Bury College retrofit course praised for helping to bridge construction skills gap

A recent retrofit course at Bury College has provided essential training to tradespeople and construction workers.

The two-day pilot of the course was funded by Department for Education and supported by Greater Manchester Colleges. It was praised by local employers for helping to bridge a key skills gap in the construction industry.

As a result of this success, it will now become a key part of Bury College’s adult and training provision going forward.

The course provided an outline of the retrofit process and trained individuals in how to recognise problems in buildings, carry out remedial actions to resolve issues and provide the skills to insulate walls and floors in buildings.

Learners who enrolled on to the pilot were taught how to carry out the necessary treatments to cure the problems and effectively insulate internal walls and suspended floors of buildings to create warm habitable living spaces, reducing energy consumption and costs.

Stephen, a Retrofit Coordinator, Energy Assessor and Electrical Technician at Energy Protech, was one of the learners that attended the course. He spoke about the benefits of the course for those in the industry: “The course demonstrated the recognition of all types of damp in property and gave practical applications of installing damp proofing methods with up-to-date market products to the manufacturers guidelines and instructions. I learnt to recognise, assess and solve damp, condensation, wet rot and dry rot in property and treat them accordingly. Although I am well versed in the theory of underfloor and wall insulation it was great to be part of a practical demonstration.”

“I feel the course should be a mandatory part of training to help fill the skills gap in retrofitting and is an excellent introduction to tradespeople to help them recognise the importance of properly installing damp proofing and insulating methods in any property.”

Thanks to huge demand, we are delighted to announce that the course will run once again. If you’re interested or want to find our more information, please call 0161 280 8200 or email admissions@burycollege.ac.uk.