Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has launched a partnership in a bid to ensure the UK has the right skills to implement the Green Deal, the Government's policy to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.
The Green Deal aims to enable private firms to offer consumers energy improvements to their homes, communities and businesses at no upfront cost and to recoup payments as a charge in instalments on the energy bill.

The Green Deal Skills Alliance (GDSA), officially launched by the Minister, is working to create new training and accreditation for the energy assessment, advice and installation workforce - the people who will carry out the improvements. The GDSA is made up of three Sector Skills Councils - Asset Skills, ConstructionSkills and SummitSkills.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: 'The success of the Green Deal will, in part, come down to having people who have the right skills and knowledge to instill trust. The Green Deal Skills Alliance will help industry face the challenges ahead so people get the right training and qualifications they will need in order to gain work under the Green Deal.'

The Green Deal is due to launch in October and could see uptake within 14 million homes and create 65,000 jobs by 2015.

Chief executive designate of Asset Skills, Sarah Bentley, said: 'The new skills programmes we are introducing as part of the GDSA are important for the UK to meet its targets on cutting carbon. The partnership is running a series of Green Deal Connections events to raise awareness that only those with the right qualifications will be able to secure work from the Green Deal.'

Mark Farrar, chief executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: 'It is vital that firms, particularly SMEs, are able to meet demand for the construction of low carbon technology, as well as knowing how not to fall foul of changing regulations. We want to help SMEs understand the impact of new legislative requirements affecting carbon emissions and develop the right skills to respond to this demand. We need to ensure that government and larger contractors adequately support SMEs in meeting green skills needs.'

Keith Marshall, OBE, chief executive of SummitSkills, said: 'There has been so much talk about Green Deal that not surprisingly many employers tell us they are unsure of where to start to prepare their people to support and take advantage of the initiative. The Green Deal Connections events will guide visitors through the mass of information towards exactly what potential installers of environmental technologies need to know.'

The GDSA will develop and implement the Green Deal Competency Framework, which aims to produce common standards and qualifications to sit across all aspects of Green Deal assessment, advice and installation. For more information, contact greendeal@assetskills.org or call 0845 678 2 888.

To register for a Green Deal Connections event, visit http://www.assetskills.org/GreenSkills/GreenDealConnections.aspx