The Retrofit Academy has further solidified its commitment to quality retrofit with the upcoming launch of an enhanced membership for its learners, graduates and employers.
The new membership scheme, launching in August 2024, brings together retrofit professionals working across the UK to make homes healthier, warmer and more sustainable through a shared commitment to raising standards.
By creating this best-practice community, The Retrofit Academy aims to provide a lifelong learning, software, networking and recognition solution for the burgeoning generation of retrofit professionals tasked with driving high quality retrofit at scale.
With 27 million homes needing efficiency upgrades to reach net zero by 2050, the creation of this community is set to provide retrofitters in this relatively new industry with the ongoing support they need to deliver best quality and continue to raise the standard of retrofit in the UK.
Open to all learners and graduates from the organisation’s leading training courses – in addition to the employer member companies – the membership features a raft of enhanced benefits for the community of retrofit professionals. This includes access to HomeLife end-to-end large scale retrofit management software, a learner knowledge base packed with exclusive resources to aid continued professional development (CPD) and address the practical elements of the roles, and the opportunity to enter The Retrofit Academy Awards.
Members are also guaranteed an invitation to 10 monthly Retrofit Professionals’ Forums where leading practitioners will share key learnings, and 30 weekly online Retrofit Clubs, which bring together Retrofit Coordinators, Assessors, Advisors and Designers, along with industry experts and employers, to share best practice.
The new and improved membership will be hosted on both Retrofit Professionals’ Hub, an online platform where members come together to access the benefits of their Retrofit Academy membership. It has also been designed to facilitate connection between individuals and employers with the aim of allowing retrofit talent to find and apply for their next role with ease. This includes a built-in digital jobs board, networking features and a careers advice platform.
To further promote continued quality and best practice among its members, The Retrofit Academy has also established a new Trustmark accreditation scheme, launched in partnership with Sterling Accreditation Ltd. on 1st July. The accreditation has been developed to introduce a higher standard than the minimum required of Retrofit Coordinators and Retrofit Assessors by Trustmark and aims to acknowledge the higher level of quality retrofit guaranteed by those who complete their training with The Retrofit Academy.
All new learners who graduate with The Retrofit Academy will automatically benefit from 12 months of accreditation, as well as receiving membership to The Retrofit Academy for 12 months. Those committed to ongoing CPD and contribution to the industry will also have the opportunity to climb the levels of The Retrofit Academy’s own new Recognition Scheme. The scheme offers one of six tiers to reflect each individual member’s competency, ongoing CPD and industry contribution: Student, Associate, Practitioner, Advanced Practitioner, Fellow and Life Fellow.
David Pierpoint, CEO of The Retrofit Academy, said: “The success of retrofit in the UK relies heavily on high quality and standards, so our membership proposition has been revamped with that in mind. This is all about creating a community of best practice for retrofit professionals driving such quality at scale. By sharing knowledge and learnings along with CPD and resources to support with delivering excellence, we are committed to supporting retrofitters throughout their careers.”
“Retrofit is a relatively young industry and those working in it need all the help they can get to keep developing and maintain high standards. With our membership, they can get access to the accreditation, resources, networking opportunity, CPD, software and careers support they need to do this. We are bringing together a likeminded community to share this best practice and work towards a common goal of getting retrofit right first time.”
For more information about The Retrofit Academy’s revitalised membership, click here.
