Traditional materials

Conservation, repair and maintenance

Energy Efficiency

Conservation, repair and maintenance

Traditional materials

Roofing

Conservation, repair Metals Slating

and maintenance Pattern making Rainwater goods

Founding – ferrous

Tiling

Glasswork Founding - non ferrous External surface finishes

Glazing – plain and decorative Wrought iron m/f Thatch

Stained glass Blacksmithing Leadwork – hotwork

Leaded glass Structural ironwork Leadwork – folded coldwork

Sheet metalwork – copper

Traditional materials

Graveyards Sheet metalwork – zinc Conservation, repair and maintenance

Traditional materials

Sheet metalwork – lead

Conservation, repair and maintenance Traditional materials Services

Conservation, repair and maintenance Traditional materials

Timber

Processing

Structural carpentry

Architectural joinery

Selection of timber

Timber preservation technicians

Woodcarving and pattern making

Traditional materials

Conservation, repair and maintenance

A “wish-list” of the specific areas of knowledge and skills that would enable tradespeople to work with traditional

buildings was compiled by the Project Team for each trade (with the assistance of in-house expertise and that of

known and trusted partners).

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Qualifications

For the purposes of this report, only accredited qualifications to SVQ level 2 and

above were included in the research.

In order to identify what qualifications exist, and which skills are taught as part of

these, a variety of written data was analysed. This comprised documentation relating

to over 60 courses such as Scottish Vocational Qualification information sheets and

course outlines as well as 5 TAPS, over 400 NOS and 126 unit descriptors.

It is important to note however that knowledge and experience is gained by

individuals on-site as well as in College, therefore even though a particular skill

may appear not to be covered as part of a qualification, it may be incorporated as

part of on-site training with the apprentice’s host contractor. It has been

impossible to determine this from the data analysed as part of this project.

Qualification Delivery

A desktop survey was carried out to identify which colleges across Scotland deliver

which qualifications. This data was used to compile a database which is broken

into trade area, qualification types and geographical location.

Limitations of the Project

In many instances, the generality of the wording of National Occupational Standards

and Unit Descriptors has made it difficult to determine whether or not, and indeed

to what extent, certain skills from the wish-list are covered by the current skills

training. This has limited the degree of depth that this scoping exercise could achieve.

The statistics outlined in this report take into account both mandatory and

optional units. However, colleges delivering these qualifications do not necessarily

deliver all of the corresponding optional units.

As already stated above, many additional skills outwith those specifically listed in the

NOS and unit descriptors are taught on-site when individuals are working with their

host contractor. It has not been possible within the scope of this project to identify and

list all of these skills. However, the number of projects that contractors undertake on

traditional properties varies considerably, consequently the amount of on-site training

individuals receive in traditional skills will vary widely from contractor to contractor.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Executive

Summary

Executive

Summary

Background and purpose of the Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit

Scoping Exercise (STBSASE)

Traditionally constructed (pre 1919) dwellings make up approximately 20% of

Scotland’s building stock 3 . The Scottish construction Industry generates £12

billion 4 of turnover, and represents over 7% of the Scottish economy in terms of

gross domestic product at basic prices. Repair, maintenance and improvement

accounts for approximately 46% of the total construction industry output, of

which one third relates directly to pre 1919 buildings (accounting for

approximately £1.2 billion).

It is therefore fundamental that an appropriately skilled workforce with

understanding and knowledge of traditional buildings is available to care for these

properties; both in the interests of the sustainability of the building stock, and the

welfare of building users and occupants. Poorly designed and executed works

carry serious health and safety risks as highlighted in 2000 by the tragic Ryan’s Bar

incident in Edinburgh which resulted in a fatality.

This report is designed to follow up and develop recent studies by the National

Heritage Training Group, Scottish Stone Liaison Group and others to assess and

quantify existing training opportunities and to identify gaps in current

qualification provision. This is the first action in the Strategic Partnership

Agreement between Historic Scotland, ConstructionSkills and the Scottish

Qualifications Authority in this area and will build on the successful introduction in

2008 of the National Progression Award in Masonry Conservation. Scottish

Enterprise are also a key partner in the STBSASE, with the Scottish Stone Liaison

Group, Glasgow Metropolitan College, Edinburgh’s Telford College, Learn Direct &

Build, The Scottish Building Federation and Skills Development Scotland sitting on

the project board.

3 The Scottish Housing Conditions Survey (SHCS)

2002, taken from the National Heritage Training

Group’s 2007 report Skills Needs Analysis of The

Built Heritage Sector in Scotland 2007

4 Annual Business Inquiry, 2006, taken from the

National Heritage Training Group’s 2007 report

Skills Needs Analysis of The Built Heritage Sector

in Scotland 2007

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Methodology and limitations

The project board agreed the STBSASE remit and methodology, ensuring that it is

progressed in a manner which is relevant to the needs of those involved in the

traditional building crafts skills sector. Available documentation relating to over 60

courses such as SVQ information sheets and course outlines as well as 5 TAPS, over

400 NOS and 126 unit descriptors was analysed.

The STBSASE has concentrated purely on this taught curriculum data, it should be

recognised that vital knowledge and experience will also be gained by individuals

on-site as well as in College and further study would be necessary to gain a picture

of on site training, which is outwith this project remit.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Table 2: Overview of skills covered

by one or more qualification

Report Findings

Summary of Quantitative Data

Skill/trade

Apprenticeship

route (to SVQ L3):

% not covered

% covered by one

or more

qualification

% partially covered

by one or more

qualifications

Route notes

Brickwork 40 55 15

Carpentry and Joinery 13 90 7

Drystane dyking No apprenticeship exists 100 (This relates to

LANTRA Cert – not

delivered by Scottish

colleges)

External work/ No apprenticeship exists 86 14 Seven different

landscaping

qualifications make

up these statistics

Earth clay and turf No apprenticeship exists 0 0

Energy efficiency No apprenticeship exists 17 18

Flag floors No apprenticeship exists 44 11

Glazing 14 79 7

Graveyards 18 71 12

Metal Roofing 41 70 12 roofing

Metal Roofing 23 70 12 plumbing

Traditional No apprenticeship exists 0* 0 *Although Heritage

metalworking –

blacksmithing

Blacksmithing NOS

in development at

time of writing

Traditional metal- No apprenticeship exists 0 0

working/wrought

iron production

Traditional metalworking/iron

founding No apprenticeship exists 0 0

Painting and 38 78 9

decorating

Pattern-making No apprenticeship exists 0 0

Plastering 45 64 10

Roofing 32 88 2

Stained/ leaded glass

Thatching 17 65 17

Wall and floor tiling 25 75 17 wall and floor tiling

qualifications

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Table 3: Overview of wish-list skills not covered by

apprenticeship route (trade/skill listed in order

of lowest to highest percentage):

Trade/Skill

Not covered by

Apprenticeship %

Carpentry and Joinery 13

Glazing 14

Thatching 17

Graveyards 18

Metal Roofing (plumbing) 23

Wall and floor tiling 25

Roofing 32

Painting and decorating 38

Brickwork 40

Metal Roofing (roofing) 41

Plastering 45

Drystane dyking

External work/landscaping

Earth clay and turf

Energy efficiency

Flag floors

Traditional metalworking – blacksmithing

Traditional metalworking – wrought iron production

Traditional metalworking – iron founding

Pattern-making

No apprenticeship exists

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Brickwork

Sixteen colleges are currently delivering brickwork qualifications, from

apprenticeship to advanced craft level.

While only 25% of the wish-list skills were found to be included in the Bricklaying/

Brickwork SVQ levels 2 and 3, by comparison, 60% were included in the Brickwork

TAPs. A further 25% was covered by Advanced Craft brickwork, although there is

some cross-over in the wish-list skills found in each course.

While these figures are encouraging, some important wish-list skills are not covered

by any current training provision. For example, the missing skills include methods

of cleaning bricks. This could be considered a serious omission as the use of overly

aggressive methods of cleaning, such as grit blasting or pressure washing, can

remove the surface skin of bricks and lead to accelerated corrosion. The making

and use of lime mortars is also not covered; the use of hard cement mortars to

point brickwork can also lead to accelerated corrosion and decay.

Carpentry & joinery

Carpentry and Joinery skills are covered by two core trade qualifications; namely

Carpentry & Joinery SVQ / TAPs and Shopfitting SVQ. While only 57% of the wishlist

skills are covered by Carpentry and Joinery SVQ levels 2 and 3, a total of 87% is

covered by the TAPs. Shopfitting on the other hand, to SVQ level 3, only covers

33% of the wish-list skills (which is to be expected as this is not a qualification

which deals exclusively with carpentry and joinery). If a student progresses to

Advanced Craft, a further 10% of the wish-list skills is covered by the qualification,

although there is some cross over of content between the two. The main omission

in training provision appears to be recording, although hand drawing is generally

covered. And while the replacement of sash chords is taught, no other aspect of

making or repairing sash and case windows appears to be which is a considerable

omission where traditional buildings are concerned.

Nevertheless, skills such as setting out and manufacturing a section of traditional

timber panelling; understanding causes of damage: treatment of insects, damp, rot

and fungus; repairing the foot of a common rafter or ground floor joist and

replacing the bottom rail of external door are all covered.

At the time of writing, 22 colleges deliver accredited courses in carpentry & joinery

while only one college delivers an accredited course in shopfitting.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Drystane dyking

LANTRA has recently developed a National Occupational Standard specifically for

drystane dyking. LANTRA awards a certificate in drystane dyking, currently the only

accredited qualification available in the UK (Certificate: master Craftsman – Dry

Stone Walling – levels 1, 2 and 3). The current NOS on dry-stone walling has been

developed around the Dry Stone Walling Association’s Lantra Awards-approved

‘Craftsman Certification Scheme’. The Drystone Walling Association has stated that

the NOS covers everything required for the construction, repair and maintenance of

traditional drystone walls.

No Scottish college delivers this qualification.

Earth, clay & turf

At the time of writing, there are no accredited qualifications available for working

or building with earth, clay or turf.

There are some non-SQA accredited short professional development/ practical

training courses which exist in this area, hosted by the Scottish Lime Centre Trust.

Outside Scotland, courses are available at the Centre for Alternative Technology in

Powys (which has courses in building with earth, natural rendering with clay

plaster).

Energy efficiency

Courses relating to energy efficiency fall into a number of categories. There are

courses accredited by plumbing and electrical organisations relating to the

installation of renewable technologies, usually of a short duration and undertaken

by tradespeople already qualified in their chosen field, offered by five Scottish

colleges.

HNC and HND courses are available which cover some aspects of energy efficiency.

However, it has not been possible to determine from the available information

whether these courses cover the skills as specified in the below wish-list in any way.

These courses comprise of both practical and theoretical training; the main courses

in Scotland are provided by Scottish Agricultural College, and a number of other

courses are available outside Scotland (such as a number of City and Guilds

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

certificates). Similarly there are theoretical courses which aim to cover issues within

environmental and sustainability issues, of various durations. These have not been

looked at in detail as they do not relate to the main remit of the STBSASE and it

has not been possible to determine the degree of inclusion of issues regarding

traditional buildings and the adaptation of the existing building stock.

Construction Skills are currently carrying out an audit of energy efficiency training

and qualifications for the new-build sector.

External work/landscaping

22 Scottish colleges teach landscaping-related courses, many of which contain

elements of work which could be considered to be linked to the conservation or

traditional features in the built environment. In addition the Scottish Lime Centre

Trust offers courses which are relevant to external features landscaping and

maintenance such as rubble wall building and repair.

Initially, the results of the survey appear promising for this area; a number of

accredited qualifications cover 86% of the wish-list skills in total. However, this is

spread over a number of different qualifications that do not form one cohesive

qualification progression route. For example, Amenity Horticulture (Landscaping)

SVQ Levels 2 and 3 cover 43% of the wish-list skills, while only 29% is covered by

the Horticulture HN. Independently of those qualifications, General Building

Operations (Construction Level 3) covers 57% of the skills, while 29% are covered

separately by the NPA Roads Maintenance.

This means that the highest percentage of wish-list skills covered by any one

qualification is 57% (General Building Operations (Construction Level 3)).

Flagstone floors

The skills for working with flag floors are not covered by one specific qualification

devoted entirely to floors. Instead, this is an area covered by a number of different

qualifications. The main qualifications which relate to flag floors are

apprenticeships in wall and floor tiling or floor covering operations. The highest

percentage of wish-list skills covered by any of these qualifications is just 50%

(TAPS wall and floor tiling). When the total number of wish-list skills is averaged

across all available qualifications, 44% of the wish-list skills are not covered by any

qualification at all.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Glazing

No Glazing Installation or Glazing Maintenance SVQ’s are currently delivered by

colleges in Scotland.

Glazing in traditional buildings encompasses a diverse range of window types and

materials, including sash and case windows, casement windows, fixed lights and

leaded lights. Basic glazing overlaps with the carpentry and joinery qualification

route (SVQ) such as replacing simple panes of damaged glass. The two glazing

qualifications cover 86% of the wish-list skills, however there are a number of key

skills which are not covered by current training provision including the conservation

of original material, the production and replacement of timber components and

glazing to iron structures and shopfronts. Understanding traditional glass types

and fixings, and methods (and related issues) of protection also do not appear to

be covered by current training provision.

Graveyards

The main qualification covering practical work to graveyard structures is the

memorial masonry option route of SVQ stonemasonry levels 2-3, however no

college currently delivers this qualification in Scotland. Other qualifications cover

related works such as paths and boundaries and these are shown under the

“external work and landscaping” section of this report.

The memorial masonry option covers 82% of the skills wish-list, with the main omissions

being specific methods of fixing and securing memorials and use of lime based

mortar (the type and mix is not mentioned in corresponding qualifications and NOS).

Metal roofing

Both roofing qualifications and plumbing qualifications incorporate varying

degrees of training in sheet metal working. While 65% of the wish-list skills for

metal roofing are covered (and a further 12% are partially covered) by the

plumbing qualifications assessed, only 47% are covered by roofing qualifications.

Five colleges cover roofing apprenticeships and twelve cover plumbing. There are

overlaps between plumbing and roofing, although plumbing does not cover

decorative detailing, rolling, shaping and forming metals or sarking and traditional

timber, and roofing does not cover the fixing or welding of metals.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Traditional Metalworking

There is currently no accredited training provision in Scotland for traditional

blacksmithing, wrought iron production or iron-founding.

However, a number of qualifications exist which are delivered by a handful of

colleges in England (relating specifically to blacksmithing), while several NOS exist

for iron-founding and traditional greensand moulding.

Blacksmithing and wrought iron production

No qualifications or NOS exist relating to wrought iron production.

A heritage ironworking NOS is currently being developed (March 2010), and a new

heritage blacksmithing qualification will be developed from this.

A number of accredited qualifications are currently being delivered by colleges in

England relating to blacksmithing in general which include traditional aspects of

blacksmithing as well as repairing traditional metalwork. These qualifications include:

BA (Hons) Artist Blacksmithing (awarded by University of Wales)

BTEC National Diploma in Blacksmithing and Metalwork – to Level 3

BTEC National Certificate in Blacksmithing and Metal Working

NVQ’s are also available and delivered by a variety of English colleges, including

welding and metalwork to NVQ level 2.

Iron Founding

No qualifications are delivered in Scotland relating to traditional iron founding or

moulding techniques.

Some NOS do exist which cover specifically traditional techniques. However,

desktop research has only revealed three training providers in the UK (England

only) delivering units derived from these.

Painting & Decorating

The qualifications which relate to the painting and decorating skills wish-list are

SVQ levels 2 and 3 in painting and decorating, Advanced Craft Painting and

Decorating, HNC Sign Design and Graphics, HND Architectural Conservation and

HNC Painting and Decorating Supervision. The Painting and Decorating SVQ levels

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

2 and 3 cover 63% of the wish-list skills. The skills not covered mainly relate to

manufacturing of painting and decorating materials, and specialist skills or

applications. All of the relevant qualifications seem to focus on the interpretation

of given specifications rather than the assessment of historic paint schemes and the

techniques which may be appropriate in such instances.

It should be noted that some of these skills are covered in qualifications outwith

the apprenticeship route, so units do exist which contain elements of the missing

wish-list skills.

Thirteen colleges currently offer painting and decorating apprenticeship courses,

and 9 offer Advanced Craft. In addition, several provide introductory/ ESF courses

and four offer HNC Painting and Decorating supervision, with only the Scottish

Lime Centre Trust offering a traditional decoration-based course.

Pattern Making

There is currently no training provision for traditional architectural pattern-making

in Scotland although pattern making skills are taught as part of a number of

courses delivered in England (though these focus primarily on modern pattern

making techniques). Carpentry and Joinery SVQ qualifications do cover some

related skills such as carving and machining skills, though these would not be

specifically tailored for pattern-making.

The Engineering Woodworking, Pattern and Model Making (SEMTA) NOS Suite

also covers aspects of traditional pattern-making, though this does not appear to

be delivered in Scotland.

Plasterwork

The main qualifications covering the plasterwork skills wish-list are the apprenticeship

in plasterwork, advanced craft plasterwork and HND Architectural conservation

(which contains a practical unit on introductory plastering techniques and theory).

74% of the skills wish-list is covered overall, but the main omissions at

apprenticeship level (listed below) relate to lime-specific work and traditional

techniques (for example use of expanded metal lath is covered, but timber lath and

plaster is not mentioned in the TAPS, and the mixing of mortars is covered, but

not specifically lime mortar).

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Only 51 % of the wish-list skills are covered if an individual completes both the TAPS

and Advanced Craft, although a further 10% of the wishlist skills are partially covered.

Key skills such as understanding lime, the application and curing of flat lime

plaster, applied decoration, horse-hair plaster and papier-maché, scagliola and

compo are not taught as part of any currently available qualification.

Four colleges currently teach plastering apprenticeship courses, three of which offer

advanced craft.

Roofing

The roofing TAPS covers 68% of the wish-list skills, while Advanced Craft covers

76%. However, skills such as understanding the use of slate in terms of its geology

is not covered even at Advanced Craft level. Aspects concerning pantiles and

rainwater goods are also not covered.

Areas that appear to be under-represented in current training provision are

predominantly traditional roof coverings including stone-slate roofs, traditional

terracotta pan-tiles, and rosemary tiles.

As previously outlined above, Roofing occupation qualifications only cover 47% of

the wish-list skills for metal roofing.

Stained & Leaded Glass

There are several qualifications relating to stained glass ranging from NQ to BSc

level. These are offered by five colleges, although their primary focus is the design

and production of new glass rather than the repair of existing or historic glass.

Some art and design courses also include stained glass work, although again it has

not been possible to assess the degree to which any historic work is examined or

repair techniques discussed and implemented.

Stonemasonry

While the TAPS covers just 13% of the wishlist of skills, if an individual continues

to Advanced Craft, this percentage rises to 41% . This still leaves a shortfall of 59%

of wishlist skills not being taught to stonemasonry apprentices.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

However, if an individual continues on to complete the National Progression Award

in Conservation Masonry, this increases again to 78%. There is potential for the

remaining 22% to be covered by a future PDA which has yet to be developed.

The wishlist skills that are not covered by any currently available qualification are

important ones; the ability to point masonry below 5 mm is an essential skill to

retaining the character of many traditional masonry buildings. Of perhaps even

greater importance is a sound understanding of stone-matching, a skill which is

not presently covered by any qualification.

Thatching

The qualification which covers thatching is the SVQ level 3 roofing occupations

(construction) (thatching option route). Until recently, Inverness College offered an

SVQ qualification in thatching, though at the time of printing this qualification is

not delivered by any colleges in Scotland.

83% of the wish-list skills are covered by this qualification although the units

appear to cover the interpretation of given information and specifications rather

than assessing a methodology for progression of work.

Whilst the unit “thatch roof structures with specialist features” does contain

references to using local styles and materials it does not indicate whether the

recognition of different traditions is covered or whether specific regional methods

of fixing are taught or assessed. Nor is it clear whether the sourcing and gathering

of traditional / local materials is covered by the qualification.

Wall & Floor Tiling

The two main qualifications covering this area are the wall and floor tiling

apprenticeship routes and floor covering occupations SVQ level 3 with a small

amount of skills are covered by plastering SVQ’s.

Overall, 8% of the skills wish-list is not covered and 25% is only partially covered

(these skills mainly relate to the sourcing and understanding of traditional

materials).

At apprenticeship level this pattern of coverage is similar, with 75% of the wish-list

covered or partially covered.

Scottish Traditional Building Skills Audit Scoping Exercise

Report

Findings

REPORT

FINDINGS

BRICKWORK