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
— Combined Heat and Power
— Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation
— Micro Hydro Generation Systems
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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