With a growing number of people being made redundant, taking the opportunity to learn a trade is becoming more attractive.
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Trainees who complete solar photovoltaic electrical courses will be best placed to take advantage of opportunities in the renewable energy industry.
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In news that will interest those looking to take solar pv electrical courses, the Court of Appeal has today ruled that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) acted unlawfully over planned cuts to the feed-in tariff (FIT).
This week we had the pleasure of training two guys from Israel. Yuval and Ani own an Air Conditioning Company in Israel and decided that they would like to branch out into the world of Renewable Technologies.
They did the usual Google search for renewable energy courses and decided that it was Able Skills, over 2000 miles away, who were able to fulfil their requirements and so flights were booked, travel in the UK arranged, accommodation provided and the training booked.
Yuval and Ani flew into Heathrow, travelled by train to London and then Dartford to meet us at Able Skills. After a coffee and a rest, they were taken to our accommodation to settle in, ready to start their training the next day.
Their training started at 08.30 sharp and their first course was in Underfloor Heating systems, after 2 days, a practical assessment and written exam was undertaken and successfully completed, they then moved on to their next Heat Pumps courses.
Again, 2 days of training and assessments and again, a successful result achieved. Finally, Solar Thermal to round off their training time at Able Skills and this was also completed in full and everything passed. In their short time here they have achieved three Bpec accredited qualifications which will aid them with their business plans when they go back home.
The guys coped brilliantly with the pace of the training and without a break which we wouldn’t normally encourage but when you’re from Israel you don’t really have a lot of choice! The language barrier was only apparent when using technical terminology but the guys spoke great English and seemed to have adapted to Jed Smiths course delivery, despite his Blackpool accent!
Jed has said that their understanding of the industry is excellent and that he has enjoyed training them, I think that he may be hopeful of an invite to Israel to offer some kind of consultancy service, I think that’s instructors speak for ‘freebie holiday’.
Yuval and Ani seem to have adapted well to the busyness of Able Skills and are suitably impressed with the facilities within our Environmental Technologies Centre. We have enjoyed having them here, providing them with their own private ‘Able Skills’ accommodation and helping them to achieve new skills which will expand their business when they go home.
We thank them for choosing Able Skills for their training and wish them a safe journey home and lots of luck with their new ventures in Israel.
The Department for Transport’s indicated that it’s keen on rolling out a network of electric car charge points – a move that could create thousands more jobs for skilled solar, electric and renewable contractors.
Train now and make sure you’re in the front seat for the rev in renewables with our electric, renewable and solar PV training courses.
The Green Deal’s set to create a £6.5 billion-a-year market in green technology and retro-fitting. And the sector skills council for the construction industry has advised small to medium sized businesses, as well as individual tradesmen, to get training now so they can bid for and win their share of lucrative Green Deal contracts.
MP for Dartford Gareth Johnson is set to visit Able Skills’ cutting-edge training facilities next month.
Gas and Renewable Technologies Training – Bradford
Able Skills has been working in partnership with Vokèra for almost a year now; we have been fortunate enough to be invited to attend PHEX shows on a shared exhibition stand with Vokèra and will also be present with them this year at ‘Installer Live’ in Birmingham in October.
Careful preparation and planning must be undertaken by an installer before a solar PV panel system can be fitted onto an average domestic householder’s rooftop. Most general advice tends to focus on issues such as type of silicon cell panels, power rating to meet the household annual requirement and to also consistently generate sufficient electricity, roof direction and pitch, shading from nearby buildings and trees, etc.
The above mentioned items are indeed, absolutely vital to ensure the selected photovoltaics system is specified and fitted correctly to obtain maximum benefit. However, there are a number of other practical installation issues and potential problems to be addressed before an array may be allowed to be physically attached to a rooftop surface.
Installers of solar panel technology must have fully completed and qualified on approved and nationally recognised City & Guilds /BPEC/NICEIC solar PV courses or solar courses, verified up to mandatory levels 2 and 3.
In other words, legitimately competent to carry out the work to the required legal Building Regulations and Health & Safety standards. It should be noted that approved training qualifications are a compulsory requirement for eligibility to register as a genuine, competent and approved MSC installer of MSC approved solar PV systems.
With the recent news that false or misleading information has been used to persuade unwary householders to purchase solar PV systems, it is crucial that the professional industry ensures the ‘rogue trader’ element does not undermine consumer confidence and hinder the growing marketplace.
The first consideration is that a solar panel is heavy and in some instances requires two installers to physically carry and handle the fitting without incident. With a typical weight of around 20 kg, the attachment of a panel array of up to 2kWp can add around 300Kg or nearly half a metric tonne to the roof structure of an average domestic property when factoring in the weight of the mounting kit.
When inspecting the roof for statutory load bearing capability, there are likely to be some occasions when the roof load will be increased above the 15 per cent threshold for an individual roof design specification, and a structural survey will be required.
The next consideration has to be the 25 year longevity of the FeedInTariff Scheme (FiTs). The question has to asked at the outset whether the present condition of the roof is adequate for the entire 25 year period of the scheme or will renovation or maintenance definitely be required at some stage after the panels have been fitted.
The condition of the proposed roof structure naturally ties in with an assessment of the type of roofing materials themselves, that are currently in place. Some roof material categories are simply not suitable for either load bearing or taking fixings due to roof sheets cracking, prevention of condensation and thermal expansion.
PART TWO will look at some more of the actual problems that roofer installers can encounter when fitting a PV system to a rooftop.
Able Skills is constantly keeping up to date with modern inventions and always looking to expand our range of courses. With the growing popularity in renewable energies and the cost of such technologies becoming more and more affordable, the demand for Solar Photovoltaic installer and maintenance qualified electricians is forever increasing.