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A Decarbonised Economy
Scotland’s declaration of a Climate Emergency and ambitious target to meet net zero emissions by 2045 has set the country on a path of transition to a decarbonised economy. This will lead to growth in a number of ‘green’ industries, and provide opportunities across Scotland in many skilled roles.
In December 2020, Skills Development Scotland published the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan which sets out the Scottish Government’s key actions and priorities to ensure the workforce is prepared to deliver this transition to net-zero.
Back to Basics
Decarbonising heat is about reducing our reliance on fossil fuels to provide us with heating and hot water in our new and existing buildings. There are a number of technologies available as alternatives to gas boilers and other ‘traditional’ heating systems.
Heat Pumps
Heat Pumps move heat from outside a building to inside, this can be heat from the ground, water or the air – even if these sources don’t feel that warm. Heat pumps run on electricity, which if this is generated from renewable sources makes heat pumps a much more climate friendly option than a gas boiler or other fossil fuelled heating system.
You can find out more about this technology in the videos below or check out the in-depth guide to heat pumps on the Energy Saving Trust website
Heat Networks
Heat networks provide a low carbon heating solution for more densely populated areas where there are many buildings and homes in a small area, where individual heat pumps may not be a viable option, due to space or other technical considerations. Heat networks, sometimes called district heating, takes heat from a central source and distribute this to a number of buildings through insulated pipework.
Solar Thermal
Solar thermal technology can provide hot water by using the sun to warm up liquid in tubes on a collector panel which is mounted on the roof of buildings. Generally, this technology will only provide a contribution to the year-round hot water demand, and very little to the space heating demand, so will need to be combined with other heating and supplementary hot water systems. You can find out more about solar thermal technology from Energy Saving Trust.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
Access the latest training and development opportunities to gain new skills for you and your workforce.
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This fund provides heating engineers with a grant to become Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified on installation of heat pumps (air, ground or water source). You can find out more on Energy Saving Trust.
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Available for UK Apprenticeship Levy-payers and SME’s in Scotland to access workforce development training. Are you an employer who has identified skills gaps and training needs within your organisations? Such as the need to upskill to become qualified to install lo carbon heat technologies such as heat pumps.
Qualification criteria and more information on the process can be found below:
For accessing training provided by colleges see Scottish Funding Council
For accessing training provided by independent providers see Skills Development Scotland
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This fund, managed by ESP, distributes funding to partner colleges across Scotland to support the upskilling of tradespeople in their move to ‘green jobs’. Green jobs, such as those in the low carbon, renewables and energy efficiency sectors are expected to be areas with significant growth and better job retention.
Training must be completed by 31st July 2022. You can find out more here.
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This is for manufacturing businesses based in Scotland looking to develop low carbon products/ processes or services.
Your project can use pure Research and Development (R&D), capital investment or environmental aid support in its effort to speed-up the transition to a low carbon economy in manufacturing. There’s a minimum value grant of £150,000 available.
This grant is part of Making Scotland’s Future activity, a programme led by Scottish Government and delivered by a range of partners including Scottish Enterprise, to help Scottish manufacturers grow and thrive.
Funding will be available from 19 May 2022 until 31 March 2026. You can find out more here.