Bridging the Skills Gap: Lessons from Retrofit for Ventilation and Air Quality
When we talk about improving air quality in buildings, we often focus on technology, materials, and standards. But one of the biggest challenges in both retrofit and ventilation is the skills gap—finding the right people with the right knowledge to do the job properly. This was the central theme of my conversation with @David Pierpoint, CEO and founder of The Retrofit Academy , recorded live at the FutureBuild conference.
David has spent over 15 years dedicated to upskilling the retrofit sector, working to turn good intentions into well-executed projects. The retrofit industry faces challenges that will be familiar to anyone working in ventilation—disparate trades, a lack of clear training pathways, and major issues with quality and accountability. Our conversation covered how the retrofit sector is navigating these challenges and what lessons we can take for ventilation and air quality.
The Challenge: Retrofit and Ventilation are Both ‘In-Between’ Trades
One of the biggest barriers to quality in retrofit and ventilation is that neither has a clear trade identity. If you want to be an electrician or a plumber, there’s a well-defined pathway—you go to college, get an apprenticeship, and gain experience on the job. But there’s no college course for ventilation.
As David pointed out, retrofit involves a broad mix of skills. It’s not just about installing insulation or fitting a heat pump—it’s about understanding a building holistically, from fabric to ventilation. Without a structured route into the industry, the sector has historically relied on a patchwork of experience and ad-hoc training, leading to highly inconsistent outcomes. The same is true for ventilation. Every time we look at it, we see widespread failure to meet even the most basic standards.
Why Retrofit Went Wrong (and What We Can Learn From It)
In the UK, retrofit has often been delivered through short-term, government-funded schemes designed to hit big numbers quickly. But the problem, as David highlighted, is that these schemes tend to focus on single measures—insulation, boiler replacements—rather than whole-house solutions. Worse, many projects were delivered by companies that saw the funding as an opportunity rather than a responsibility, leading to a culture of cutting corners.
Take external wall insulation projects, for example. The government invested heavily in these, but without proper oversight, the quality varied dramatically. David recalled how a 2013 Ofgem report found that 13% of external wall insulation projects had serious defects—some even creating health hazards for occupants. And yet, audit rates for these schemes were often as low as 2%, meaning systemic problems went unchecked.
The parallels with ventilation are clear. Many installers have little to no formal training, and competency schemes are often minimal. I attended a two-day ventilation training course myself, and it was clear that most attendees would leave with a certificate but no real understanding of what good practice looks like. Worse, in many cases, there is no further oversight—once certified, an installer can go on fitting poor-quality systems indefinitely.
The Role of Training: More Than a Box-Ticking Exercise
David’s work at the Retrofit Academy has been focused on changing this culture. His key insight is that training can’t just be about getting a certificate—it needs to provide ongoing learning and support. People don’t come out of a course as ‘competent.’ Instead, they need a framework to help them assess risk, navigate complex projects, and continue learning as they go.
That’s why the Retrofit Academy is structured as more than just a training provider—it’s a professional network. It provides guidance, best practice forums, and mentorship to ensure that people aren’t just trained but supported in delivering quality work.
This is a model we should be thinking about for ventilation. A two-day course is never going to produce a competent ventilation professional, but a structured pathway—blending training, ongoing mentorship, and a clear professional framework—could.
Retrofit Coordinators: A Model for Ventilation?
One of the biggest successes in retrofit has been the development of the Retrofit Coordinator role. This role emerged in response to the failures of previous schemes and was enshrined in the PAS 2035 standard. The Retrofit Coordinator is an independent professional responsible for ensuring quality across a whole project. Their job isn’t just to sign off work but to advocate for the homeowner, ensuring that corners aren’t cut and that the project delivers the promised outcomes.
It’s a role that could be hugely valuable in ventilation, where a lack of accountability often leads to poor outcomes. If we want to see real improvement, we need independent professionals who can oversee ventilation design and installation—not just installers working to the lowest price.
Final Thoughts: The Path Forward for Ventilation
The challenges in ventilation today feel eerily similar to where retrofit was 15 years ago. There are pockets of excellence, but at scale, the industry is failing to deliver good outcomes. We can learn from retrofit’s mistakes:
Create a clear trade identity – Ventilation needs a structured training and career pathway, just like electricians and plumbers.
Move beyond tick-box training – Training must provide real skills, support, and professional development, not just certificates.
Introduce independent oversight – A ventilation equivalent of the Retrofit Coordinator could provide the accountability needed to drive up quality.
Focus on holistic solutions – Ventilation can’t be an afterthought. It needs to be considered as part of whole-building performance.
David and the Retrofit Academy have shown that change is possible when the right people step up. For ventilation, the question is: who’s going to take on that leadership role?
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