Knowledge: Company profi le
Best laid plans
The National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies has recently been
granted an extension to its licence by the Skills Funding Agency, following
a successful fi rst three years. REI talks to Kevin Dowd, network operations
manager for the Skills Academy about the organisation’s plans going forward
Following your licence
extension, what are the
Skills Academy’s plans for
the future and what do
you consider your major
successes to date?
Over the last three years we’ve
managed to achieve considerable
national reach, with well over
100 Skills Academy centres in
locations throughout England,
Northern Ireland and Wales. One
of the primary tasks is to look at
this spread and identify areas
where we are lacking (as well as
those meeting saturation point) to
fi nd a balance that ensures every
installer in the UK has access to
industry leading training. This
will mean enlisting more Skills
Academy providers and we may
lose some existing ones. Trainees
can rest assured, however, that
this process will only serve to
strengthen the quality of their
Skills Academy options.
In addition to approving
centres, we have also forged
invaluable links with employers
and Trade Associations - such
as the Electrical Contractors
Association and Building &
Engineering Services - in order
to better service customers and
create training programmes that
directly meet their needs. We
have a good relationship with
several manufacturers, some
of which are approved training
providers. Part of our success
has been down to manufacturer
engagement and investment
and we hope to build further
relationships to ensure this
20 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
continues in the future.
Our ultimate goal is to
be the go-to training provider
for low carbon and renewable
energy technologies in the built
environment. We have worked
hard to create a quality offering
that ensures installers get the
right skills to take advantage
of the business opportunities
presented by the upturn in
the economy and government
strategy. The domestic RHI has
just been launched, an exciting
development that should help to
strengthen the green arm of the
building services engineering
market and therefore help drive
the need and success of the Skills
Academy.
There has been some
restructuring in the Academy
recently, with Cathryn
Hickey stepping down and
you taking the helm. Kevin,
what do you bring to the
table and what legacy does
Cathryn leave behind?
I have worked alongside Cathryn
for the last three years, helping
her bring the Skills Academy up
to its current position. Prior to
that, I was operations manager
for SummitSkills, where I was
employed for seven years. All in
all, I’ve got a good understanding
of the sector and its requirements
plus a general interest in greener
ways to run our buildings.
Being part of building services
engineering, particularly in terms
of low carbon and renewable
technology measures, is exciting.
Changing
faces:
Network
operations
manager
Kevin Dowd
pays tribute
to the
‘excellent job’
done by the
organisation’s
former head
Cathryn
Hickey
Our ultimate goal is to be the go-to
training provider for low carbon and
renewable energy technologies in the built
environment
We all have a commitment to help
reduce our carbon footprints and
by working for the Skills Academy
I have a more direct hand in
making this happen.
Cathryn did an excellent job
and made the Skills Academy
what it is today. The Skills
Academy was almost entirely
her concept, she created the
framework and my job now is
to build on and develop this,
to further meet the needs of
installers and their employers.