Local firms extend their green expertise

Councillor Swift visits the training being run for local companies

Employees from two Rochdale companies are taking advantage of a local training opportunity to improve their green technology skills - in installing air source and ground source heat pumps.

J21, the Oldham Rochdale labour into construction initiative funded through Housing Market Renewal has arranged for specialist training company PPL Training to deliver the course at a training centre in Shaw, Oldham, with funding from Rochdale Council.

Engineers from Pennine Drilling and Grouting, and from Jackson & Jackson have been studying for qualifications under the BPEC standard, to install the environmentally friendly technology in homes and public and commercial buildings.

Oldham-based plumbing company J&J Harrison was also able to benefit from the training.

Visiting the training session, Councillor Keith Swift, Rochdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Skills and Economic Recovery, said: “It is a huge advantage for Rochdale to have two local companies extending their skills in this important field. Green technology can only become more important in the future, and it is a boost to the borough’s economy to have these skills available.

“I am hopeful that more companies will build on this success and use J21 as a link to improve the skills of their workforce”.

Dermot Garvey of Pennine Drilling and Grouting said: “We are a national leader in geotechnical services, ground stabilisation and borehole drilling industry. This training enables us to extend our expertise to meet the ever-increasing demands of the emerging sustainable and renewable energy market. We continually seek to upskill our service offering. This clearly differentiates us from competitors.”

Susan Ayres of Rochdale Council added: “Rochdale Council has made a significant investment to improve skills levels of the borough's residents. This initiative will help to ensure that local businesses have a skilled workforce that enables them bid successfully for new contracts in the growing environmental technology sector."

Ground source heat pump technology uses heat energy from under the ground to provide heat and/or cooling in a range of building projects. The technology is particularly suited to social housing schemes where fuel poverty is a major issue.

The technology uses pipes buried up to 100metres in the earth to extract heat from the ground. This is usually used to heat radiators or underfloor heating systems and hot water.