Section 3 - Green Skills for Business
Key Actions and Recommendations
3.1 Ensure Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Advisors have the knowledge and skills to provide high quality advice about green skills to businesses.
3.2 Collaborate with our local employer base, Regional and National Skills agencies to ensure right mix of green/green related Apprenticeship Standards.
3.3 Work with WMCA to ensure right mix of green/green related Adult Skills Courses.
The Office for National Statistics has defined a set of sectors that are crucial to the low carbon and renewable energy sectors. If your economic activity is related to at least one of the areas identified in the table below then your business is already directly contributing to the green economy. The table is also useful to show how businesses can transition into these sectors or could work to become part of the associated supply chain.
Sector |
Additional information |
---|---|
Offshore wind |
Inclusive of electricity generated by these means. Design, development and construction of these is also included. Also includes Operation and maintenance. Wind turbines have a service life of around 20 yrs and 85% of their composition can be recycled and materials used for supplying materials for other industries |
Onshore wind |
|
Solar |
|
Hydropower |
|
Other renewable electricity |
Include electricity generation methods not included above e.g. wave, tidal, geothermal. Also includes the building, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure. |
Bioenergy |
Production of energy from biomass sources. Inclusive of design, development, construction, and production roles. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. Anaerobic digestion etc. |
Alternative fuels |
e.g. alcohol based, ammonia, carbon-neutral synthetic and hydrogen. Inclusive of design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Recycling Repair & Re-use |
To collect waste materials and manage them in a responsible way to minimise the amount that goes to landfill by encouraging repair and re-use of equipment and recovering materials for use in future manufacture including industrial symbiosis where one businesses waste is another’s raw material or a source of energy in those instances when recovery of materials is not yet feasible |
Renewable heat |
e.g. ground, air, water source heat pumps. Heat recovery, geothermal, heat networks and heat utilisation in combustion or incineration of waste. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Renewable combined heat and power |
e.g. generation of low carbon combined heat and power. Heat, generated as a by-product of electricity generation, is captured and utilised. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Energy efficient lighting |
e.g. installation of energy efficient fixtures, fittings, tubes, and controls etc. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Energy efficient products |
e.g. doors and windows, heating and ventilation, insulation, energy efficient building materials, sustainable architecture, and advanced materials. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Energy monitoring, saving and control systems |
e.g. smart heating controls, condensation control, energy management systems and software, smart meters, smart grids. Systems that reduce energy consumption through effective management of heat and/or electricity. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Low carbon consultancy, advisory and offsetting services |
Inclusive of roles relating to reducing carbon consumption, engagement in low carbon industrial activities, carbon credits, funding systems, energy consultancy, accountancy and legal services, carbon offset schemes. |
Low emission vehicles and infrastructure |
e.g. hybrid plug-in, battery electric, fuel cell electric and hydrogen fuelled vehicles. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Carbon capture and storage |
Activities related to the capture of waste carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gasses, either at the point of emission or from the atmosphere more generally. These are used for additional economic activity. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Nuclear power |
The generation of electricity from nuclear sources. E.g. light water reactors, fast breeder reactors, thermal breeder reactors. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Fuel cells and energy storage systems |
e.g. flywheel, batteries, fuel cells, thermal etc. Inclusive of roles related to design, development, construction, and production of products. Installation and maintenance of infrastructure is also included. |
Ecology & Planning |
e.g. Environmental impact assessment of development proposals, design of mitigation measures to protect biodiversity, ecological monitoring to assess impacts upon biodiversity and monitoring of changes. |
Ecotourism & heritage management |
e.g. Managing visitor impact, & environmentally sensitive management of attractions and heritage sites - eco tourism |
Land management & Wildlife Conservation |
e.g. landscaping and landscape architecture, horticulture, arboriculture, silviculture, conservation management, environmental awareness, |
Agriculture & Estate Management |
e.g. farming use of organic methods and integrated pest control and management of country estates for wildlife and game all aspects of environmentally conscious forms of food production; soil science, water conservation |
Health, fitness and social care |
e.g. environmental health, epidemiology, disease control and public health, dieticians, active & healthy lifestyle coaches, health & safety risk assessment, pollution control enforcement |
Hospitality and tourism |
e.g. environmental and energy management of facilities, ecotourism, destination management, preservation of culture and heritage |
Environment and Sustainability Education |
e.g. sustainable development co-ordination roles of educators for all schools, National Climate Education Action Plan and raising public awareness through activities and the arts. |
Table adapted from the ONS LCREE sectors and descriptors.
The West Midlands Net Zero Future Skills Report written by Coventry University in partnership with WMCA and Clean Futures utilises the Beauhurst database of growth companies. In 2023 the Beauhurts Database added ESG signals to their proprietary database to allow subscribers to find those companies that hit environmental targets. The four generated based on a company’s activities are Clean and renewable energy, green transport, Sustainable agriculture, and green infrastructure. Definitions of these are in the below table.
Environmental signal |
Definitions |
---|---|
Clean and renewable energy |
This includes clean energy, renewable energy, and energy management. |
Green transport |
This encapsulates electric vehicles, electric parts, and infrastructure. |
Green infrastructure & building |
This captures building technologies, pollution (air, noise, carbon), recycling, waste management and environmental consulting. |
Sustainable agriculture & food production |
This covers urban farming, low carbon meat & dairy alternatives, precision agriculture and food waste reduction. |
Environmental accolades |
Companies that earn recognition from environmentally focused funds, accelerators, and high-growth lists get the environmental accolades signal. To qualify, the majority of companies in a portfolio must be actively pursuing environmental goals; if only a few are, it does not count as an environmental focus. |
According to this database Coventry has 169 companies with an environmental signal. There are 1060 companies in the West Midlands Combined Authority Area with a total turnover of approx. £66.0b (£489m average turnover) and on average 181 estimated average employees. This shows Coventry has a significant base of existing ‘environmental’ focused business activity on which to build.
In terms of considering work with the wider business base a 2023 Whitecap Consulting Employer Skills Report found that 60% of respondents in the construction industry believed that sustainability capabilities featured in their top three future skills that would be pivotal for their organisations to achieve their long-term strategic aims. In engineering, this fell to 38% with a balance between the extent to which employers felt that green skills were currently required to deliver their core services. Within the digital and IT sector only 10% of respondents felt that green skills were currently required.
Across the research conducted, there are two key emerging themes. Firstly, employers recognise that their organisations need to become more sustainable but do not view this as having a direct impact on the skills that their employees need. Secondly, whilst current needs are modest, they anticipate this as growing in the future. There is a clear need for businesses to be better supported in understanding the role of skills in realising their organisational goals. This can be achieved through ensuring Coventry and Warwickshire business advisors have full confidence in providing green skills advice and support to businesses. Business in the Community (BiTC) have launched its first action-learning programme to help address the green skills gap and support businesses by developing actionable plans that define the necessary culture and competencies for driving a just transition. Over the course of five workshops, participants explored how the future workforce needs will differ from the present, discussed organisational challenges, and tested new approaches. This has informed a blueprint which provides a short concise summary of the steps businesses can take to build the skills needed to accelerate net zero and climate resilience: This blueprint will be a key tool for Coventry and Warwickshire Business Advisors to use.
Current relevant Adult Skills provision is mapped in Section 2 of this report. The LSIF Fircroft College report shows the West Midlands is leading the way in green related Adult Skills courses with a rate of 18 per 100,000, totalling more than England's other 8 regions combined. We need to work collectively with WMCA to build on existing offer and ensure that Adult Skills provision in this area meets emerging business needs.
Apprenticeships will be key for businesses in providing the right green skills for their existing workforce as well as recruiting new apprentices. The Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE soon to be replaced by Skills England) have created new Occupational Maps which identify ‘Green Themes’ and map occupations to these themes. They have categorised these as ‘Mid Green occupations – remaining the same in overall scope but may need new knowledge, skills and behaviours to be embedded to enable the use of new technologies and approaches and ‘Dark Green’ occupations, for example wind turbine engineer, which is embedded within the green occupational landscape and delivering sustainable outcomes. According to IfATE there are 49 Dark Green Apprenticeship Standards which fall into the sectors and occupations shown in the below visual:
Dark Green - Occupational map
There are currently 420 ‘Mid Green’ occupation apprenticeship standards The highest apprenticeship occupation area overall is engineering and manufacturing with 244 ‘Mid Green’ apprenticeship standards, followed by Construction with 91 ‘Mid Green’ standards. The below visual shows the sectors with ‘Mid Green’ occupation apprenticeship standards with the size of the circle and the number showing the number of occupations that fall within each sector.
Manufacturing and engineering
Current engineering and manufacturing apprenticeship standards cover a wide range of engineering and manufacturing disciplines including rail, automotive, aerospace, maritime and material processes - all of which will need to increasingly transition to greener technologies and methods of production requiring new skills to be embedded. Moving forward we need to work with IfATE/Skills England to ensure the right mix of apprenticeship standards for EV and related.
Energy and construction
There is a current focus on nuclear technologies, although there are existing standards in metal recycling and standard in development on heat network maintenance which is an area Coventry is looking to develop in partnership with EON. There are some standards focused on smart meter installation and low carbon heating and energy consultancy. We need to collaborate with our local employers and IfATE/Skills England to develop new standards to meet a wider range of retrofit needs including solar, and heat pump installation.
Agriculture, environmental and animal care
This is the sector with the most ‘Dark Green’ standards at 22. These cover key areas such as water environment, ecology and horticulture and we need to ensure our local employer base is fully utilising these standards to provide the skills to best protect and sustain our local environment. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust delivers and assesses the City & Guilds diploma in work-based Environmental Conservation (0070) usually as part of a 1-year paid traineeship for what is usually two trainees each year. The trust are also looking into delivering an AIM Level 1 weeklong course.
In addition to apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps provide businesses with key skills at RQF LV3. Skills Bootcamps are short courses co-designed with businesses which either allow businesses to upskill their existing workforce or to support bespoke training for potential new hires. There is a growing offer of green related Skills Bootcamps across Coventry and Warwickshire provided by FE Colleges and Independent Training Providers.
Case Study 4: Coventry College – Retrofit Skills Bootcamps for Adult Learners
Coventry College has been working in partnership with Dyson Energy Services Ltd & Westdale Midlands Ltd since December 2022, supporting adults from the Coventry area onto Insulation Skills Bootcamps. This aligns with Government policy to decarbonize across all sectors and with Coventry City Council’s approach to up-skilling local adults onto Green Skills to support with the decarbonisation of Citizen Housing tenanted properties.
In 2023/2024 - four bootcamps were delivered at Coventry College’s campus. The courses for four weeks included a 1-day placement based with Westdale Midland’s Training Centre for adult learners to gain first – hand experience of the skills required to fulfil the role of an insulation technician. All learners are offered a guaranteed interview with the company to progress onto their dedicated Training programme and an opportunity for future employment upon successful completion of the course. The Skills Bootcamp is designed to educate learners on a range of insulation installation techniques; including rendering & External Wall Insulation (EWI), to support Westdale Midlands Ltd with the refurbishment of tenanted properties supported via the Social Housing Decarbonisation fund.
Coventry College works in partnership with several local referral agencies - including Coventry Job Centre Plus, Coventry Job Shop & the National Careers Service, to promote & support with recruitment. To date, over 70 adults have received the training - with a further 4 Insulation Skills Bootcamps planned for the new academic year 2024-25.
Case Study 5: Coventry University - Hyperbat Ltd Battery Pack Production in Coventry
Launched in 2019, Hyperbat brings together Fortescue Zero’s expertise in electrification engineering and innovation, with Unipart Manufacturing's process and quality excellence in automotive and industrial manufacturing. The site in Coventry manufactures high-performance battery packs for UK customers. With the move to electrification, Unipart has taken a leading role in setting up an industrial facility in the heartland of the UK’s automotive industry.
Hyperbat employs almost 50 highly skilled battery production and assembly Team Members. Employees range from newly trained apprentices to upskilled mechanical and electrical engineers working on cell-to-module and module-to-pack assembly lines. The facility boasts a unique laser welding capability for volume production, a dedicated battery performance testing facility and IATF accreditation, providing an automotive quality focus to the work.
With the shortage in ready-made trained skills, Unipart works closely with the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering (AME) to build the talent pool required for the electrified automotive sector. The AME has been integral to the pipeline of Hyperbat talent. This collaboration has enabled the taking of industry-ready graduates, moving them to core engineering roles within battery pack production. The design of the AME course enables talent to take a role in Hyperbat, with a seamless transition from university into industry.
The Warwickshire and West Midlands Green Business Network
The Green Business Network is free to join and has over 3,000 businesses, social enterprises, and charities in its membership. The Network provides the opportunity for businesses to share their practical experiences in delivering environmental and green sustainability initiatives for improving efficiencies in the use of energy and resources and minimisation of waste and emissions.
The Network produces monthly e. Newsletters which includes news, articles, and case studies from its members, and it organises events and webinars and produces podcasts raising the knowledge and awareness of employees and business owners about how to deliver goals relating to sustainability and climate change.
We will continue to utilise the Green Business Network to provide businesses with key information on green skills developments. This includes engaging the voluntary sector to support a range of activities across Coventry and Warwickshire to encourage behaviour change for Coventry residents.