The Retrofit Academy has a partnership with Sterling Accreditation Ltd, through which our Level 4 and Level 5 graduates become TrustMark Accredited as a Retrofit Assessor or Retrofit Coordinator. This is included in the course cost for 12 months after graduation. It is renewed each year as part of your Professional Membership, which is why Assessors and Coordinators pay a higher annual fee compared with other roles that don’t require Trustmark accreditation.

TrustMark accreditation, and many other types of membership schemes, require you to keep your knowledge and skills up to date through Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The Retrofit Academy creates bespoke retrofit CPD that is made available to Members via the CPD section of The Retrofit Professionals Hub. Once you have taken one of these short courses and completed the assessments, a CPD certificate will be issued to you that can be used as evidence to your accreditation scheme. We add new CPD to the Hub regularly and aim to provide as much retrofit CPD content as you need to maintain your status.

Bite-size Learning is short, practical learning that focus on a very specific topic that we believe are relevant to retrofit professionals. The Retrofit Academy has developed a series of bite-size learning assets exclusively for our members. The purpose of these is to help you when you face a particular challenge that may not have been covered in your course. For example, should you be assessing a Victorian cottage for the first time, our Bite-size Learning contains a detailed video explaining what to look out for. It is a searchable database, meaning you can use key terms like ‘Retrofit Design’ or ‘Traditional Buildings’ to help you find the guidance you need. The library will continue to expand over time.

We run Member-only events on Thursdays at 2pm. There are two types of events:

1) Retrofit Academy Clubs – where you can ask a panel of retrofit experts any question you like. These take place twice per month, except for breaks for holidays and on the week of the month when we host our Retrofit Academy Forum.

2) Monthly Retrofit Academy Forum – where we select a topic that we think is central to retrofit professionals and we delve deep into the issues. The topics are selected by our Technical Editorial Team and supported by our panel of expert speakers.

All Retrofit Academy members and learners can attend these events. You can register via the events page in The Hub.

The Professional Recognition Scheme is the way in which we recognise your skills, experience and contribution in the world of retrofit. We operate a number of schemes, such as for Retrofit Advisors, Assessors, Coordinators and Designers. You are first recognised as a Student, then as an Associate, Practitioner, Advanced Practitioner, Fellow and ultimately may be invited to become a Life Fellow. You receive a new digital badge when you progress to the next tier, and this status will also appear on your profile on the Hub.

Our Retrofit Academy Hub has a profile for each and every one of our Professional Members. Your profile is your chance to showcase yourself to other retrofit professionals by listing all your educational achievements and professional experiences. Your retrofit qualifications and CPD achievements can also be added to your profile through using the “Portfolio” feature, where your digital badges will also be displayed. It’s a great way of demonstrating your capabilities and it is important that you take the time to build your profile.

Our Technical Editorial Team and team of Skills Coaches continue to support our Professional Members even after they have completed their training. This support is available through the Discussions and Groups pages in The Hub, and also through our regular Retrofit Academy Clubs, available for you to register for in the events section of The Hub.

Professional Membership is open to all graduates from relevant Retrofit Academy courses*. As we only introduced some features recently (such as TrustMark Accreditation and Homelife Software), some people may have to pay a top up to access them.

Learners who applied to our Retrofit Advisor, Assessor, Coordinator or Designer courses on or after 1st July 2024 OR those on a qualifying Skills Bootcamp cohort** will be able to access all of the features of Professional Membership for the first 12 months after they graduate, at no additional cost.

Learners who applied to our Retrofit Advisor, Assessor, Coordinator or Designer courses before 1st July 2024 OR those not on qualifying Skills Bootcamp cohorts** will have to pay a top up of £100+VAT if they would like TrustMark Accreditation and Homelife Software.

If you are a graduate of The Retrofit Academy but have not renewed your membership with us, we would be delighted to discuss how we can help you develop your retrofit career through our Professional Membership offer.

* Relevant courses and qualifications are currently: Level 3 Award in Domestic Retrofit Advice, Level 4 Award in Domestic Retrofit Assessor, Level 5 Diploma in Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management and TRA’s Retrofit Designer course.
** Qualifying Skills Bootcamps are: Wave 5 DfE Skills Bootcamps in WMCA, WECA, Hertfordshire, and the Surrey and GLA Skills Bootcamps.

Professional Membership is free for the first year following your graduation.

From Year 2 onwards, our Annual Membership Fees are as follows:

• Retrofit Assessor and Retrofit Coordinator (including TrustMark accreditation) – £295 plus VAT
• Retrofit Advisor and Retrofit Designer (no TrustMark accreditation) – £195 plus VAT