Skills academy trains next generation
IMPROVING homes is a technical and highly skilled business. If you don’t have the right people, you simply can’t carry out the work.
Green Home Systems has recognised this and taken steps to ensure that the right employees with the right capabilities are in place. The skills academy it has set up in conjunction with Edinburgh College is offering in-house training to ensure that its staff have the right qualifications needed to do the job.
This is particularly important as the sector becomes ever more heavily regulated. For instance, a recent move to a new standard for upgrading homes known as PAS2019 means that all insulation measures must now be installed by a qualified technician.
“It’s quite right that it’s now regulated as it means that the people carrying out the work have to do the job properly”, says Alastair Macphie. “However, given the government’s targets, that is going to lead to a skills shortage in the industry.
“Put simply, there is no point in us having growth plans if we are not able to fulfil them. That’s why we launched this skills academy.”
Training takes place in-house with students taking both SVQ and NVQ qualifications. The subjects covered are not just technical ones: modern apprenticeships in business administration are being offered to officebased staff.
“There is funding available for young people coming out of school and just starting off in their working careers, but also for people looking for a change and wanting to retrain.”
The academy, he says, is an important part of the company’s business plan as it will help ensure that it has the necessary capacity.
“It will provide an exciting and secure career for a lot of people.
“Looking after our staff is very important to us. It may be a cliche, but employees are the most important asset of any organisation.
“We are a living wage employer and are conscious of our obligation to treat our employees well. We want to allow them to reach their full potential and to grow as we grow.”