Specialists must boost their sustainability credentials

The chairman of M&E Sustainability, a pan-industry campaign, has warned specialist contractors they will miss out on work in the renewables sector unless they revolutionise the way they do business.

“There are huge business opportunities here, but very few companies have much idea how to exploit them,” said group chairman David Frise. “Unless contractors start investing in the necessary knowledge and skills they could find the market has moved on without them.”

M&E Sustainability, formed by an alliance between the ECA and the HVCA, is developing a series of technical standards, training courses and awareness campaigns to ensure firms are geared up to deal with the growing demand for sustainable building services.

The group is producing contractor-specific guidance covering subjects such as installing renewables, heat pumps, biomass boilers and combined heat and power (CHP). It is also running a series of nationwide seminars alerting contractors to new political and economic targets.

“The m&e landscape is changing fast, and in the next decade the skills we require will probably be unrecognisable from the situation today,” said ECA director David Pollock.

Organisations from all parts of the supply chain have allied themselves to M&E Sustainability, including the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and Select.

A report into microgeneration in Wales by SummitSkills says the country may be left even further behind than England in the race to gain a share in the renewable energy market.

According to the study, 68% of firms find it difficult to recruit staff with relevant skills. The report reveals there is only one major provider of microgeneration technology training in Wales. The majority comes from England.

Kathryn Hopkins-Morgan, SummitSkills operations manager in Wales, said: “If more is not done it will leave Wales in a vulnerable position.”