ucati • • a1n1n Trainingand educationin Scottishbuilding conservationand theS/NVQ Level 5 Initiative Ingval Maxwell discusses progress in Scotland in implementing National Vocational Qualifications in conservation topics. Over the last two or three decades an increasing awareness of historic building conservation matters has been gaining ground steadily. With this has arisen a growing understanding of the need to re-learn much of what has been lost. As a result, the demand to accomplish sympathetic work according to International Conservation Charters, and other recognised guidelines, is increasing. Associated with this is the need to instigate a programme through which the philosophies and ethics of conservation are adequately promoted. Whilst traditional avenues of education are still available, the recent Vocational Qualifications initiative in Architectural Conservation provides an ideal framework within which such a development can take place. The key to pulling together effectively the emerging range of conflicts must be through the creation of an awareness of all the factors involved. The need is for industry to work together to achieve a satisfactory result. This must be enhanced by a requirement to determine the appropriate level of work and the direction of any subsequent management strategy to be adopted. The two aspects must run hand-in-hand. Backgrc,und A few opportunities are currently revealing themselves as significant challenges in the world of architectural conservation. It is recognised that nemerous new conse1vation courses have suddenly become available in the market place. This, inevitably, raises questions of who validates them, what consistency of approach exists, how does the student choose what is the most appropriate course, and (perhaps, most significant of all at this time) who trains the trainers? A plea is also being heard to support practically based qualifications, but there is a 18 need to resolve the major lack of student or apprentice work placements with contractors. This, particularly, is not an easy issue to resolve, given that the majority of the contracting word has gone over to the process of subcontracting most things. It is also acknowledged that clients have an important part to play. But there is a need for their interests to be informed properly so that realistic project briefs can be devised and true costs identified. Trends are also emerging which identify the role that Lottery funded projects are playing -in trying to ensure that there is a future need for traditional Each stone, which requires no more than two people to lift and place, combines to create a remarkable piece of architectural detailing that is both functional and full of form. The variations in the stonework of a masonry spiral stair are not that which can be readily computed for, yet it works with remarkable efficiency and, witness the wide divergence in the stone block size, was constructed with an eye to economy. Provided that it is properly interpreted with a trained eye, much can be learnt from an analysis of historic details. materials and appropriate craft skills. Through building upon these, and other, initiatives that are being developed by a number of institutes, a programme that educates and trains to commonly understood principles is being recognised as a prerequisite of success. By working with established strengths, and crossing disciplines, an increasing awareness at all levels is making it possible to devise more relevant common standards that are applicable to future needs. However, a fuller and broader range of co-operation and integration will be necessary before this can be fully achieved. Conservation as repair and maintenance For statistical purposes, practical conservation work at its more basic level is commonly categorised, and incorporated, in the repair and maintenance sector of the construction industry. The significance of this grouping becomes considerable when, in the UK, the acknowledged split between 'repair and maintenance' and 'new build', in terms of total construction expenditure, is commonly found to be on an equal 50/50 split. This trend has now been held at these levels for some time and it is expected that the balance will rise further in favour of repairs and maintenance needs. Certainly, in Eastern European countries the present split is 70/30, if not higher. From this set of statistics alone it could be claimed that a great deal of unrecognised conservation work is at present being undertaken by the construction industry. However, it is also in these figures that a lacuna becomes evident. As the training and education worlds currently stand, little or no recognition is given to the needs of repair and maintenance (and thereby conse1vation) in existing technical and underContext 56 December 1997
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