The first of six workshops in solid, internal and external wall insulation began today and all the workshops are fully booked with potential Green Deal trainers.
The courses teach trainers vital Green Deal skills in the classroom and in practical workshops, while manufacturers will be on hand to give demonstrations of how their technologies work.
They are being jointly funded through a £2.5m training fund that was announced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and CITB-ConstructionSkills earlier this year.
The workshops are a first step to forming the network of insulation training centres that will be needed to train the insulation installers with skills to deal with the initial demand for retrofit work when Green Deal installation services begin in October.
The dates of the workshops are:
- North WestSalford10th July 2012
- MidlandsBirmingham24th July 2012
- Bircham Newton Kings Lynn 31st July 2012
- North Eastern AreaLeeds7th August 2012
- EastLondonWalthamForest29th August 2012
- GlasgowSeptember date TBA
CITB-ConstructionSkills ceo Mark Farrar said: “We are investing funds to ensure that the construction industry has the right skills in place to make low carbon building schemes such as the Green Deal a success.
“Nearly 6.9 million households need to be fitted with internal or external insulation to bring them up to standard; this is a massive challenge but also a huge opportunity for the construction industry.
“We are urging SME construction firms take on training and qualifications, which are listed on the Cut the Carbon website that will enable them to win work under schemes such as the Green Deal. The time to prepare for the future is now.”
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “It is vital we have fully trained installers ready to carry out the important insulation work on millions of households across the country. That is why we have put a significant amount of money into this training fund, and I am pleased to see the programme successfully up and running.
“The Green Deal will not only enable people to greatly improve the energy efficiency of their homes; it will also create huge opportunities for businesses and thousands of new jobs.”