Energy Skills Partnership and BE-ST strengthen collaboration to support Scotland’s low carbon construction and retrofit skills

Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) and Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) have announced a formal strategic partnership to strengthen collaboration between Scotland’s colleges, employers, industry and innovation partners and help develop the skills and capabilities needed for a just transition in the built environment. 

The partnership brings together two organisations funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), with a shared objective of supporting action towards net zero across construction, retrofit and the wider energy transition. 

The partnership will help the organisations align their skills engagement and activity, identify opportunities for collaboration and avoid duplication, helping to maximise the impact of existing investment and expertise. 

ESP is the college sector agency established to coordinate a collaborative college response to national and regional skills needs across the energy transition sector. It works with colleges, industry and other partners to understand skills supply and demand, maximise investment and support job opportunities in emerging and advanced technologies. 

BE-ST is Scotland’s national innovation centre for construction and the built environment. Its mission is to accelerate the built environment’s just transition to zero carbon, bringing together industry, academia and other partners through collaborative projects, programmes and platforms. 

Through the partnership, ESP and BE-ST will work together to identify and deliver areas of shared interest, with a particular focus on skills and workforce development. 

This will include identifying current and future skills needs, supporting curriculum development, and promoting opportunities for workforce upskilling and reskilling. The partnership will also create opportunities for ESP member colleges to participate in BE-ST innovation programmes, access specialist expertise and facilities, and share innovative educational practice across Scotland. 

For BE-ST, the partnership provides an opportunity to deepen engagement with Scotland’s college sector and help colleges identify new and emerging areas of curriculum development, particularly in areas such as low carbon construction, energy efficiency and retrofit. 

The organisations are already working together as members of the Centre for High Density Net Zero Buildings skills working group, and the formal partnership will provide a framework for developing this collaboration further. 

Potential areas of joint activity include collaborative skills and workforce projects, funding applications, events, workshops and conferences. Existing opportunities, including BE-ST programmes such as the Low Carbon Passport and BE-ST Fest, will also provide opportunities for greater engagement between colleges, industry and innovation partners. 

The partnership will also support the work of Retrofit Scotland, BE-ST’s retrofit-focused platform, which aims to accelerate retrofit action by creating the infrastructure needed to support collaboration, training and the sharing of best practice. 

Rachel Fuller, Director of Decarbonisation (Interim) at Energy Skills Partnership, said:  

“Scotland’s colleges are central to delivering the skills we need for the transition to net zero.  By working more closely with BE-ST, we can bring the expertise of colleges together with the latest innovations and insight from industry, ensuring our skills provision keeps pace with a rapidly changing sector.” 

“This partnership helps us identify emerging skills needs, share knowledge and develop the skills needed to build and retrofit a low carbon future across Scotland.” 

Caitriona Jordan, Associate Director of Energy Efficiency and Retrofit at BE-ST, said: 

“The transition to a low energy built environment will require new skills, new approaches and stronger connections between education, industry and innovation. This partnership with ESP gives us an opportunity to work more closely with Scotland’s colleges and make sure the skills system is connected to where the sector is heading. 

“As two SFC funded organisations, by aligning our activity, sharing insight and creating more opportunities for colleges to engage with industry-led innovation, we can help identify emerging skills needs earlier and support the development of the workforce Scotland needs to build and retrofit warm, healthy and energy efficient buildings.”