Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy Boost To Construction Industry
Under new plans announced by the Government this month, a ‘green’ transformation of Britain’s homes will take place over the next decade- designed to make them more comfortable, warmer and cheaper to run.
With around one quarter of UK emissions coming from energy used in homes the ‘Warm Homes, Greener Homes’ strategy is aimed at cutting emissions from the UK’s homes by 29% by 2020.
The new strategy will help people make smarter use of energy in homes, making it easier to take action and reduce bills. Installing some technologies, such as solid wall insulation, could see energy bills cut by £380 a year (average between 2013 and 2020).
The new strategy will also help boost jobs, with up to 65,000 jobs required in the green homes industry as a result, for example installing and manufacturing energy saving measures or providing home energy advice.
The demand for trained and qualified industry personnel is also likely to increase, with the focus on those training to be an electrician or looking to work as a plumber. Energy efficient heating and lighting technology is now an urgent priority and it’s becoming clear that undertaking green energy course training in Solar PV installation or ground /air source heat pumps is going to directly benefit trade skills trainees.
Knowing how to make a green energy assessment and undertake the required installation will be of direct relevance to experienced electricians and plumbers, who wish to upgrade their service provision.
The Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy will be implemented in a three stage plan:
• Insulation of 6 million homes by the end of 2011
• Insulation of all practical lofts and cavity walls by 2015
• Up to 7 million eco upgrades offered by 2020- all homes to have smart meters
The first demand for electrical and plumbing services looks to be from social housing. Government aims to focus efforts to reduce bills and carbon emissions with council and housing association landlords linking up with energy companies to get efficiency work done.
For those who wish to make a new career in the electrical or plumbing sector, entry level training without any prior knowledge or experience, can be undertaken on a City & Guilds NVQ Level 2 course – Electrical 2330, or Plumbing 6129 - which provides foundation knowledge and introduction to the required practical skills before qualifying to progress onto Level 3.
