Content area
Full text
This chapter focuses on the use of licensing and certification as a means of increasing appropriate levels of skills provision amongst a range of low-carbon occupations in the United Kingdom. In previous work, the range of market and governance failures in the provision of low-carbon skills and the measures adopted to address these failures was addressed (Jagger et al., 2012). This chapter examines the potential to increase the use of licensing and certification to address these market and governance failures, and the resulting challenges that may arise. Currently, licensing is used in the United Kingdom for energy auditors producing Energy Performance Certificates and for SMEs working under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. Additionally, similar licensing schemes are currently under development for green deal assessors and green deal installers.
These new schemes will be vital to the success of the new Green Deal Scheme, which enables households to finance energy efficiency improvements recommended by an accredited adviser and undertaken by an accredited installer. Work undertaken for the CCCEP 's Mini Stern Review for Leeds City Region highlights the size of the potential Green Deal market and the types of skills that will be required (Gouldson et al, 2011) and provides a local case study of licensing. Previous UK experience with CORGI, Gas Safe and Electrical Installers licensing schemes have shown increased competence and consumer confidence with gas installers and electricians using these schemes, who largely come from SMEs, and so the new low-carbon licensing schemes could provide greater low-carbon skills and greater confidence in these skills.
Introduction
Increasingly, the UK Government is using licensing to ensure standards are maintained and encourage training amongst emerging low-carbon occupations. Licensing is the process by which a certification, based on specific qualifications, is required in order to practice a specific occupation or to undertake specific functions. The proposed licensing is explicitly aimed at addressing consumer confidence in new energy efficiency schemes, such as the Green Deal, and this has been tested with potential consumers (DECC, 201 Id). It has also been argued that licensing improves standards and encourages training and, as such, should be encouraged in the United Kingdom, as part of developing a more highly skilled workforce (Cox et al., 2009). A report for the UK Department for Education...