Historic Environment Skills and Careers Action Plan for England (HESCAPE)
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Last updated: 22 Apr 2026
Historic Environment Skills and Careers Action Plan for England
The Historic Environment Skills and Careers Action Plan for England (HESCAPE) is the sector‑wide framework for addressing skills and workforce challenges across the historic environment.
Led by the Historic Environment Skills Forum, HESCAPE brings together employers, professional bodies, training providers and public sector organisations to support a more coordinated, evidence‑led and transparent approach to skills development and career pathways.
The refreshed edition (Version 1.5, April 2026) builds on the original Action Plan published in 2024 by:
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strengthening clarity around how the framework should be used
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expanding detail on priority areas, activities and outcomes
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introducing a clearer, lighter‑touch approach to monitoring and reporting.
HESCAPE supports the long‑term resilience of the sector by helping ensure we have the right skills, in the right places, at the right time.
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HESCAPE is:
HESCAPE is not:
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Success is measured through uptake, alignment and collective impact, not by completing every activity.
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HESCAPE focuses collective effort on four Priority Areas for Action, each supported by a set of clearly defined Activities:
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Based on national‑level evidence, HESCAPE highlights five current pressure points for specific Priority Skills Areas:
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How organisations can engage
Organisations are invited to:
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select relevant Activities aligned to their work
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deliver projects independently or in partnership
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register aligned activity via a simple Skills Forum reporting form
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provide brief six‑monthly progress updates, focused on learning and visibility rather than compliance.
Activity can be delivered by:
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individual organisations
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Working Groups or Task and Finish Groups set up through the Skills Forum
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Regional Heritage Skills Networks, which coordinate action and intelligence at a local level.