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People need to be equipped with green skills for the future
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SummitSkills has prioritised environmental technologies training
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It is becoming increasingly clear that the building services engineering (BSE) sector will have a major role to play in meeting the carbon reduction targets set by Government. Reducing emissions, lowering energy consumption and conserving water cannot be achieved without the sector designing, installing and maintaining renewable and environmental technologies and providing the best advice to customers.
To help meet these targets, employers and employees across the sector need to ensure they have the relevant skills to work with renewable technologies such as photovoltaic panels, solar thermal and heat pumps.
Green priorities
In such uncertain economic times, the environmental agenda has been pushed to the bottom of the pile of priorities for many businesses, but now is not the time to be idle. With the coalition government highlighting a greener future, plus spiralling fuel costs and increasing awareness of the need to conserve energy, there will inevitably be a greater demand for renewable energy sources for both commercial and domestic installations.
The opportunity for employers in the BSE sector to take advantage of this demand for renewable energy technologies is huge, but to do this people need to be equipped with the right skills in advance.
A number of companies appear to be waiting for market development before they invest their resources in developing the skills of their workforce and diversifying into environmental technologies. It is vital that the sector invests in skills training now to maintain productivity and profitability for the future.
Skills academy
SummitSkills has prioritised environmental technologies training in recognition of its future importance for the sector. From next year, employers in the sector are set to benefit from a National Skills Academy that will co-ordinate skills training in design, installation and maintenance of environmental technologies.
The skills academy will play a key role in transforming the ability for businesses in the sector to access the training and skills they will need to meet future demand for the installation of renewable and environmental technologies in the UK.
The National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies will focus on the following areas of skills development for the sector:
- design skills: training in the full planning and installation process for environmental technologies, from the correct design and sizing of the renewable installations, to the best positioning of the product, through to its connection to the existing power and water systems and ongoing control;
- product knowledge: delivery of knowledge around specific products and technical issues for each technology;
- commissioning and maintenance: the skills for the commissioning, maintenance and service of these technologies post-installation;
- innovation, entrepreneurship and business development: developing the confidence of businesses to work with new technologies.
The creation of the National Skills Academy is a critical step forward for the BSE sector. Future jobs and employment in the sector are likely to depend on the ability of businesses and employers to develop the skills to deal with the task of fitting environmental technologies that will be commonplace as the UK meets its commitments to the low carbon agenda.
The academy will play a key role in ensuring that skills capability is developed and that the BSE sector can become more proactive in promoting the green agenda to consumers and acting as a trailblazer for green skills.
SummitSkills is the Sector Skills Council for the Building Services Engineering (BSE) sector. For further information and updates on the National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies, please visit the website www.summitskills.org.uk .
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