More than £2 million awarded to deliver green skills training in the North East

Funding of £2.4 million has been earmarked for ‘Skills Bootcamps’ in the North East, equipping people with the skills they need to take on roles in the growing green economy.

The courses will cover topics ranging from green construction to wind energy and are on offer to anyone over the age of 19. They are funded by the Government’s National Skills Fund and will be coordinated by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP).

Michelle Rainbow, skills director at the North East LEP, said: “We know that, with the national drive to reduce carbon emissions, thousands more skilled jobs will emerge in the energy sector in our region.

“We want people and businesses in the North East to be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities and that’s why we’re working with employers and training providers to deliver this new programme of Skills Bootcamps.”

The Skills Bootcamps in green skills are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.

Learners can gain accredited and non-accredited qualifications at a range of levels and the Skills Bootcamps in the North East are designed to prepare people for a variety of job roles including working with renewable energy technologies like solar and wind power, and retrofitting homes with equipment such as heat pumps.

The Skills Bootcamps in green skills are open to individual learners and also to businesses that want to upskill existing staff.

“The boot camps in our region are informed by recent studies which have taken place, looking at the skills which will be needed in our energy sector in the coming years,” added Michelle.

“They’re perfect for someone who wants to add to their existing skillset – for example, a plumber who wants to learn how to install heat pumps – and also for people who want to enter the renewable energy industry for the first time, whether they are self-employed, unemployed or currently work in a different sector altogether.”

The Domestic Retrofit Skills Needs Assessment, which was commissioned by the North East LEP and the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, revealed that up to 80,000 skilled workers will be needed in the North East and Yorkshire if the UK is to reach its net zero target by 2030. It identified the types of skills required and areas where existing training provision needs to be extended.

The North East LEP is working with training providers and businesses in the region to tailor the Bootcamps to the North East’s skills requirements and to ensure that learners are offered a guaranteed interview with a local employer on completing the course.

Registration for the first wave of Skills Bootcamps in green skills in the North East is open now. Find out more at www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk/skills-bootcamps/