APPENDIX 13
Memorandum from the Environment Agency
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Environment Agency is very keen
to encourage the development of skills, knowledge and attitudes
in the national workforce that will lead to good environmental
practice. This will help to avoid costly enforcement activity
and more especially, damage to the environment.
1.2 We emphasised the importance of businesses
having environmental skills in our response to the Government's
recent review of the UK Sustainable Development strategy and in
our response to the Sustainable Communities plan.
1.3 The Egan Skills Review highlighted the
importance of environmental skills. The review concluded that
there was a lack of skills among built environment professionals
to support the delivery of sustainable communities, a programme
which has an important environmental dimension. To overcome this
skills gap, Egan proposed a National Centre for Sustainable Communities
Skills. We look forward to working with the centre once it is
established to ensure that the environmental dimension of its
work is supported.
1.4 Mentions of "environment"
and "sustainable development" in national and regional
policies and plans will not deliver environmental improvements.
Sustainable development needs to be part of the ethos and culture
of organisations and individuals.
1.5 We think that the following measures
will help to strengthen the role of learning as part of the UK's
Sustainable Development Strategy and we want to see training on
environmental issues raised to a similar position as health and
safety with the national workforce.
2. PROFESSIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
2.1 Professional bodies should have sustainable
development as part of their course accreditation requirements.
Sustainable development should also underpin continuous professional
development.
2.2 This is a view echoed by the Government's
Sustainable Development Education Panel.
2.3 Many professional institutions play
a key role in setting the higher education curricula.
2.4 These institutions have been phasing
out their own examinations and instead relying on "accredited"
degrees as the educational route to membership.
2.5 5.5 million professionals are making
important decisions on a daily basis, relating to land use, planning,
new development, investment and waste management. They are responsible
not only for safety, technical and economic performance, but also
for the use of natural resources and for minimising the environmental
impact of projects, wastes and emissions.
3. SKILLS FOR
BUSINESS NETWORK
3.1 The setting up of the Skills for Business
Network by the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) presents
an opportunity to ensure that all national occupational standards
for each of the new Sector Skills Councils include environmental
sustainability. These standards provide the foundations for all
training and qualifications that are developed for particular
sectors.
3.2 The SSDA could do more to ensure that
sustainable development is part of the vision and ethos of Sector
Skills Councils.
4. QUALIFICATIONS
4.1 Environmental issues should be mandatory
in vocational and other qualifications and skills training.
5. HEALTH AND
SAFETY
5.1 We recommended that the basic legal
requirements relating to health and safety training should be
replicated for the environment.
5.2 This presents an excellent opportunity
to deliver training in a co-ordinated way that delivers multiple
outcomes that benefit business, people and the environment.
6. FRAMEWORKS
FOR REGIONAL
EMPLOYMENT AND
SKILLS ACTION
6.1 We recommend that the environment is
an intrinsic part of "Frameworks for Regional Employment
and Skills Action" (FRESAs) owned by the Regional Development
Agencies.
7. ENVIRONMENT
AGENCY INITIATIVES
TO INFLUENCE
SKILLS AND
LEARNING
7.1 We have been involved in a number of
initiatives to support environmental knowledge and skills development:
These include:
7.1.1 Working with NAPAEO (umbrella body
for UK land-based colleges) to review and revise the HE/FE
agricultural curricula to give full consideration to environmental
issues.
7.1.2 We are a partner of PP4SD—"Professional
Practice for Sustainable Development." PP4SD has been
working with the professions for six years to encourage sustainable
practice through facilitated workshops and the development
of case study materials.
7.1.3 We helped to revise guidelines for
ICE and IStructE accredited design/engineering courses to reflect
environmental considerations.
7.1.4 We were one of the partners in the
development of the NCFE Foundation Certificate in Sustainable
Development.
7.1.5 We are working with the Sector Skills
Council, Lantra, to develop an on-line course "Best farming
practice: profiting from a good environment". The course
is aimed at farm advisers, and managers and agricultural
students.
7.1.6 We input into the Defra "Learning
Skills and Knowledge Review" for the land-based sector. In
particular, we played a key role in helping to set professional
competencies for farm advisers.
November 2004
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