Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership: Green Skills Update July 2024

Business support

New green opportunities for training and skills assessment from local colleges
Key regional colleges Leicester College, Loughborough College, North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College, and SMB College Group, have successfully secured funding, via the Local Skills Improvement Fund* to develop and deliver a range of new skills training opportunities to support skills in the following areas:

Decarbonising transportation
1. Electric/Hybrid Vehicles High Voltage Battery Testing and Balancing (Lei Coll 8142)
2. Electric/Hybrid Vehicles High Voltage Component Testing (Lei Coll)
3. Working safely on and transportation of Electric / Hybrid Vehicle/ LGV (Lou Coll)
4. IMI Level 3 Award in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement (Lou Coll)
5. Level 3 Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel for Vehicles and HGV (City & Guilds) (NWSLC)
6. IMI Level 3 Award in Heavy Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement (SMB Group)
7. Hydrogen Fuel Cell for MHD (Material Handling Devices) (SMB Group)

Green leadership skills
Short courses aimed at key decision makers within organisations to help informed decision making from an estates/energy management angle.
8. Climate Change and Green House Gas Emissions: Individual, Business and Corporate Commitment & Requirements (Lei Coll)
9. Sustainability, Pollution, Waste Management (Lei Coll)
10. Understanding Impacts of Industry and Organisations on the Natural Environment, How to Encourage Biodiversity, Habitats & Eco-Systems (Lei Coll)
11. Energy Conservation & Efficient Buildings and Structures (Lei Coll)
12. Introduction to Renewable Energy: Solutions to Moving Away from Traditional Fossil Fuel Technologies (Lei Coll)
13. Green Leadership Excellence: Navigating Sustainable Futures (Lou Coll)
14. Level 4 HNQ BTEC in Leadership and Management - Sustainability Unit (NWSLC)
15. Domestic Air Source Heat Pump and Domestic Ground Source Heat Pump (Previously Level 3 Award in the Installation and Maintenance of Heat Pump Systems (non-refrigerant circuits)) (SMB Group)

Digital upskilling – includes AI Fundamentals (Lei Coll), Introduction to Data Analytics (Lei Coll), Introduction to Cloud Computing (Lei Coll), Generative AI course (Lou Coll), VR/Technology Course (NWSLC)

Employer skills training – ESOL and basic skills
Includes ESOL for Engineering and Manufacturing (Level 3) - To help participants improve general communication skills and gain contextualised English language skills, and ESOL and Maths (Level 3) – Improve an individual's general numerical and analytical skills and relevant maths skills for the engineering and manufacturing sector.

Programmes are planned to run from September 2024. For more information: https://leicestercollege.ac.uk/employers/local-skills-improvement-fund/. Experienced colleges can help your organisation develop a wider training needs analysis to help you to plan for current and future skills. If you are interested in this free service, please complete the form in the link above. *The local skills improvement fund (LSIF) enables further education (FE) providers across the area to respond collectively to the priorities in the Local Skills Improvement Plan.

Construction Net Zero skills support from CITB
CITB have a new Net Zero page – which outlines support for construction sector, lots of guidance and links to training that is supported. Net zero action plan - CITB

East Midlands Chamber
Leicester Accelerator, funded by Leicester City Council UKSPF, is a place-based business support project providing a range of interventions, including Net Zero Accelerator: events, training, consultancy and energy audits to help businesses gain green business skills. East Midlands Chamber (leicester.gov.uk).

Harborough District Council Environmental grant scheme
The Environmental Grant Scheme provides financial support (of £5,000 - £20,000) to constituted 'not for profit' organisations within the Harborough district, to encourage them to undertake capital projects with a demonstrable positive impact on the environment. Full details: Environmental Grant Scheme | Grants and funding for communities | Harborough District Council

University support
See the link below on support universities can give to businesses, with a good section on carbon reduction: https://universitiespartnership.org/responsible-business/

Midlands Net Zero Hub
The Midlands Net Zero Hub has some skills support programmes for heat pump support and retrofit, see the full offer on: Skills training – Midlands Net Zero Hub

Business Growth Hub
There is signposting to a variety of support on: https://bizgateway.org.uk/green-initiatives/

Skills Bootcamps

Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks. They are designed to help employers to address skills gaps and to upskill individuals around skills and job vacancy needs in high demand, across a range of sectors and roles. See more on: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-skills-bootcamp/east-midlands. Leicester City Council are working with L&LBSP and Leicestershire County Council to bring a wider range of Bootcamps to the area, including green offers. More to follow in the next news update!

Area Green News Roundup
BeanMeals area pilot: Less reliance on imported dried beans could be a boost for UK enterprises, from farmers to processors and transportation businesses. That was the message at an event at Winstanley House, Leicester on 25 June as a major research project shared insights on our food system. Based at the University of Oxford, the BeanMeals project has been working with Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council since June 2022 to promote the potential for locally sourced beans. The research is determining how scaling up production of UK-grown beans could have positive impacts for people, the environment and the economy. In September, BeanMeals will present the research from Leicestershire to a national audience, including policymakers, in London. https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/beanmeals

New solar farm: A huge solar farm projected to generate electricity to power 13,500 homes in the Harborough area annually has been approved by Harborough District Council. https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/eastmidlands/news/2083898-major-leicestershire-solar-farm-approved-despite-concerns

Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport are forging a new partnership to support a green freight corridor that will help decarbonise transport and drive enhanced skills and employment initiatives along the length of one of the UK's most important transportation routes. https://www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk/mag/news/freeport-initiative-aims-to-link-east-midlands-to-the-coast-through-green-corridor/

Solving solar panel issues: A new development at Loughborough University could fix a "significant problem" in the solar panel industry. https://www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk/mag/news/loughborough-university-development-could-fix-significant-problem-in-solar-panel-industry/

OVO and Energy and Utility Skills research

New findings from OVO, conducted in collaboration with Energy and Utility Skills, suggest that the UK may need up to 362,000 new workers by 2035 to adequately decarbonise residential areas and meet environmental goals. Despite the apparent demand, the research reveals that only 7% of UK workers have received training in green skills, with a mere 30% aware of what these skills entail.
https://electricalreview.co.uk/2024/05/22/uk-faces-green-skills-shortage-as-net-zero-deadline-looms-says-ovo/

FE news: Plumbing, Heating and Electrical

Interesting article in FE news re the green skills needed for plumbing, heating and electrical.
https://www.fenews.co.uk/exclusive/green-skills-needed-by-plumbing-heating-and-electrical-employers-in-2024/

Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education news

Five eco apprenticeships hand-picked by industry experts to celebrate the King's Coronation continue to grow England's green workforce. Over the last four years (since 2020-21), there have been over 27,000 starts, and data for the first two quarters of 2023-24 compared to 2022-23 shows a 7% increase. See more: Apprenticeships chosen to mark Coronation blossom one year on / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

Local job vacancy data
Area advertised job vacancy area below (on roles advertised that specify the need for green-linked skills) shows a steady increase over time, with 763 roles in June 2024 as opposed to 673 in June 2021. It is still early days in trying to effectively capture green-aligned roles, but increasingly national and area data sets are endeavouring to
build in parameters to monitor green job activity. Most roles mentioning the need for green skills at present are health and safety leads, followed by production engineers, mechanical engineers and engineering technicians.
Advertised* green jobs, LLEP area, June 2019 to June 30, 2024
*Source, Lightcast job analytics 2024

Source: Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership