The sector skills council is encouraging building services engineering employers to prepare for the launch of the Green Deal now that the Energy Act has become law.
SummitSkills is urging employers to consider the business opportunities that will be opened up by the Green Deal which will officially launch next year.

Consultation to inform the secondary legislation deciding the details of the scheme begins this autumn, with the Government on schedule to launch its Green Deal in October 2012. Announcing the year-long countdown to the launch, climate change minister Greg Barker described the Green Deal as a 'massive business opportunity' which was expected to attract capital investment of £15 billion in the residential sector alone by 2020 and support 250,000 jobs.

SummitSkills is working with the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), a quality assurance mark giving access to Government financial incentives to remove the upfront costs of energy efficiency measures.

Chief executive of SummitSkills, Keith Marshall OBE, said: 'The message from Government is clear. Green Deal is now on a countdown to becoming reality and skilled operatives in the BSE sector will play a leading role in ensuring this ambitious scheme's success. Forward-looking employers need to be preparing now, looking at the skills in their workforce and identifying how to plug any skills gaps with accredited training.

'As BSE operatives increasingly develop their skills into these new low carbon and microgeneration technologies, SummitSkills wants to make sure that installers don't waste time and money on sub-standard training. Businesses which spend resources on the right training will more quickly get MCS-certified, giving them the edge over their competitors.'

Free, half-day Green Deal Connections roadshows are running until March 2012 to provide employers with the information they will need about the scheme. The events have been organised by a partnership between SummitSkills and the other sector skills councils for the built environment, Asset Skills and CITB-ConstructionSkills. For more information about venues, dates and times click here or call 0845 678 2888.