Institute of Technology to play key role in training for green jobs

Institute of Technology to play key role in training for green jobs

“Every job has the potential to become green”

On Wednesday 14th July, the Green Jobs Taskforce launched its report to government, industry and the skills sector.

The report a call to arms for Government, industry and the education sector to take action to deliver on the promise of a green industrial revolution and net zero.

Three report leads, including Yvonne Kelly, Principal and CEO, East London Institute of Technology, discussed its findings the launch event today. Yvonne said: “Colleges and higher education providers, such as Universities and the new Institutes of Technology have an important and urgent role to play in the green industrial revolution.

We need to work closely with industry and the government to understand the current and future needs of employers as the UK transitions to net zero; as a sector, we must respond by developing at pace the technology, training and qualifications to provide people with the skills that people they will need in the green workforce.”

The conclusion reached by the Taskforce’s assessment of the evidence is that, if the UK is to grasp the opportunities afforded by a green industrial revolution, we must develop a comprehensive and holistic view of the green jobs and skills challenge.

The taskforce says that every job has the potential to become ‘green’ as the world moves to combat climate change, and there are a huge range of skills which will <![if !vml]><![endif]>support the transition to a net zero economy.

Today’s report sets out key recommendations to maximise job creation and skill up the workforce as the UK economy embarks on a major transition to achieve net zero emissions and reverse the decline in the natural environment. 

Its recommendations focus on three key themes on the challenges of delivering skilled workers including:

•           Driving investment in green jobs and skills in the UK.

•           Building pathways into good green careers.

•           Ensuring a just transition for workers in high carbon sectors.

According to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), improving the building fabric energy efficiency of every building in the country in need of retrofit will require 12,000 workers to be trained every year for about the next four years, before the need to ramp up annual recruitment by up to 30,000 workers between years 2025 and 2030. This implies an increased trained workforce of up to 230,000 by the end of the decade.

The state-of-the-art green technologies equipment at the East London Institute of Technology includes: a modular Solar Power learning system, a Wind Power Learning Solution and Electric Vehicle Charging Station.