Get wind of the careers that care for the planet

"Get wind of the careers that care for the planet(By Tricia Phillips via Mirror.co.uk)Want a career with a great future that's environmentally sound? Then go
green – "green collar", that is.The good news is that even though we're in a recession, thousands of what
are being dubbed green collar careers are being created in areas such as
recycling and wind farms.So here's our guide to what's on the horizon:TRAININGBritish Gas has just teamed up with the Welsh Assembly to launch the UK's
first dedicated Green Skills Training Centre in Tredegar in the South Wales
valleys.The centre will train over 1,300 people per year and as well as British Gas
staff, will include unemployed local people who will be helped to find work
in renewable technologies.It's hoped their work will help the Welsh Assembly to make 40,000 local
homes more energy efficient and to turn the area into Europe's biggest Low
Carbon Zone.British Gas staff also train at its Energy Academy, which has five sites in
Dartford, Leeds, Glasgow, Hamilton and Leicester. Apprentices at the
Academy learn to install futuristic low-carbon technology, including solar
panels and biomass boilers, as well as new smart meters which the company
is describing as a revolution in home energy use. The meters will have
screens showing people exactly what they are spending on fuel and will help
people save money by using their appliances at cheaper off-peak times.RECRUITSThe plans to install smart meters, says British Gas, will lead to 2,600
skilled new jobs by 2012, with recruiting beginning in September.The recruits will install smart meters and advise customers about ways of
becoming more energy efficient.These opportunities are in addition to the 1,500 new green jobs the company
announced earlier this year, which will include roles such as wind farm
planners.RECYCLINGCardiff is also going green, with recycling company Sterecycle creating up
to 60 permanent jobs.The company has been granted planning permission to build a new plant which
will reduce the amount of waste taken to local landfills. Duncan Grierson,
chief executive of Sterecycle, said: "We will be creating a significant
number of long-term 'green' jobs for local people."Sterecycle treats waste with steam before it is separated into reusable
materials, including organic compost-like material, clean plastics, metals
and glass, and says around 70% of waste can be recovered in this way.The company already has a plant in Rotherham, in Yorkshire, which recently
created extra jobs by doubling its capacity, and it is now aiming to expand
across the country, targeting major cities like London and Glasgow, and
creating another 300 new jobs. At the Selby Renewable Park in North
Yorkshire, another type of recycling, called anaerobic digestion
technology, is creating 120 new jobs.The plant, which will be up and running by next year, will be able to treat
165,000 tonnes of food waste from large organisations such as supermarkets,
caterers and local authorities and in the process create enough clean,
renewable energy to power over 10,000 homes each year.THE FUTUREAll this, however, could be just the start. The Government says it aims to
have smart meters installed in 26 million homes by 2020, a task which will
create 400,000 new jobs.It also wants to cut greenhouse gases with an ambitious plan for 7,000 new
wind turbines, on land and out at sea.On the homefront, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has announced
a new Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) will begin this autumn,
giving up to 90,000 of our poorest households an energy makeover to make
homes more efficient and reduce costs. Sector skills council Asset Skills
says this will mean the creation of a brand new job called an Home Energy
Advisor. Training for a Home Energy Advisor qualification will be available
in autumn at colleges and training centres around the country.Another new role which has recently been created by the green r"