IMechE: industrial heritage under threat
1 min read
The UK's industrial heritage is under threat as traditional skills to maintain and operate its artefacts are being lost. In 20 years almost half of the nation's industrial artefacts and sites could stop working or be forced to close due to lack of skills,according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
Chairman of the IMechE heritage committee John Wood said such heritage was often overlooked, but they not only revealed physical links to industrial history but represented potentially profitable projects that could generate wealth and jobs.
"The country's industrial heritage is now under serious threat. The majority of these artefacts are maintained and operated by a voluntary and a largely ageing workforce with scarce resources," he went on. "This means there are limited resources to transfer skills as well as to meet increasingly stringent health and safety legislation.
"We need to take action now to help transfer skills, so that vital techniques and practices to maintain these precious links to our industrial history aren't lost forever."
In 2010 the British heritage sector, including the country's industrial heritage, contributed over £7.4 billion to the economy and provided more than 190,000 full-time jobs.
