IN Brief:
- Historic Environment Scotland reports skills or knowledge gaps among 79% of employers responding to its survey.
- Traditional skills were identified by 54% of respondents, while 58% reported training difficulties.
- The 8 October call for action follows the survey's publication in August and accompanies Heritage Careers Week.
Historic Environment Scotland has called for further investment in specialist skills and career pathways after 79% of employers responding to its latest heritage skills survey reported skills or knowledge gaps. Traditional construction and conservation skills were the most frequently identified problem, with employers describing difficulties in obtaining training and recruiting qualified workers. The organisation highlighted the findings on 8 October during Heritage Careers Week and the 30th anniversary of its Craft Fellowship programme.
The Employers’ Skills Survey 2025, published in August 2026, found traditional and specialist skills gaps among 54% of responding organisations, with 58% reporting problems accessing training. Almost half, 49%, regarded entry and progression routes as insufficiently clear or accessible. Historic Environment Scotland highlighted these results again during October’s Heritage Careers Week, drawing attention to concerns previously recorded by participating employers rather than presenting the research as a newly conducted survey.
Responding employers also assessed likely workforce pressures, with 77% identifying a shortage of skilled or qualified professionals and 67% citing the ageing workforce. In the same survey, 40% anticipated a considerable effect on organisational growth and 25% warned of a severe effect on sustainability. These responses describe employers’ expectations, without establishing a count of delayed projects, business closures or lost jobs.
Among the skills required for historic building repair is an understanding of how existing materials manage water, temperature and movement, particularly in structures built using traditional mortars. Stone and brick masonry laid with lime mortar can behave differently from modern, denser construction, so replacement materials must be selected with the adjacent fabric in mind. An incompatible repair can change how moisture evaporates and loads are transferred, potentially accelerating deterioration rather than conserving the wall.
Similar knowledge is required for historic roofing, leadwork and timber joinery, where components often have to accommodate movement and irregular existing construction. Lead sheet joints and fixings must permit expansion and contraction, while timber repair requires assessment of neighbouring members and their loads. Craftspeople also need to remove damaged material and fit replacements without unnecessary loss of surviving fabric, frequently in buildings that remain occupied during the work.
These repair skills are used throughout Scotland’s traditional building stock, including homes, schools, libraries, places of worship and community facilities, as well as major monuments. Timely maintenance can limit water damage and deterioration in the supporting structure, but a shortage of appropriately experienced tradespeople may restrict the options open to owners or extend lead times. The survey does not quantify how many repair schemes have already been postponed by a shortage of specialist labour.
Historic Environment Scotland’s separate Historic Environment Audit 2026 estimates that the sector contributed £6.1 billion to Scotland’s economy in 2024 and supported approximately 84,700 full-time equivalent jobs. Around £3.8 billion was linked to repair and maintenance of traditional buildings and their supporting supply chains, compared with roughly £2.3 billion from heritage tourism. These broad estimates include activity beyond specialist building contractors and do not measure their turnover alone.
Repair and maintenance work of that scale involves several disciplines sharing an understanding of the structure, from the professionals assessing its condition to the tradespeople carrying out conservation work. A surveyor’s findings, an engineer’s assessment and a stonemason’s repair method may all depend on how masonry manages moisture and structural movement. Altering one component without considering surrounding materials can change weather protection or support elsewhere in the building.
Developing the required specialist competence takes supervised work as well as formal instruction, since many traditional techniques depend on familiarity with different materials and existing structures. Classroom courses can explain construction history and conservation principles, while practical experience enables craftspeople to apply them under varying site conditions. Employers need appropriate projects and experienced supervisors to support that training, both areas of concern within the survey’s findings on provision.
Historic Environment Scotland supports that work through apprenticeships, workplace learning, short courses and the Craft Fellowship programme established in 1996. Over three decades, the programme has provided training in traditional disciplines and promoted the passing on of practical knowledge between experienced craftspeople and new entrants. Its anniversary coincides with the latest call to improve access to training, although the survey indicates that gaps remain across responding organisations.
The Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s Historic Environment also brings employers, education bodies and public organisations together around training provision and career routes. Alongside traditional crafts, the programme recognises heritage science and digital technology used to survey, monitor and document the condition of buildings. Such tools can establish evidence of deterioration, but selecting a repair still requires interpretation of the structure and the materials involved.
After publishing the employer survey in August and the economic audit in September, Historic Environment Scotland is seeking coordinated work with employers, training providers and public organisations to improve access to specialist skills. Subsequent survey results will show whether participating organisations report fewer recruitment and training difficulties, while the existing figures document the level of concern across the sector.
