To prevent the climate crisis becoming a climate catastrophe, we need to change the way we think, the way we act and the way we live our lives. The worldwide commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is one of the most significant undertakings in history, and to be successful it will mean deploying a range of low carbon, sustainable technologies across transport, industry and many other aspects of our economy.
Property and construction will play a key role in this – the UK’s 29 million homes contribute 22% of our carbon emissions alone, while 40% of global emissions coming from commercial real estate. It’s vital that existing properties are decarbonised and new properties built using the latest renewable technologies – but we need people with the right skills and knowledge to do that.
NetZero Training
In a recent report, Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), stated:
“The widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies in recent years shows industry can successfully adapt to transform big challenges into great opportunities. If we are to meet our climate change targets, we need a vibrant and skilled contracting industry to successfully deliver the technologies and infrastructure required to decarbonise.”
Chris Claydon
Chief Executive of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB)
The same is true of property and construction; the technologies we need exist, but there’s currently a lack of the necessary skills to implement them effectively. And that’s where NetZero Training will play a key role in closing that skills gap.
What exactly is NetZero?
NetZero is the result of a 2-year project in collaboration with a number of Academic and technical partners to develop better ways to make properties more sustainable. As an organisation, NetZero addresses two separate challenges: NetZero Property uses innovative, advanced monitoring technology to determine the most effective options to decarbonise a particular property, while NetZero Training works with colleges and other training providers to teach the new skills needed to deliver the UK’s decarbonisation programme.
Creating training pathways
In conjunction with social housing organisations, local authorities, equipment manufacturers and employers within the construction industry, NetZero Training enable people to move into careers in the green/renewable sectors, creating a training pipeline of job-ready individuals with a working knowledge of the green and decarbonisation agenda and a broad knowledge of the technology we’ll use to bring down our carbon footprint.
As well as training new entrants to the industry NetZero trains current operatives and employees to use key information and data to achieve greater efficiencies using both their own innovative technology and standard systems.
The NetZero Training Hub
NetZero Training’s aim is to provide a wrap-around service for employers, residents and manufacturers and play a key role in helping the UK achieve its net zero targets. Those behind NetZero include highly-experienced practitioners with backgrounds in education, data and MIS, management consultancy, research and development and knowledge transfer, as well as respected decarbonisation experts.
The first Netzero Training Hub is on schedule to be launched in April 2022, and updates will appear on our website in due course. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about NetZero’s drive to minimise the coming skills shortage and make sure Britain’s workforce is adequately prepared to deliver decarbonisation, get in touch.