The Retrofit Academy membership is for its learners, graduates and employers – the retrofit professionals who are raising standards to make homes healthier, warmer, and more sustainable.

Twenty-seven million homes will need efficiency upgrades to reach net-zero by 2050; this community has been created to provide retrofitters in this relatively new industry with the ongoing support they need to deliver best quality to customers. Its aims are 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.

The membership 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 will also be invited 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 enhanced membership will be hosted on Retrofit Professionals’ Hub, and it has 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 established a new Trustmark accreditation scheme that was launched in partnership with Sterling Accreditation on 1 July. The accreditation has been developed to introduce a higher standard than the minimum required of retrofit coordinators and retrofit assessors by Trustmark, guaranteeing a higher level of quality retrofit by those who complete their training with The Retrofit Academy.

All new learners who graduate with The Retrofit Academy will automatically receive 12 months of accreditation and membership. Those committed to ongoing CPD and contribution to the industry will also be able to progress through 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. 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. We are bringing together a like-minded community to share this best practice and work towards a common goal of getting retrofit right first time.”