Review of Lecture Notes on Green Skills in Construction

Role at Groundwork Greater Manchester

• Director of Employment and Enterprise.
• Responsibilities include employment and skills provisions and landscape construction business.
• Focus on building pathways into work for marginalized groups.
• Emphasis on skills for the green economy.
• Meeting the needs of different groups to facilitate careers in the green economy.

Groundwork Greater Manchester

• Separate charity company limited by guarantee.
• Member of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts (Groundwork UK is the central body).
• Trusts exist across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, each operating separately but with common goals.
• Local operations vary based on needs and opportunities.

Mission and Objectives

• Mission: Delivering a green, fair, and stronger future for people, places, and communities in Greater Manchester.
• Overarching mission: practical action to create a fair and green future where people, places, and nature thrive.
• Work involves individuals, communities, and improving living places.
• Integrated approach with public, private, and voluntary sector collaboration.

Construction Industry's Role in Environmental Initiatives

• Partnerships with the construction industry as employers for trained individuals.
• Addressing labor market shortages in the construction industry.
• Recruiting priority groups with positive reception from construction partners.
• Collaboration in course design and delivery.

Sustainable Practices in Building and Construction

• Focus on energy-efficient homes and retrofitting properties.
• Addressing external urban environments, including green technology subsystems and nature-based solutions.
• Contracting with the construction industry and being part of their supply chain.
• Support through social value programs and pro bono contributions.
• Construction industry representatives on the board.
• Potential work on delivering biodiversity net gain.

Groundwork's Role as a Construction Employer

• Delivering contracts in landscape construction, including fencing, groundworks, and hard and soft landscaping.
• Accredited and part of the construction industry.
• Potential future involvement in retrofitting work, acting as a contractor or supply chain contractor.

Evolution of Demand for Green Skills

• Significant changes in the construction industry regarding sustainable practices and retrofitting.
• Fragmented training structure creates challenges in ensuring the right skills.
• Need for continuous training in core trade skills and additional modules for new practices.
• Increasing volume of people entering the construction industry and continuous upskilling of the existing workforce required.
• Course content needs to change to reflect new practices.
• Certain trades require more people to allow for upskilling (e.g., electricians becoming solar installers).
• Need for more multi-skilled people for retrofit projects, including heating engineers upskilling for heat pump installation.

Future Skills and Technologies

• Potential role of hydrogen technology in the future, though uncertainty remains.
• Increased need for individuals who understand how to maintain different technologies and help people use them effectively.
• More training around flood risk management, urban cooling, sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), and green roofs.
• Economic drivers and investment influence the direction of skills development; concern about a potential lag.

Ensuring Standards and Meeting Net Zero Goals

• Regulation and legislation are essential for the industry to respond effectively.
• Procurement practices and design specifications must prioritize sustainability and carbon lifecycle considerations.
• Environmental management systems is very important.
• Commitment to sustainability needs to translate into supply chains and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Support SMEs through training systems due to short-term contracts.
• Sustainable material choices and design specifications can be more expensive, creating challenges related to cost-cutting.

Challenges in Achieving Sustainability

• Uncertainty in government policy and direction is a major issue.
• Past failures, such as the Green New Deal, have created nervousness within the system.
• Difficulty in planning and investing for the future due to uncertainty.
• Timing the acquisition of skills for future needs remains a challenge.
• New technologies and systems cost more initially.

Impact of Devolution and Local Mayors

• Devolved areas with local mayors can make a significant difference.
• Priorities can be tailored to local needs, e.g., retrofit in Greater Manchester.
• Local decision-making informed by local needs is beneficial.
• Green skills are emphasized in Greater Manchester, with net-zero targets set for 2038.
• Transport and retrofit are crucial in Greater Manchester.
• Central government and local authorities must work together.
• Consistency in targets and policies is necessary for effective decision-making.

Need for Nimble Skills Development

• Skills development needs to be more flexible and adaptable.
• Smaller-scale, flexible training programs are more effective in mayoral areas with devolved skills funding.

Supporting the Construction Industry

• Innovation and willingness to do things differently are present.
• More support for SMEs is needed, enabling them to invest and change.
• Apprenticeships are the ideal way to upskill individuals, providing on-the-job learning.
• Mismatches exist between industry needs and college-based training.
• Shared apprenticeships or structured programs are needed to accommodate apprentices in small businesses.
• SMEs face challenges in retaining trained employees due to poaching by other companies.

Frameworks and Qualifications

• Existing frameworks are not always suitable for qualifications.
• Changes through foundation apprenticeships aim to create better pathways.
• Financial commitment is necessary to pay wages for a fixed amount of time.
• Concerns exist about taking on apprentices amid stop-start contracts.

Specific Skills for Sustainability

• Early sustainability training in schools is crucial.
• Communicating the importance of green careers is necessary.
• Maintenance of systems will become a significant issue as more technology is installed.
• Training is needed for the maintenance and repair of technologies like heat pumps.
• Land-based skills, such as sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), are also important.

Understanding Technologies

• Helping people understand new technologies is essential.
• Layman's terms explanations are needed for residents using green technologies like heat pumps.
• Training can help people maximize the use of systems for energy efficiency and cost savings.
• Battery storage is another critical area.
• Promoting repair culture through repair cafes and school curricula can reduce the throwaway culture.

Multi-Skilled Workforce

• Multi-skills for retrofit is essential.
• Individuals need competence in insulation, window replacement, joinery, and plastering.

Social Value and Diversity

• Social value has changed the conversation, focusing attention on delivering social value.
• Easier to engage construction industry in taking on individuals involved with the criminal justice system due to social value targets.
• Meeting the needs of diverse groups is beneficial for partners.
• Still a challenge to attract women into trade roles in the construction industry.
• Focus should be on influencing girls when they are younger.

Work Experience

• Work experience is valuable if it is good.
• Prioritizing work experience for individuals without contacts, such as those in the care system.
• Workplace safaris are useful but not the same as actual work experience.
• Apprenticeships offer real working and earning opportunities.
• Trial periods or pre-apprenticeships can help determine commitment.

Maths and English Skills

• Functional maths and English skills are important.
• GCSE maths is not always relevant to construction industry needs.
• Creative ways to teach numeracy and literacy skills are needed.

Importance of Specific Projects and Initiatives

• The Green Start project by Big Ideas is important, employing an employer-led educational approach.
• Need to understand learners and tailor programs to meet their needs.
• Consider the struggles some young people face in the education system.

City & Guilds Foundation

• Better if employers are actively involved and programs are informed by workplace reality.
• Wage subsidies and ILM programs are beneficial with the right skills package.

Career Advice

• Having targeted, coordinated and creative programs.
• Really important, but it has become fragmented.
• Difficult to integrate the green economy into the advice provided.
• Coordination of employers to provide employer experiences is crucial.
• Critical to ensure that people are aware of opportunities and plan their career pathways.
• Otherwise, there will be massive skill shortages within the green economy.