South & City College Birmingham (SCCB) has unveiled two purpose-built houses that will support students’ retrofit training.
Funded by the West Midlands and Warwickshire Local Skills Improvement Plan, with support from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the facilities will allow students to develop the skills needed to retrofit older homes and install smart technologies.
One of the properties has been designed to replicate a typical 1930s home. It is estimated that 300,000 homes across the WMCA area were built during this period.
Learners will explore the building fabric and layout, while examining the challenges of retrofitting older homes.
Training will focus on inspection, assessment, planning retrofit measures and practising installations in controlled sections, rather than completing a full permanent retrofit.
The second training property reflects modern energy-efficient construction standards and features smart home technologies, including heat pumps and electric vehicle charging.
The house has been designed with interchangeable or resettable training areas, meaning components such as insulation systems, heating equipment, ventilation systems or pipework can be installed, removed and reinstalled by different groups of learners. This allows multiple cohorts to practise the same skills without permanently altering the building.
A real-world training environment
Mike Hopkins, principal at SCCB, said: “Our retrofit training houses provide a unique real-world environment reflecting the realities of working within existing homes. It enables students and companies to experience the real requirements faced during retrofit projects.
“In a traditional workshop, learners often practise individual tasks on demonstration rigs or walls, but retrofit projects require multiple trades to work together within the constraints of a real property and working with the traditional build and materials that are present in properties locally.
“By training in a realistic domestic setting – complete with room layouts and restricted spaces – our students will develop the practical problem-solving skills needed to deliver effective retrofit projects. Ultimately, this will help ensure the region has the skilled workforce needed to improve housing energy efficiency and support the West Midlands’ transition to a low-carbon future.”
The facilities will allow both experienced tradespeople to upskill and younger trainees to develop new skills. The college expects the training houses to support up to 250 learners and industry professionals each year.
Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, who attended the official launch event, said: “Right now, we’re building more homes than ever across the region, and at the same time rolling out our biggest programme yet to upgrade older, colder homes to modern efficiency standards. These are huge opportunities, but we need skilled people to make it happen.
“That’s why we’re investing in facilities like these at South & City College. It was brilliant to see how they’re helping experienced tradespeople learn vital new skills to boost their income in a fast-growing part of our economy, and also setting young people on the path to what I know will be a rewarding, long-term career in construction for them.”
