As an environmental and building acoustics consultant with more than 20 years’ experience, Stephen Scott could instantly see the connection between his own specific skill set and what he would learn by signing up for the new Level 2 Award in Understanding Domestic Retrofit here at the College.
Previously from the Brighton and Hove area, Stephen decided to take voluntary redundancy after being furloughed during the pandemic and saw it as an opportunity to relocate to the South West. Now living in Cornwall, Stephen discovered the course in retrofitting whilst looking at the government’s Skills Bootcamp website.
Stephen said: “This course sounded interesting and there was an obvious connection to my previous job. Even though I’m not currently working in the industry, I am determined to keep up-to-date with the CPD requirements of my Institute of Acoustics membership.
“There is so much talk of the Government’s carbon net zero target and it was enlightening to see what is required from the housing sector to help achieve this. The course provided some very interesting and useful information about retrofit and is a fantastic introduction – it isn’t quite enough to start a new career in retrofit, but it’s provided me with a better understanding of the benefits and challenges of retrofit and I can certainly apply this to my knowledge of acoustics.”
For Stephen, the course was also a nice way to reintroduce himself to the classroom having been out of education since completing his master’s in 1997.
He said: “The College felt welcoming on first arrival and provided good support throughout. I enjoyed being back in the classroom and there was a good mixture of people doing the course. As I’m still looking to get back to work after taking redundancy, I was able to fully focus on the course, so I can’t comment on how easily it would fit around employment. But the best part for me is that the course fees were paid for by the government.”
“Retrofit is something that has certainly grabbed my interest and I’m hopeful the College will offer the Level 4 Award in Domestic Retrofit Assessment in the near future. If you have the time and interest, then do it, especially if you’re already in the construction industry. The course was very well planned and delivered the use of virtual reality, thermal imaging cameras and drones added much interest in addition to the core syllabus.”
