Net Zero Living podcast: Buildings & Retrofit

How we build local retrofit workforces for the future

Retrofitting homes and workplaces is one of the fastest ways local areas can unlock benefits like warmer homes, cheaper energy, better jobs and cleaner air. This first episode of the Net Zero Living Programme podcast examines the importance of local authority leadership and upskilling the workforce if we are to scale retrofit across the UK.

Chaired by Poppy Maltby from Regen, the conversation opens by establishing why retrofit is so pivotal for local leaders. It combats fuel poverty, improves the sustainability of homes, reduces health impacts, and alleviates pressure on public services. Against that backdrop, the guests go on to explore a practical question many councils recognise: how do you grow a local supply chain that residents can trust, and that can deliver quality at pace?

David Pierpoint is CEO of the Retrofit Academy, a community interest company with a mission to train 50,000 professionals by 2030. He reflects in the conversation how pivotal councils are to this transition, but also how their teams can lack the skills and knowledge to plan and deliver effective retrofit programmes. When it comes to a retrofit workforce, David admits that upskilling the trades, whether school leavers or seasoned professionals, will take time. But he emphasises that quality and competence must not be optional extras. He highlights the value of data and diagnostic surveys and why it is important to align professional judgement with funding requirements.

Kate Spalding also joins the conversation from Fife Council where she is Planning Policy Officer. She shares insights from the Net Zero Living Programme project which looked at the future retrofit skills and workforce needed across Edinburgh and the South East Scotland region. She explains over the course of the podcast how the six local authorities worked together to understand what the transition means for jobs, training and delivery capacity. With no “one size fits all” approach, she shares how these teams are putting data, archetypes and property-specific decisions at the heart of good outcomes for residents and local businesses.

The episode also points to where local and regional government can add real value by investing in capability, convening partners across council boundaries, and connecting education providers with market demand so training sticks, and grows with national policy.

Key findings

• Retrofit programmes offer very real benefits that improve lives, attract local investment, and alleviate pressures on other public services.
• Retrofit delivery must start with a diagnosis of property data so it reflects each home’s real conditions. Then it needs to be aligned to funding requirements.
• Regional approaches to retrofit skills can unlock stronger partnerships, allow best practice sharing, and increase access to education and skills – opportunities that individual councils struggle to sustain alone.