How ready is the Building Services Engineering Sector to Secure the Future? An Analysis of Engagement and Training Needs in Environmental Technologies by Building Services Engineering Sector Contractors in the UK in 2010

摘要

This paper looks at the implications of local, regional and national policy in relation to the generation of 'Green Energy' and the stimulation in demand for environmental technologies. The Building Services Engineering (BSE) Sector is/will be a prime deliverer of micro generated environmental technologies in the domestic and commercial built environment, through the installation of solar, CHP, Fuel Cell etc technologies. In previous published work , Hammond (2008) (1) identified that the BSE sector was not engaged adequately in the development of environmental technologies, and that operatives lacked formal training and formal training opportunities, and thus any stimulation of the market by government either through incentives or legislation would expose the BSE sector to productivity problems, and cause an unsupportable rise in demand for environmental technologies training, which the current supply network would be unable to meet. This paper builds on the earlier work of Hammond (2008) through a new primary data survey of 2,000 BSE contractors, undertaken in the fourth quarter of 2009, and through improvement of the Hammond (2008) (1) forecast model, provides an increasingly accurate assessment of potential engagement in each of the major environmental technologies by the BSE sector, and what the potential training needs of the sector will be, in the short medium and long term, taking into account the policy commitments made by Government to 2020. From this, it proposes recommendations and solutions for policy makers to work with the BSE sector, to create a sustainable market for training and installation of environmental technologies, and to stimulate demand for technologies in a controlled way that meets Government targets, and doesn't lead to supply or demand problems, particularly in relation to vital education and training.