The Low Carbon Living and Working Programme maximises green skills training and employment opportunities that have arisen from Europe’s commitment to reduce carbon use and become a resource efficient economy.

The programme is developing and piloting innovative green courses that will support local employers to address skills gaps and provide opportunities for unemployed people to acquire necessary skills for realistic job opportunities.

The Low Carbon Living and Working Programme is co-financed by the Innovation, Transnationality and Mainstreaming (ITM) Programme and European Social Fund (ESF). It is managed by Kirklees Council and delivered by an innovative partnership of local organisations drawn from public, private and third sectors. Partners include Kirklees College, University of Huddersfield, Skills Funding Agency, Yorkshire Energy Services, Green Business Network, Jobcentre Plus, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Kirklees Community Campus and Groundwork.

Innovative approaches to develop the green agenda

Green Futures

Green Business Network and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are developing and piloting innovative courses in:

• eco-build (including new and retro-fit build)
• landscaping
• horticulture
• food growing
• sustainable farming skills
• land management
• aquaculture/aquaponics

Green Futures is being delivered in North and South Kirklees. The project is piloting innovative ways of training unemployed people, who attend for 12 weeks. Participants benefit from learning practical skills with employers and they have access to knowledge and expertise from both delivery organisations.

The project will develop training opportunities on an eco-friendly site called ABLE2 in Heckmondwike. The site will include the construction of leisure facilities, a floating café, workshops, footpaths and picnic areas. Participants recruited through this project will be involved in the construction process and will benefit from the newly developed skills and training opportunities generated. The site will be as eco-friendly as possible and include rainwater collection, water attenuation and renewable energy systems.

Stirley Farm in Newsome aspires to be a low carbon farm, where participants will be able to learn the necessary skills to manage climate change, including renovation and eco-retrofit of farm buildings, as well as land management, horticultural techniques and other farming methods.

Green Futures will look to formalise the training on both sites as the works progress. Although numerous courses exist for traditional building and construction activity, none include eco-build construction or incorporate eco-build units within the qualification. Similarly, numerous courses exist for landscaping and horticultural activities but again none are aligned directly to eco-activity such as the construction of eco-swales, reed beds/floating reed beds, marginal/water plants, land management techniques to deal with climate change and low carbon/climate change adaptations for horticultural/farming methods.

Mechanical Services for Climate Change

Kirklees College is developing and piloting new low carbon modules to form part of their mechanical services course. The modules will fit with the college’s apprenticeship programmes as well as part-time and full-time courses. The courses will also be piloted with local employers to retrain or upskill their workforce.

Modules will include:

• Hot water
• Ground source heat-pumps
• Photovoltaic
• Greywater harvesting.

All modules will be taught at either level 2 or level 3.

The college has purchased the necessary equipment to make the learning experience as interactive as possible. By working with Kirklees council and contractors tendering for public contracts concerning the installation of low carbon technologies in council buildings and social homes, the college will support participants to engage in work-shadowing to gain work experience to enhance their learning.

Train the trainer activity will be undertaken by tutors employed by the college to ensure courses will be mainstreamed after the funding ends.

Developing Low Carbon Skills in Communities

Developing Low Carbon Skills in Communities is being delivered by Groundwork in partnership with Kirklees Community Campus.

Groundwork is developing and piloting a new and innovative Green Energy for Homes (level 1) course which will include five introductory modules:

• Fuel consumption in the home
• Renewable electricity
• Renewable heat
• Heat loss and insulation
• Space and water heating.

Kirklees Community Campus is delivering basic skills/entry level qualifications in:

• Go Green and Save Money
• Go Green Language Skills
• ICT: Greened Up
• Community Action.

Learning from this project will be passed to other training and employment providers in Kirklees and also to other third sector environmental organisations. Both Groundwork and Kirklees Community Campus share national links and are keen to develop learning and innovation and share the results widely.

Sharing information with transnational partners

The Low Carbon Living and Working Programme has three transnational partners:

• Kreis Unna in Germany
• Federacion de Municipios y Provincias de Castilla La Mancha in Spain
• BAN in Graz, Austria.
• The programme is in communication with partners and has planned for exchanges over the summer of 2012 which will facilitate the exchange of good practice and enhance project delivery.