Technical Moves Blog

New Grants Available – Is the Green industry destined for great times?

It seems like you can’t pick a newspaper or turn on a television these days without hearing about rising energy costs and the lack of sustainable resources. It is also well documented that the environment is under pressure and we all need to be that little bit more “environmental conscious and responsible”. Has all this exposure started to have a “knock on” affect, causing the rise in demand for green and renewable energy as consumers make an attempt to either improve the environment, or save money?. Alternatively is it down to the growing pressure from the government on employers to be more environmentally friendly – scoring additional “environmental points” to improve their bid towards that big contract? Whatever it is, the green industry could be set to rapidly expand with attractive government grants and investments becoming available to consumers as an incentive to improve energy consumption. Could this prove to be as popular as the “vehicle scrappage” scheme and breathe new life into the employment industry?

The “Green Industry” has certainly come a long way over the last few years embracing new resources and making systems more affordable to install for both businesses and homes. The industry is no longer regarded as a long winded and expensive process for true environmentalists to get very little return for maximum effort. In contrast it is completely the opposite with more and more companies and celebrities investing in the technology and promoting the industry making it an exciting venture for the future. With various new products on the market offering increasing savings in an expensive energy market, more and more of us are beginning to look towards the “greener” grass on the other side of the fence.

With the new government in place, the UK certainly has strong environmental ambitions with impressive targets to considerably reduce unemployment figures through this industry alone. Coupled with their recent policy on renewable energy and commitment to be environmentally responsible, they have invested heavily within the development of the industry, offering generous grants to consumers to install greener systems

Reports detail potential skills shortages and unique opportunities for specialist staff developing throughout the renewable energy industry – due to the rise in accepted grants and consistently improving technology. A survey carried out from a leading research company within the industry employers recently reported that; 53% of respondents predicted the demand for their company’s green related services and skilled workers would increase in the future. In addition 37% said that they were concerned about the company’s future ability to satisfy those increased requirements.

At present typical engineers earnings are being estimated between £18,000 to £25,000 per annum (employed) and £40,000+ self employed, with expectations that this will consistently rise as the demand for the services increases and experienced/trained staff diminish. Due to a changing industry we are expecting to see an increasing demand for a new specialised worker with key opportunities within design, installation, and maintenance.

For obvious reasons this is a highly regulated and specialised industry and you won’t be able to just walk straight into a position without having the necessary skills and knowledge to perform competently. To cope with the predicted demand various training courses have been designed specifically for the industry – with no previous experience or technical knowledge required. However there is an assumption that by completing a course it will automatically qualify you for a new position regardless of your previous career history and experience. This isn’t necessarily true and it is naturally expected that preference from employers will be given to candidates already from a building services, technical, or engineering background which have decided to re-train specifically to work in the renewable industry.

Nevertheless the government is estimating that there will be over 1,000,000 people employed in Green related industries by 2012, with key emphasis in solar and renewable energy. With current figures being far less than this, there should also be trainee and entry level opportunities available.

With all this investment the industry is shaping up well and if targets are met, green opportunities will defy the economic slowdown significantly. We remain optimistic about the industry and hope that it develops as expected, providing new and exciting career opportunities throughout.

Written by Andrew Childerley FIRP CertRP, Director of Technical Moves