Get Sust! Issue 27

Boom time for sustainable construction

As we near the end of the academic year, thoughts inevitably turn to the future - and to careers. But it’s not just a time-of-the-year thing; there really is a buzz about careers in sustainable construction. This is, of course, being driven partly by the flurry of legislative changes and greater public awareness of ‘green’ issues, but also because the industry is realising that it’s facing a massive skills shortage.

We’ve known about construction’s declining appeal among school leavers for some considerable time, and the large professional institutions pay a lot of attention to raising the profile of their sectors. But “traditional” further and higher education courses are not, apparently, turning out enough of the sustainable construction professionals the country needs.

SummitSkills, the building services sector’s skills council, is engaged in a massive research project to identify gaps in the training and education currently on offer, and is keen for input from businesses and colleges alike. Visit www.summitskills.org.uk. Meanwhile, the industry is already aware that more research is needed into all aspects of sustainable construction (see News); and SPONGE and Forum for the Future are holding a get-together in Reading next week to discuss ideas and drive forward the research debate (see Events).

Here at Get Sust, we’re keen to help progress on all these fronts. So if you have research to share, a course to promote, or a vacancy to fill, do get in touch (editor@get-sust.com).

There can’t have been a better time to embark on a career in this sector. If you’re in search of inspiration, check out our archived careers features:

	•	www.get-sust.com/newsletters/issue26/careers_supplement.html
	•	www.get-sust.com/newsletters/special_issue_careers.html
	•	And if you’re off to pastures new, don’t forget to tell us your new email address editor@get-sust.com