Net zero targets rely on colleges to train workers

It’s too easy to see the words “college” and “campus” together and have your brain conjure up a third: classroom.

But classrooms, in the conventional sense, are in the minority on many college campuses. Take, for instance, Glasgow Kelvin College's Springburn campus. Step into the lobby, pass the cafe, and you find a set of double doors. They will lead you to a construction yard, garage, waterworks, and rooms filled wall-to-wall with heat pumps, refrigeration units, and more.

The equipment and appliances in each of the simulated factory, industrial, domestic, or fieldwork settings range from state-of-the-art to more outdated models—everything that workers might run into on the job. Donations from industry partners have provided many of these resources–either for free as part of apprenticeship arrangements or at very reduced cost. 

Students at Glasgow Kelvin College's Green Academy are learning how to install and repair the latest energy-efficient technology. (Image: Glasgow Kelvin College)

The bustling workspaces, packed with students of all ages learning hands-on skills, make it clear why businesses are incentivised to make these arrangements: these students will soon be the next generation of employees—in the case of the apprentices, many of them already are.

Principal and chief executive Derek Smeall said that his college takes its role as the stewards of industry very seriously. This is truer today, as the accelerating shift towards green energy, sustainability and renewables is forcing industry practices and needs to evolve rapidly.

To meet these needs, industries have to upskill their existing workers, but they also require a new generation readymade to tackle modern, eco-minded tasks.

Mr Smeall believes that his students will facilitate that transition.

“That is the key word, this is a transition and it’s a journey we’re going on that’s not exactly linear.”

This means students will still need to know how to fix, install and assess older models–”legacy technology”–even as green versions replace them. 

“Everyone assumes that air-source heat pumps are the green solution, and that may very well be if you’re in a detached house. For flats, for example, maybe not so much but there are other alternatives electrically.

“Long story short, we see all of these technologies coming in and so we must take apprentices and be teaching them the new technologies. But we must also make sure they’re trained in the legacy because they’ve still got to feed their families.”

Roughly 30% of instruction takes place on future technologies, and the rest on legacy. But that ratio shifts as students progress in their apprenticeships and Mr Smeall expects it will continue to shift significantly overall as industries adapt.

In the meantime, Kelvin has established its own Green Academy, which is the product of millions of pounds of investment, particularly in the Springburn campus. Included in these upgrades are the introduction of cutting-edge heat technologies, including air-source heat pumps.

Glasgow Kelvin College principal and chief executive believes colleges have a social obligation to be sustainable and green skills should be embedded across all curriculum departments. (Image: Gordon Terris)

Students are taught installation and maintenance, with the idea that they can not only enter the workforce equipped with modern skills, but also be the ones to teach and support existing workers. 

Mr Smeall and other advocates of apprenticeship programmes have long recognised that giving new workers this sense of capability and responsibility - a role in their workplace as an important contributor with something to teach the veterans–will make job sites healthier and more productive. 

But just because the Green Academy is designated by a few hallway markers at the Springburn campus doesn’t mean Kelvin’s environmental contributions end there.

“As far as the green agenda and moving forward to net zero, colleges have both a social element of it and a specific job to do in creating the new modern workforce.

 “So far as we’re concerned, our Green Academy has two strands. We take our social responsibility, so all students, no matter what subject it is, we are progressing our curriculum to raise their awareness and understanding of the circular economy.”

Fashion, for example, has moved quickly in sustainable design, manufacturing, and commercialisation, and Kelvin’s students have won awards for their contributions.

Still, Glasgow Kelvin’s Green Academy's heart is within the training and apprenticeship programmes. Curriculum director Peter Brown said colleges are uniquely situated to take on the challenge–and the cost–of training the new generation of workers because of the trust built up over decades of working with industry partners.

Curriculum director Peter Brown said that colleges must constantly adapt to industry needs for the benefit of the country and students. (Image: Gordon Terris)

In addition, college curriculums offer the right flexibility to meet market demands and provide the most relevant benefits and training to employers, especially small, local employers.

“We really work with the transition to renewables, and we make sure that the curriculum is fit for purpose so that adapting to new technology and methods is embedded in the curriculum.”

Colleges also offer critical hands-on experience, which employers find irreplaceable. Mr Brown said that business partners often send university-trained employees to Glasgow Kelvin for short courses, because they feel they need more practical experience.

“We are industry-led, and we try to meet industry demand. We will grow as fast, and in whatever direction is needed, based on what industries tell us.”

But the green transition will also be led by government policy. As the recent policy on wood-burning stoves showed, legislation will create “trigger points” that kickstart shifts in different industries, and Mr Brown said that colleges are poised to react.

To do so, however, they need proper support.

Union Technical, a retro-fitting company based in Glasgow, is one of the many businesses trying to drive Scotland’s transition to a green economy. They assess existing buildings, upgrade where possible using modern insulation technologies, and then install a renewable system such as the air-source heat pumps students at Kelvin are now using to train.

From left to right - Suzanne Coyle, Michael Sweeney and Owen Coyle, Directors of Union Technical (Image: Union Technical)

But businesses face a huge problem: a “massive skills gap” that shows no signs of narrowing soon.

Michael Sweeney, one of the company's founders and directors, warns that a lack of investment is not only making this more difficult for his business but also risking Scotland’s ambitions for a net-zero economy.

He argues that there is “not enough support” from government, whether in terms of upskilling the current workforce, training apprentices, or educating young people about the highly-skilled roles that will – or at least should – be available when they leave school.

He adds that the issues are especially pressing because a significant section of the existing trades workforce is unlikely to retrain as part of any transition. The reason for this is simple: they’re planning to retire within the next ten years, and there will be plenty of work on traditional systems and technologies until then.

That means that the apprentices being trained in partnership with companies like Union Technical will often lead the transformation that simply has to happen, making them even more important to the nation’s future.

It also makes the businesses themselves integral to a transition away from fossil-fuels. Those at Union Technical say that they recognise that responsibility and want to do more, but that government policies are effectively holding them back. Above all, they argue that greater collaboration between employers and colleges is vital if the skills gap is to be bridged.

The net zero transition will create jobs for Scots, but only if colleges and industries are used effectively. (Image: Union Technical)

Miriam Brett, co-director of Future Economy Scotland, agrees with that assessment. Colleges are “central to nurturing an scaling vital green infrastructures and industries” and can generate well-paid jobs to support rural and urban communities.

“Managed effectively, the transition to net zero has the potential to create more new jobs than will be lost.

“Scotland’s fiscal outlook remains exceptionally challenging, with significant pressure on investment and capital spending. The pressure is already being felt in Scotland’s colleges and the fiscal outlook is set to be more challenging in the years to come.

“Amid this, it is integral that the Scottish Government implements revenue-raising measures to address this fiscal gap and avoid cuts to public services.”

As the training courses at Kelvin illustrated, fossil fuels and carbon-intensive technologies are still prevalent in homes and businesses across the country. Ms Brett said the recent scrapping of the Scottish Government’s target to reduce emissions by 75% in 2030 should be a “wake up call.”

Scotland needs to use colleges and industries together, she said, or else risk having no “credible pathway” to net zero.