Green Jobs and Skills - Environmental Audit Committee Contents


Additional Memorandum submitted by SummitSkills

  1.  SummitSkills submitted a memorandum to the committee on 26 May 2009.[79] Annex 1 provides a summary of that paper. This memorandum provides an update.

Green skills within the context of building services engineering.

  2.  The building services engineering sector embraces design engineers and contractors involved in the design, installation, commissioning, servicing and maintenance of electrotechnical, heating and ventilating, refrigeration and air-conditioning and plumbing industries in dwellings and non domestic buildings. The related green technologies which fall within this scope of activities are:

    — Solar Water and Heating

    — Solar Photovoltaics

    — Combined Heat and Power

    — Heat Pumps

    — Bio-fuels

    — Water recycling

    — Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation

    — Micro Wind Energy

    — Micro Hydro Generation Systems

    — Fuel Cell Technology

How has the demand led skills framework changed?

  3.  Over the last two years, the sector through SummitSkills research (see Annex 2) and consultation has been able to make its requirements clear for the qualifications it needs and why it needs them. This in turn has allowed SummitSkills to negotiate with funding agencies and ensure the qualifications' and courses that are funded by government, are those which employers value. It has also allowed us to reduce the number of non economically valuable programmes available, which did not meet the sectors skills requirements.

  4.  This approach has been successful for the traditional mainstream trade areas. However, it has been less so for the introduction of green technologies where employer demand is currently low and funding to support the additional skilling of existing workers in green technologies is difficult to access. Within England in particular, the Learning and Skills Council "Sector Compact" initiative has continually been stalled for this sector, while government papers are being formulated.

How industry are able to recognise the skills it needs in the green economy?

  5.  The building services engineering sector recognises the skills it needs in the green economy firstly through commercial business drivers. Our research (see Annex 2) has indicated that the sector's employers generally tend to be reactive to change. They are unlikely to develop their businesses or workforce skills unless there is a clear commercial opportunities and client demand. Principle drivers for this are:

    — Legislative changes such as Building Regulations, embracing energy efficiency and green technologies;

    — Grant schemes aimed at supporting building owners to take effective energy efficient measures and install green technologies, which require the use of competent installers to qualify; and

    — Clients demanding environmental technology within their construction, refurbishment and maintenance projects.

  6.  SummitSkills works with forward looking employers within the sector, trade associations, professional bodies and government departments to identify the skills requirements which support these drivers, and then to devise solutions which will help to deliver them. For example, we have worked closely with Community and Local Government to identify the competencies required relative to the new building regulations and with the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to identify the competencies required that supports the Micro Generation Certification Scheme.

  7.  We are also working with seven other Sector Skills Councils (Asset Skills, Cogent, Construction Skills, ECITB, EU Skills, Lantra, SEMTA and SummitSkills) on cross-sector renewable energy project sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

  8.  The project aims to develop a cross sector renewable energy skills strategy. It is adopting a process that mirrors the proven mechanism for developing a Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), to provide a robust framework and give confidence to the research. The process includes:

    — Assessment of current & future skills needs—skills analysis;

    — Mapping quality and availability of training provision—supply side analysis;

    — Gap Analysis of training requirements and training provision;

    — Development of practical, workable and cost effective solutions to address identified needs; and

    — Action plans to tackle the short, medium and long term priority skills issues.

How is industry able to get the training to do this?

  9.  Currently, a significant amount of additional skills training for existing workers in green technologies is provided by the technology manufacturers. In addition, organisations recognised by government departments to certificate companies as competent for their schemes (eg micro generation Certification Scheme) provide training and assessment through their networks of approved centres.

  10.  SummitSkills is currently working with awarding bodies such as City and Guilds and EAL, developing a suite of qualifications into the new Credit and Qualifications Framework (and Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework). These incorporate green technologies into the traditional mainstream trades for apprentices (and other new entrants to the sector). They will also provide smaller qualifications for existing workers within the sector, to extend their skills or gain national recognition if they already have them.

  11.  All of this should ensure employers have the opportunity to ensure their workforce is competent in green technologies, to nationally recognised standards.

  12.  The key however is to generate demand. As highlighted earlier, employers are unlikely to develop their businesses or their workforce into green technologies unless they have confidence that there are real commercial opportunities. Training and assessment providers will not invest in development of new and expensive green technology programmes unless they are confident there is demand from employers for the provision.

  13.  SummitSkills is currently updating its research to review the proportion of companies that are or intend to engage in these green technologies and the proportion of their staff who have received training in the technologies. We have also developed a strategy for green technologies aimed at providing strong leadership to:

    — Support employers within the sector to engage effectively with environmental technologies and maximise on the opportunities for their business;

    — Support the sector to achieve maximum impact against the UK targets for sustainability, carbon emission reductions, renewable energy generation and energy and resource management.

15 October 2009

Annex 1

THE GREEN JOBS AND SKILLS INQUIRY MEMORANDUM BY SUMMITSKILLS

SUMMARY

    — SummitSkills represents employers in 61,000 building services engineering businesses, which include the electrotechnical, heating and ventilating, refrigeration and air-conditioning and plumbing industries;

    — Businesses within our footprint design, install, commission, service and maintain domestic and industrial/commercial systems, which have begun to incorporate current and emerging microgeneration and renewable energy technologies;

    — These technologies have potential to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the 2020 renewable and 2050 energy reduction targets. Our submission concentrates on green jobs and skills relative to these activities.

    — Microgeneration and renewable energy technologies skills need to be integrated into the traditional skills of existing building services engineering workers.

    — The number of workers needed in the sector will increase, but they will need the full set of building services engineering skills rather than just the specific skills for environmental technologies.

    — Employers are reluctant to top up the skills of their workforce without a clear indication of client or legislative demand.

    — Employers need to be able to develop an entrepreneurial and enterprise culture and to raise client awareness of the range of suitable microgeneration and renewable energy technologies available.

    — Financial incentives and legislative changes are likely to provide some stimulation to the market.

    — The client's decision on a particular system, appliance or technology is often heavily influenced by the chosen installation business.

    — Financial incentives are needed to support building services engineering businesses develop into effective advocates and installers of microgeneration and renewable energy technologies.

    — It is essential to consider the impact on the training provider network, of encouraging building services engineering businesses to develop their workforce and plan accordingly.

CONCLUSIONS

    — The building services engineering sector has potential, through micro generation and renewable technologies, to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the 2020 renewable and 2050 energy reduction targets.

    — Businesses within the sector need:

    — to be convinced that the microgeneration and renewable technologies market is viable;

    — support in the development of skills in entrepreneurship and the enterprise culture;

    — financial support to extend the skills of their workforce.

    — Financial incentives for clients will be a more effective stimulus if they make a significant contribution towards:

    — cost of the installation;

    — reduction in payback time; and

    — reduction in energy usage cost.

Annex 2

OUTCOMES FROM SUMMITSKILLS SECTOR SKILLS AGREEMENT AND ADDITIONAL RESEARCH RELEVANT TO GREEN (ENVIRONMENTAL) TECHNOLOGIES

  1.  Initially, the Sector Skills Agreement development process highlighted the need to:

    — Develop and implement national occupational standards for current and emerging environmental technologies to craft, technical and professional occupations;

    — Update and maintain qualifications to reflect renewables and environmental technology skills;

    — Ensure environmental technologies are fully integrated within other activities such as the careers strategy and apprenticeship training frameworks.

  2.  In 2008 SummitSkills undertook research into specific themes arising from the Sector Skills Agreement. One of the themes researched further was environmental technologies in building services engineering. The key findings of this research were:

    — The sector's current exposure to and competence within environmental technologies is limited. There is certain clustering of technologies around regions, with some areas showing interest in certain renewables technologies and some in others, but engagement overall is low;

    — A high number of companies are waiting for market stimulation before they invest time and money in skills development and branching out into new technologies;

    — The current supply of training opportunities is inadequate both in quantity and in relation to formal qualification and measurement against national standards;

    — Training in renewables remains largely the preserve of manufacturers. A sudden increase in the use of environmental technologies will create a heavy demand for training which the supplier network will be unable to meet;

    — London is particularly vulnerable because of the high commitment to developing new technologies, the Olympics and the high number of proposed prestigious buildings in London which are likely to incorporate the most "high tech" environmental solutions; and

    — The proliferation of rogue trainers who take advantage of the lack of accredited training must be considered. In some English regions the wholesale development of training in certain new environmental technologies will be inappropriate due to lack of demand. The clustering effect needs to be further investigated and action taken to match demand with supply.







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