Green upskilling: How is Sheffield council driving retrofit in the city?

There is an undeniable urgency to the UK's need to retrofit and upgrade its housing stock to help with sustainability efforts, however there is also a dearth of the skills required to deliver a programme at this scale.

In Sheffield, the city council has developed a training scheme to try and tackle this, which will be the subject of their presentation of The Housing Forum Development Partnership Forum in Rotherham.

Laura Hayfield, head of employment, skills & economy, Sheffield City Council speaks to Jordan Marshall ahead of the event about the initiative and how the council thinks this will help.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, your role and how you sort of got to where you are today?

I’m the head of employment, skills and economy at Sheffield City Council. I’ve worked for the local authority for more than 15 years, having moved back north after cutting my teeth in the capital working on pre-Olympics construction projects.

At Sheffield I lead on a wide range of projects and initiatives – everything from major government funded employment programmes, to apprenticeship delivery, social value in procurement and planning to green construction skills.

I’m lucky enough to head up a fantastic team, full of innovative thinkers and energetic frontline staff – our core missions being to ensure all residents have fair and equitable access to the support they need, while helping drive and accelerate good economic growth in the core city.

No two days are the same and there’s rarely time to catch breath, but I like to think we do some very important work for the communities, residents and businesses we serve across Sheffield.

You will be speaking about Sheffield City Council’s decarbonisation accreditation training at The Housing Forum Development Partnership Forum for south Yorkshire. Can you explain what that is?

To meet our net zero ambitions, thousands of residential and commercial buildings need retrofitting in Sheffield. One of the key challenges is ensuring that the local workforce has the skills to undertake this work. In Sheffield alone it is predicted that retrofitting skills will be required for 1,500 existing workers and 3,000 new entrants.

We’re fortunate to have excellent training providers including Sheffield College who are helping to meet this demand supported by funding from the council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

Accredited training to PAS 2035 standards on offer includes level 3 qualifications in installing PV and air source heat pumps, level 2 and 3 in insulation and building treatments including floor, loft and internal, external and cavity walls and a range of qualifications for those who provide retrofitting assessment and advice.

Why has the council decided to introduce this programme? What gap in the housing decarbonisation landscape is it looking to bridge?

Like towns and cities across the UK, Sheffield has a vast stock of ageing social and private residential and commercial buildings in need of retrofit. A lot of work needs to be done in terms of energy efficiency to provide cost effectiveness for homeowners and tenants. Some work has started and is planned to tackle this issue through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund which is supporting our

efforts to reach EPC Rating C for all 38,000 council homes by 2030. To assist with this, we have commissioned a consultant to help develop a comprehensive route map to carbon Net Zero for our property stock. This will be complete by the end of the year.

Without a large-scale rollout of retrofit activity, the council’s target of becoming a net zero city by the end of the decade will not be met. Skills are fundamental to this pipeline activity – we need to ensure our local tradespeople have the competencies to undertake this work.

For contractors, there are significant commercial opportunities looming; clearly it is in the interests of Sheffield residents and the city economy for local supply chains to be able to meet decarbonisation skills demand. Working with the Sheffield College and the broader training sector to offer relevant qualifications gives us the opportunity to scale up retrofit work quickly while creating attractive opportunities.

Are there particular types of organisations or certain individuals you are looking to get involved or support the training? How can they do this?

Sheffield’s decarbonisation project is going to be large-scale and long-term. There will be a mix of more general retrofit and very specialised work.

We want to engage with businesses of all sizes within the sector – large contractors to sole traders, giving them the opportunity to upskill as necessary to successfully bid for contracts.

If we can successfully engage employers and articulate the scale of the opportunity, they will be motivated to signpost staff and sub-contractors to the training provision we have developed. Each cohort we deliver to adds a little more momentum to the upskilling movement we are driving. Ultimately everyone will benefit.

All we need to involve local businesses and tradespeople is their engagement – making themselves known to the council, the Sheffield College or our training provider partners.

How do forums like The Housing Forum’s Development Partnership Forum support Sheffield City Council’s work in this area?

There are a series of benefits, in terms of shaping our approach to project development and delivery, and the way we collaborate with partners.

Forums provide a vital platform to meet with peers and discuss plans, activities, opportunities, issues and barriers. Wider sector engagement not only ensures activity is joined up strategically, but it allows us to benchmark performance and progress, and benefit from best practice.

Opportunities for collaborative projects and scalability can be explored, with the benefit of industry expertise, experience and cutting-edge thinking to help inform our approach.

What would you most like The Housing Forum members to understand about the decarbonisation accreditation training?

Very simply, there is a vast amount of work coming up in this area, with the council, social housing providers, private landlords and various other anchor organisations.

With high energy costs and pressing environmental considerations, many of these potential buyers will be seeking to procure at the same time.

Sheffield needs capacity and those who are positioned to deliver, having gained decarbonisation accreditation, are potentially going to have very busy work schedules. It’s a great opportunity and we appreciate the support the Housing Forum members can provide in spreading the word.

What are the key challenges you have experienced/anticipate in implementing the decarbonisation accreditation training, and how do you plan to address them?

Pre-2023, a lack of decarbonisation accreditation training in Sheffield, readily available to local people, was holding us back.

Effective partnership working between the council and the Sheffield College, supported by other partners, has started the ball rolling but we recognise there is still plenty of work to do in terms of engaging the target audience and ensuring accreditation and competency in this area becomes the norm rather than the exception.

With my team at the council, we have an active business development team engaging with local employers to promote the opportunity, as part of a wider suite of green skills training, and we have upcoming ‘Meet the Buyer’ activity designed to connect potential retrofit contractors with the organisations likely to need their services.

As the local authority, we have an important convening role – helping to make the connections that can turn plans on paper into effective local delivery.

What are the key opportunities you see arising from the scheme?

There are opportunities for everyone here.

For residents, the chance to heat their homes without breaking their budgets.

For tradespeople, the opportunity to upskill, strengthen their CVs and maximise their employability and attractiveness to contractors.

For businesses / employers, the ability to be competitive in procurement, win large contracts and grow their organisations.

For the local economy, the chance to invest in local supply chains, retain investment and maximise the value of the Sheffield pound.

For the environment, the chance to decarbonise our housing stock, reduce our energy consumption and – in short – make a concerted effort to do the right thing.

To hear more from Laura Hayfield head to the Housing Forum’s Development Partnership Forum event in Rotherham on 24 September. 

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