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:

TRAINING

British 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.

RECRUITS

The 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.

RECYCLING

Cardiff 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 FUTURE

All 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 revolution is Energy Assessor.

Domestic Energy Assessors inspect people’s properties and produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), as part of the Home Information Pack which must be produced when someone decides to sell their home.

Domestic Energy Assessors can also “top up” their qualifications to take on a variety of other roles, including Home Inspectors, providing Home Information Packs or Home Condition Reports.

Since last year, there have also been opportunities for Commercial Energy Assessors, who produce Energy Performance Certificates for offices, factories and other commercial buildings.

Asset Skills says that as certificates are required whenever a building is constructed, sold or let – a total of over 200,000 every year – these assessors are in high demand, and with a secure future ahead.

Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of Energy and Utility Skills, which is championing training initiatives in the gas, power, waste management and water industries, says: “The need for industry to deliver a more environmentally friendly product is here already. This demands a workforce that is ready for the targets ahead.”

For the very latest green jobs from across the United Kingdom, Europe and globally please click here