Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Addressing the UK’s heritage skills crisis: why we must act now, published by the University of Manchester in January 2025.

The department supports vocational education and training programmes that include heritage conservation skills. This includes funding for courses at further education colleges and specialist training providers. A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) have developed 90 apprenticeship standards in the construction and built environment sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in heritage areas such as heritage construction specialist, cultural heritage conservation technician, craft carpenter and joinery, and stained glass craftsperson. IfATE works with key stakeholders such as Grosvenor, Peabody, Historic England, the National Trust, and the Crown Estate to ensure that employers can access the heritage construction skills they need.

The department is working across government and in partnership with industry through the Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG) and the Construction Leadership Council to identify policy levers and other actions to ensure that our skills offer, including apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and T Levels, meets the needs of employers in the sector, including small and medium enterprises. The department works closely with Historic England, through the CSDG, to ensure that training programs meet the needs of the heritage sector.