Whether or not you believe in global warming, and the debate rages, you cannot ignore the messages: they’re loud and clear. In direct response to the increasingly loud noise its customers are making about renewables, Steve Willis Training has added solar PV courses to an already extensive training programme of building services engineering courses, and they provide a very important career progression route for electricians, gas engineers and plumbers.

Steve Willis Training has been delivering successful new career electrical and gas courses to Service leavers for over four years, and the renewables industry provides an excellent ‘next step’ pathway for those looking to further their skills and knowledge. The comprehensive electrical and gas training programmes are delivered from Steve Willis Training’s Portsmouth centre. With further expansion taking place early in 2011, there are now even more course dates for Service leavers to choose from – and, as it’s an ELCAS-registered company, Service leavers can use their ELC funding towards the cost of its training programmes.

Adam Dodson, Technical Director at Steve Willis Training, says, ‘Consumer demand is driving the renewable energy industry forward, and engineers must have the skills and knowledge to meet this demand and the inevitable lifestyle choices facing us all. Solar PV training is just the first of many renewable training opportunities we have planned as we move through 2011.’
For more information please contact Training Advisers on 01444 870860 or 02392 190190.

 

See the advertisement on page 37.

 

 

 

 

Diving industry experts The Underwater Centre of Fort William, Scotland, have been quoted as saying that another 2,200 divers will be needed over the next six years to build and maintain offshore wind farms.

A basic rate of £150 a day can be earned by new divers, while air divers can command up to £550 a day. Even better, so-called ‘mixed gas’ divers working in the North Sea can secure a daily rate of £1,200.

To find out more about working as a diver, check out the relevant feature on www.questonline.co.uk, and make sure you pick up a copy of the March issue of Quest, when we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the diving industry!

 

 

 

 

Omega Solutions Group Limited builds light, medium or heavy communications infrastructure to produce network connectivity and network coverage. We work for mobile operators, local government and the private sector, operating throughout the UK and overseas, and are currently recruiting engineers who can work at height safely and with confidence. Most people walk to work: we need to climb to get to our place of work before we even start carrying out the day’s tasks.

Current work streams including the installation of microwave equipment technologies, transproving, decommissioning, surveying and the upgrading of sites to include 3G. We are a one-stop shop, including the reselling of hardware into the industry. We work alongside our training company, High Work Limited (a specialist in industrial access, rescue and resources), to ensure that our engineers are trained to the highest standards.

Engineers who show good aptitude and attitude are moved up the ladder to become team leaders and senior field engineers. Those that display the ability to project manage will be invited to join the office team. We are looking for team players who will use the skills they have learned in the Forces and adapt them to our industry.





Is there a downturn in our industry? Absolutely not. Can we get the right calibre of engineers? Absolutely not! We are not looking for Spider-Man or particularly technical wizards – just guys who can climb, are willing to learn and show that they can get the job done. As a company we are small enough to remain highly flexible. That’s why we are winning the work.
 

For more information, call: +44 (0)1737 824034, fax: +44 (0)1737 822679
or email: enquiries@osg9.com.

 

See the advertisement on page 49.

 

 

 

 

British Gas has announced that it is recruiting 250 trainee smart energy experts and 1,100 loft and cavity wall insulation technicians. The first wave of vacancies will be mainly in Leicestershire, the Midlands, East Anglia, Wales, the south coast and the south-east. The new trainees will undergo a five-month training programme, learning to maintain and install smart meters, as well as gaining extensive knowledge of green technologies and energy efficiency measures. Smart meters monitor energy consumption as it is used and send the information direct to suppliers over wireless networks. At the same time, a monitor placed prominently in the home shows customers exactly what they are using, encouraging them to switch off power-hungry appliances, which could cut household energy bills by £1 billion-plus over the next ten years.

For more information, visit: www.britishgasacademy.co.uk and click on ‘green jobs’

To find out more about a career in the utilities industry, see our article on page 38.

 

 

 

 

The announcement in December that energy suppliers are to install smart meters in all UK households by 2020 has offered a boost to the jobs market. Energy suppliers will be responsible for installing the socalled ‘smart meters’ – which enable power companies to take readings remotely – for gas and electricity in all homes. The installation of 47 million meters in 26 million homes will cost around £340 per household.

 

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) says that the smart meters will spell the end of estimated billing, save consumers money, make electricity use more efficient and cut carbon emissions. The meters will have separate realtime display units so that home owners can see how much energy they are using, their carbon emissions and how much it is costing them.

 

Following the announcement, British Gas said that the rollout of smart meters would create 2,600 jobs in the company by 2012, including 2,100 experts in the field, 400 support staff and 100 managerial jobs. Such job creation is likely to be mirrored in other energy companies.

 

The introduction of the meters will, says DECC, be the responsibility of the energy suppliers but will be centrally coordinated to make it easy for customers to switch between companies.

 

 

 

 

The Institute of Energy Assessors (IDEA) would like to issue some words of caution to anyone who may be contemplating training for a career as a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or Non Domestic Energy Assessor (NDEA). In the past, government estimates on the number of DEAs required have ranged from 2,000 to 3,500. However, as far back as November 2007, not only did the number of DEAs either qualified or in training already exceed these figures, but there was evidence that there was still a large influx of individuals either contemplating or about to commence training as DEAs.

 

There are now thought to be over 12,000 qualified DEAs in England and Wales; although there are no official figures for NDEAs, IDEA is aware, through its members, that saturation point has been reached here, too. With this in mind, the Institute has asked us, on its behalf, to offer the following advice to readers: ‘When considering a career as an energy assessor or home inspector, regard should be had to current and future demand in an already oversubscribed profession.’ For more information, please telephone IDEA on 0844 576 3054 or visit http://whatstheidea.org.uk/blog/.