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Welcome to the iPath digizine

Welcome to the iPath digizine.

"One of the aspects of climate change is that it is opening up new opportunities, new jobs and new kinds of careers for the people of Scotland. As we look at the renewable energy possibilities it looks as if up to 50,000 new jobs might be created in the next 15 years."

Willy Roe, Chairman, Skills Development Scotland.

Big Green

The importance of green jobs to Scotland's economic future will be underlined early in 2009 when the country's first large-scale hydro-electric station to be built in almost 50 years begins to supply electricity to the grid.

Currently the biggest civil engineering project under way in Scotland, the Glendoe Hydro Scheme will be able to generate enough green electricity to power over six million low-energy lightbulbs when it is operating at full output.

Once complete, the scheme will be the UK's most efficient hydro-electric scheme, using water as its fuel to avoid the production of carbon dioxide – a gas associated with global warming.

The construction of the project and its maintenance over the coming years means that a workforce skilled in green careers will be critical for keeping Scotland at the leading edge of renewable energy.

During the peak of the construction phase at Glendoe around 800 people were working on the site and a diverse range of engineering skills were required.

Scottish and Southern Energy's Resource Manager Ken Ritchie said: "Glendoe is a flagship sustainable project which is the greatest statement to date that Scotland has the ability to be among the world leaders when it comes to renewable energy.

"We are always looking for people with the right skills, especially in the field of engineering, as they will form the bedrock of our future growth and the country's economic growth."

A Career on the edge

Being involved in cutting-edge work that not only leads the renewables industry in Scotland but also the whole world is just one exciting aspect of Simon Robertson's career with npower renewables based in Perth.

As a Renewable Energy Scheme Developer, Simon project manages new hydro-electric and marine energy ventures.

Read Simon's case study in full.

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The UK's Greenest Campus

Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh can lay claim to the title of the UK's greenest and most sustainable campus following the installation of the country's largest district heating system fuelled by a biomass boiler.

The biomass (woodchip) boiler will see the campus' carbon footprint become the lowest of any higher education organisation in the UK. It is estimated that the university will save around £184,000 per annum on heating bills and stop 1,057 tonnes of CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere.

The installers behind the project, Caledon Buccleuch, specialise in heat supply for commercial and industrial-scale biomass projects.

Ranald Boydell of Caledon Buccleuch says:"Buildings account for half the UK's carbon emissions and half of that is for heating alone.Biomass has huge potential to reduce these emissions and help meet government targets for sustainability in the built environment.Of course, biomass is just one form of renewable energy and we believe that the next three to five years will see exciting growth in these new green-tech industries.There will be good career potential for students getting into this field, as the world strives to mitigate the effect of climate change and grapples with ever-rising fossil fuel prices."

Green Careers Proving Popular

Green jobs are proving a major draw for pupils across Scotland with a new Skills for Work Energy Course from Banff and Buchan College generating high demand from schools.

Read the full story "Green careers proving popular".

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Build a better future

The growing awareness of environmental issues is helping to create jobs which simply didn't exist even a few years ago. One unusual example of this is a new project which aims to help people cut their carbon emissions.

The project, known as Going Carbon Neutral Stirling, aims to inspire local communities and businesses to work together to reduce their overall energy consumption.

Founded by Stirling resident Rachel Nunn, with financial support from the national Climate Challenge Fund and The Big Lottery Fund and the backing of Keep Scotland Beautiful, the project will employ an eight-person team to support local people and businesses in creating and implementing a "Carbon Cutters Plan", within their community group.

The plans provide the groups with a schedule of carbon-reducing activities, carefully balanced to allow a gradual change in lifestyle.

Rachel explains: "The entire support process lasts three years and emphasises gradual changes in behaviour. By encouraging communities to work in collaboration with businesses and local government, we hope to provide an infrastructure that helps everyone to achieve these goals."

The project's ultimate goal is to reduce emissions in Stirling from 12 tonnes of CO2 per person per year down to 1 tonne by 2035.

Behind the green door…

The growth in technologies to help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions within their homes will see the creation of six new energy advisor posts in Dundee.

Energy efficiency agency SCARF is creating the posts as part of its involvement in Sun City House, a joint project with Solar Cities Scotland and Dundee City Council to showcase technologies, material and techniques for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This Autumn will see the opening of Sun City House, a 60s-style home in the Whitfield area of Dundee, which has been re-developed to run on solar energy.

Connected to the house will be a SCARF advice centre where five energy advisors will offer expert guidance to people across North-East Scotland on what green technologies they can introduce to their homes.

A new Micro Gen Specialist will follow-up on telephone enquiries by visiting people in their homes to begin planning the introduction of the new technologies.

Jean Morrison, Chief Executive of SCARF, said: "A key aim for us is building up a network of local installers for the new home technologies and we are encouraging plumbers and electricians to upgrade so that they can perform this work.

"We are currently working with Dundee College and Banff and Buchan College which are able to offer the upgrade training."

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Primary pupils build polytunnel

Pupils at Southmuir Primary School in Angus have been given an early insight into green jobs and the possibilities of sustainable living thanks to an ambitious eco-themed project.

With the help of a series of government grants and donations from local parents and businesses, the school has been able to build a plastic-covered greenhouse, known as a polytunnel, for pupils to use as a learning resource.

The 32 P5 pupils made many of the crucial decisions on the project, such as choosing building materials, writing letters to request charity funds and donations, surveying their schoolmates' opinions and choosing the polytunnel's flowers and plants.

Pupils at every stage of learning are now responsible for the care and maintenance of the polytunnel.

Leila Martin, head teacher at Southmuir Primary School, said: "The creation of the polytunnel has created numerous new teaching and learning opportunities and is proving very popular with all of our pupils. By encouraging the pupils to get involved in all aspects of the build, we've been able to give them an insight into some eco-friendly trades and the benefits of using locally-sourced, sustainable materials. It's also brought the entire community around the school together. We've had dads offering their joinery skills and grandmothers providing advice on planting, for example."

Energise your life, utilise your skills

Have you ever thought how electricity gets into your house or how clean water gets into your tap or even where your rubbish goes?

Thousands of people work in the electricity, gas, waste management and water industries to ensure our lights are kept on, we have clean drinking water, our houses are warm and our waste gets collected and disposed of safely.Over the next 10 years, 14,000 new people need to join this sector to ensure we can continue to have these services that we take for granted.

Many of the jobs in the energy and utilities sector are highly skilled and are in huge demand in a wide range of engineering, science and technology-based industries.

For more information on the jobs and careers in this dynamic and evolving sector visit the energy&utilityskills website.

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A touch of colour for eco-friendly schools

Green jobs offer a wide variety of exciting career opportunities and pupils across Scotland have been learning this first hand as part of a pilot project that uses thermal imaging to show the eco-efficiency of buildings.

Specialist thermal imaging company IRT Surveys in Dundee has been helping to increase awareness of climate change by turning its special infrared camera on six schools to determine heat loss.

The colourful images produced by the camera are coded with white areas showing the most heat loss and blue areas showing the least. This pinpoints where better insulation can be used, resulting in more eco-efficient buildings.

Carried out in collaboration with Sensation: Dundee Science Centre, the pilot project is a first for Scotland and highlights the importance of the EU directive requiring schools to provide Energy Performance Certificates for all public buildings.

Gary Manini, Regional Account Manager for IRT Surveys, said: "It's important that we educate people on how to improve our current eco situation. We are looking to show pupils and teachers how they can, as individuals and as a team, work towards a brighter future for generations to come."

The schools taking part included Forthill Primary School, Dundee; Wormit Primary School, Fife; Ladyloan Primary School, Angus; Brora Primary School, Highlands; Danestone Primary School, Aberdeen and Aboyne Academy, Aberdeenshire.

Gary Manini, UK Sales Manager, IRT Surveys

Upon leaving school at 18 with A levels in Design & Technology and Chemistry, Gary embarked on an apprenticeship in Land Surveying.

After a year of his apprenticeship, he decided to branch out in to the construction industry, eventually setting up his own business in London. However, the economic recession of the mid-1990s took hold and Gary decided to review his career choice.He continued to work within the construction industry, switching to sales.

Whilst holding a sales position in the construction industry for several years, Gary progressed significantly up the career ladder.

Now working for IRT Surveys as UK Sales Manager, Gary is responsible for raising the awareness and benefits of infrared technology and other non-destructive methods of testing. In his role, he is accountable for ensuring that businesses improve their carbon footprint by helping to identify specific areas of their buildings which are leaking heat.

Once these areas are identified, Gary can suggest methods of improving insulation to ensure the building as a whole is insulated more effectively, in turn saving the company money, as well as reducing CO2 and carbon emissions.

Gary believes that his scientific and construction background gave him valuable knowledge which helped him gain a rewarding job.

Keep it short

Facts and stats

Having people with the right skills is going to be essential for achieving renewable energy targets in the coming years. Here are some of the key facts associated with renewable energy:

2050

The target date set by the Scottish Government for reducing carbon emissions from all major sources by 80%.

80,000

The number of green jobs in Scotland with an additional 50,000 expected to be created in the next 10 to 15 years.

25%

The of Europe's wind and tidal power that could be produced by Scotland

£17 billion

The worth of Scotland's natural resources to the economy

Survey

Strong partnership working and the sharing of information will ensure that Scotland capitalises on the opportunities presented by the growth of green jobs.

We want to hear your opinions on the emerging issues, and if you have any questions on careers in green jobs you can e-mail us

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Multi-million pound staff recruitment

For Edinburgh-based company REpower UK Ltd exceptional growth and a multi-million pound investment in the UK means that recruiting and finding staff is a full-time job.

Find out more about Repower's Multi-million pound investment to recruit staff

Paul Hatchett, Business Development Manager, REpower UK

Paul graduated from Durham University in 2001 with a MEng in Engineering, specialising in Manufacturing Engineering with Management.

His first role out of university was on the Graduate Development Programme at BAE Systems, where he undertook various technical and commercial roles. In 2005 Paul spent time in Wichita, Kansas and London co-ordinating due diligence activities for the sale of two civil aerospace business units before joining Spirit AeroSystems as a Senior Project Controller. He joined REpower in 2007.

At REpower he is responsible for bringing new prospects into the business and developing these through to contract signature. This involves working with a wide range of people across the company including the local Project and Service teams in order to ensure project and product suitability.Once this has been done, and contract negotiations completed, the project is passed to the Project Management department for turbine installation. The skills that Paul gained from the aerospace industry were highly transferable into REpower: good commercial awareness and negotiation expertise, a multi-disciplinary technical background and strong people skills.

Paul believes that a lot of the people working in renewable energy have made a positive choice to do so, and he finds a lot of enthusiasm amongst the people he deals with. As it is a relatively new and growing industry, wind energy is attracting a lot of young and dynamic people.

Paul says: "The size of REpower UK and its base in Edinburgh means you are in close proximity to the whole team, which is the ideal situation for a team working on projects. There is so much interest and demand for wind power that you get the opportunity to meet a broad range of people with different backgrounds who are very interested in what they do.I definitely see a successful future for myself in renewable energy and wind power in particular."

Careers push on green jobs

The recent announcement that Europe's largest on-shore windfarm is to be developed in South Lanarkshire – creating 200 jobs – is just one of the reasons why school pupils are being encouraged to think about green jobs.

iPath spoke to Careers Scotland Adviser Kay Johnston who, along with dozens of Careers Scotland Advisers across the country, has been promoting The Path is Green and encouraging young people to think about green jobs.

Q What do we mean by green jobs?

"Green jobs refers to a wide range of industries including renewable energy, forestry and waste management.At present, there are around 80,000 green jobs in Scotland and this is expected to increase by 50,000 over the next 10 to 15 years."

Q What has your work involved since the launch of The Path is Green?

"Since the launch of The Path is Green campaign in May, I have been talking to one of our local schools – Campbeltown Grammar – to find a way of getting the message across to young people about the potential for careers in these industries."

Q What is the benefit of the eco schools programme?

"The programme has ensured that children are arriving at secondary school with an existing knowledge about environmental issues and The Path is Green takes that to another level – showing them that the increased focus on the environment has also had an effect on the jobs market."

Q Why has this been the right time to launch The Path is Green?

"Young people are hearing a lot more about energy efficiency and climate change in the media and they are aware these things are going on, so now is a good time to make them more aware of jobs related to the 'green' agenda."

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Green careers heating up

iPATH talks to Grampian Heat & Power

With energy costs continuing to rise and Scots becoming more environmentally aware, the demand for renewable and energy-efficient systems has never been higher.

Andrew Malcolm decided to capitalise on this by setting up a heating company that specialises in energy-efficient and renewable heating services. One year on, Grampian Heat & Power has been flooded with calls from families and businesses keen to find out more about alternatives to traditional heating systems.

Andrew, a British Gas trained heating engineer, said: "Renewable technologies are rapidly gaining popularity and are increasingly affordable. However, we have struggled to recruit good staff. We need good heating engineers who can transfer their skills to the renewable energy side of the business but there seems to be a shortage in Scotland."

Shortfall in trained engineers

iPATH talks to SummitSkills

The renewable sector is experiencing a shortfall in trained engineers and other professions associated with micro-generation.

SummitSkills aims to alleviate this shortfall by developing qualifications and training courses designed for areas within micro-generation – for example, solar hot water, photovoltaics, wind energy and biomass. By alleviating the skills gap, SummitSkills is helping to create sustainable jobs and fantastic career progression opportunities.

Ian Stirrat, SummitSkills Scotland Operations Manager, said: "Despite the public becoming increasingly aware of the need to become greener and for us all to take responsibility to reduce our carbon emissions, it has become apparent that there is a clear lack in expertise in the occupations needed to design, install and maintain eco-friendly fuel alternatives. It is important for a sustainable future that we offer courses in these job areas."

Sustainability is vital for Scottish Tourism

With a growing global awareness of climate change and environmental issues, those working in the tourism industry are finding green tourism is becoming an increasingly important aspect of their job.

Glamis Castle in Angus, a popular visitor attraction which welcomes 120,000 visitors every year, is one of the Scottish tourist sites leading the way in terms of sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Staff at the 16th century castle have formed a dedicated Green Team, which meets regularly to discuss green issues and look at ways of making the estate greener. This has already included introducing a waste recycling facility and using energy-saving light bulbs throughout the castle.

The team's success was recognised recently when the estate was awarded the prestigious Gold Award for VisitScotland's Green Business Tourism Scheme.

General Manager David Adams says estates management has always been focused on conservation and the balance of nature.

He said: "Throughout the centuries, rural practices, particularly in Victorian Britain, have always been green and, in a sense, green issues have now caught up with Victorian values. Tourists are very interested in Scotland's green credentials. They want to know how good we are at preserving our natural heritage, so many jobs in tourism now have a green element to them."

Allan Beedie, Head Gardener, Glamis Castle

As Head Gardener at Glamis Castle, Allan Beedie's job is green in every sense of the word.

The 43-year-old has always had an interest in environmental issues and this was one of the motivations for his decision to work in horticulture.

Read Allan's case study in full

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