Energy Saving Trust calls for green trade training boost

The UK Energy Saving Trust (EST) has launched a major new campaign calling for the introduction of new quality standards and improved training programmes.

It wants to ensure that tradesmen such as builders, electricians and plumbers have the skills necessary to improve the energy efficiency of people's homes.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the EST, said that with almost £24bn a year being spent on housing improvements each year, there was a huge opportunity for builders and other tradespeople to make green improvements to the current housing stock.

"Real cost savings – in terms of labour and minimising disruption – are on offer to householders who employ tradespeople to install energy efficiency measures when they are in doing other work," he said. "Householders can save on average £340 a year on energy bills through green improvements."

However, he warned that an absence of green training across the housing sector coupled with a lack of trust in builders' ability to deliver green improvements meant that potential savings were being missed.

A poll of over 2,300 people carried out by the EST to coincide with the launch of the new campaign found that less than fifth would trust the advice of a tradesperson already doing work on their house, while 56 per cent would suspect that any energy efficiency advice offered would be motivated solely by a desire to generate extra work.

A separate poll of nearly 250 tradespeople found that the vast majority lacked confidence in their ability to deliver useful green advice, while more than two-thirds felt they needed more information on new green building legislation.

Sellwood said that in order to improve trust in the sector there was an urgent need for new training schemes and quality marks that would make it easier for people to identify tradespeople with green skills.

"Seventy-five per cent of people in the UK believe the best way to improve the energy efficiency of a home is when the builders are in, but until tradespeople have the knowledge, training and skills to be able to offer this expertise as second nature then they will be building in the dark," he warned.

Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders, argued that while some entrepreneurial firms were now offering green services for homeowners, further increases in the housing sectors green skills base would only be delivered once there is greater demand from homeowners for energy efficiency improvements.

"One way to increase demand would be for the government to cut VAT to five per cent for property repairs, thereby offering an incentive to have building work done," he said. "Coupling a VAT cut with more training for tradesmen should mean a real increase in energy efficient homes in the UK."

An EST spokeswoman said that the new campaign would focus on lobbying both the government and housing industry to deliver new training and accreditation schemes for different trades.