College awarded £39,000 in UKSPF funding to deliver green skills training

Cabinet member for economy, Councillor Johnathan Lane, said:

“As a council, we're committed to tackling the climate emergency head on. So, it's great that we've been able to provide South Gloucestershire and Stroud College this funding so that we can equip residents with green skills to help decarbonise the economy.

“There's some great options on offer for learners, which will help them to retrain or upskill and I'd recommend that anyone who's interested in working in the green economy to have a look.”

College Principal, Sara-Jane Watkins, said:

“We are really pleased to be working with the Forest of Dean District Council on providing green skills training for local residents. With the UK's ambition of reach Net Zero by 2050, there is a huge amount of work to do, and programmes like this will enable people to learn more about the different career opportunities available to them. We have progression routes for learners to gain further qualifications, to either upskill in their current role, or retrain to work in the Green Skills sector.”

The funding comes from UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) funding which is part of the UK's levelling up agenda. The UKSPF aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and places, supporting local business, and people and skills.

The training will run from September 2024 until March 2025 and three distinct courses to study, those being:

• Course 1 - An introduction to green skills, including what green skills are and the career opportunities within this field.
• Course 2 - A Skills Bootcamp to upskill individuals in air source heat pumps. Upon completion of this training, students will receive two level 3 qualifications and be qualified to install and maintain air source heat pumps.
• Course 3 - A Skills Bootcamp to upskill individuals in Solar PVs. Upon completion of this training, learners will receive two level 3 qualifications and be qualified to install and maintain solar PV systems.

For further information about any of the above, please email [email protected] or visit our Green Skills courses