Women excel on ‘Warm Up’ retrofit insulation training course

From September to December, five groups of trainees have undertaken the 10-day long ‘Introduction to Retrofit’ course where they have learnt how to use natural materials – woodfibre, sheep’s wool, recycled glass, hemp, and lime, to stop heating loss from buildings.

On Friday 20 December the trainees will return for a celebration of their work and to receive awards from the School of Natural Building which taught and certificated the courses. The training programme, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund through West Yorkshire Combined Authority, included extensive practical work on a ‘live’ project – insulating Tod College, the town’s former adult education venue which is now a community centre.

“Not only have the trainees benefited from hands on training opportunity working on a real building but they have left behind a long-term benefit to the local community. Our building is hard to heat and very expensive to run. We need to reduce costs if it is to continue to be here for community activities,” said Julie Thorpe, manager of the community hub.

“We want to insulate the walls and roof to keep heat in but we want to do this in a way which is climate friendly and healthy for occupants of the premises. That’s why we are using natural materials rather than petrochemical-based products. These materials have been used for centuries and are suitable for the solid stone-walled housing in West Yorkshire which need to breathe but they became less fashionable as cheaper building materials were developed. We are training people to use modern versions of the old-fashioned materials which will keep homes warm without causing condensation problems or releasing toxins,” Julie explained.

“I’ve had an interview with an architecture practice since the course. They were pleased that I had on-site experience, so the course is already helping my applications stand out more!” one of the trainees wrote a few weeks later.

Over 40 trainees have taken part in the scheme, and almost three quarters of them have been women. Some are hoping to go on to work in the construction industry and found the support and skill development has really help them to overcome the barriers to this.

“The idea of retrofitting to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat seems to appeal particularly to women who maybe still spend more time around the house, and are very conscious of household budgets. For some of our trainees this has been a turning point in their careers - they are now considering entering an industry where they had never seen a place for themselves before,” said School of Natural Building tutor Barbara Jones.

“One of our projects in Halifax has the legacy of a DIY retrofit support group which the trainees are now organising to support each other in insulating their own homes. It will be great to bring everyone back together just before Christmas to celebrate what we have all achieved,” said Barbara.