Building industry to deliver green collar worker boom

The prediction that the transition to a low carbon economy will result in booming demand for so-called green collar workers is already being borne out in the construction industry.

That's the view of the US National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) which last week announced that more than 1,000 builders and refurbishers have earned its Certified Green Professional (CGP) since it was introduced this February.

NAHB president Sandy Dunn said that the take up for the certification had far exceeded expectations.

"Of course we expected the CGP to be popular, because as green building grows, many consumers are looking for a builder with real credentials in today's market," he said. "Nevertheless, this is phenomenal growth."

The rapid rate of sign up to the accreditation scheme is all the more remarkable given that builders have to meet relatively demanding criteria, including undertaking 24 hours of classroom training, having completed two years of real life industry experience, signing up to a code of ethics and committing to meet future educational requirements in order to retain the certifications.

Dunn added that there were hundreds more builders waiting to qualify for the accreditation as they seek to meet rising demand from employers and customers for green building skills.

Similarly high levels of demand for green collar construction workers are also being seen in the UK, according to John Alker of the UK's Green Building Council. "As we see demand for green buildings continue to grow we are seeing the market respond as people skill up and get the appropriate training," he said, adding that the governments commitment to ensure that all new homes qualify as zero carbon by 2016 had given construction firms the clear signal they needed to invest in d eveloping green building skills.

He also argued that despite the recent slowdown in the market for new homes there was still plenty of incentive for builders to develop green building skills, such as the ability to install micro generation technologies and implement passiv haus design and construction principles.

"A recent Federation of Master Builders report showed that the value of the refurbishment market will be £4bn a year and countless studies have shown that to meet carbon emission targets there needs to be a focus on retrofitting older buildings," he said. "So there is a strong case for developing these skills even in the current climate for new build."

However, James Hobbs of green recruitment specialist Acre Resources warned that there were signs that demand for green jobs was currently outstripping supply.

"We're seeing a lot of demand from employers, but while you get a lot of people interested in those jobs it is a fairly limited pool of people who have the required experience and qualifications," he observed. "There is definitely a bit of a skills shortage."

He added that the shortage should be addressed over time as more university courses include green building elements and qualifications such as BREEAM and the code for sustainable homes become more popular, but warned that in the meantime the UK could struggle to meet its target to ensure all homes are zero carbon by 2016.

"A lot of people in the industry appear pretty sceptical about the target," he said. "We see a lot of candidates coming forward for CSR jobs and other areas on the softer side of things, but there just aren't the people with the technical and engineering skills."