Green Deal Skills Alliance officially launches
Green skills and training news - by GreenWise Skills
16th January 2012
A new partnership that aims to ensure the UK has a fully trained workforce to meet ambitious Government targets to insulate Britain’s homes and businesses has officially launched.
The
Green Deal Skills Alliance (GDSA) has been set up to tackle the
skills shortage facing companies wishing to deliver the
Green Deal, the Government’s flagship
energy efficiency programme set to launch in October. The GDSA will create new
training and accreditation for those working in the retrofit and construction sector, where the Government estimates 65,000 jobs could be created over the next two years through its green retrofit programme. The Government aims to have 14 million homes insulated by 2020 through the Green Deal and some estimates have valued the UK retrofit market at £500 billion between now and 2050.
The GDSA – a partnership formed last year between Asset Skills, ConstructionSkills and SummitSkills – was officially launched last week. Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said it would help "people get the right training and qualifications they will need in order to gain work under the Green Deal".
Last month, the GDSA received £1.4 million of Government funding to carry out its two-year programme of training and accreditation.
Green skills shortageThe official launch of the GDSA came in the same week as
a report by the Royal Academy of Engineers warned that the lack of necessary skills among plumbers, heating engineers and insulation installers was proving a major brake on the UK’s ability to meet its
energy efficiency targets. Almost half of the UK's carbon emissions come from heating
buildings.
"It is vital that firms, particularly
small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are able to meet demand for the construction of low carbon technology, as well as knowing how not to fall foul of changing
regulations," Mark Farrar, chief executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, said. "We want to help SMEs understand the impact of new legislative requirements affecting carbon emissions and develop the right skills to respond to this demand. We need to ensure that Government and larger contractors adequately support SMEs in meeting green skills needs."
The GDSA said it was launching a series of events to guide firms through the "mass of information" they needed to be aware of in order to be able to exploit the multi-billion green retrofit market.
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