7. Education, training and skills development

7.1 Green Building Skills Fund

The $1.4 million Green Building Skills Fund is a 2009 election commitment to boost sustainability expertise within Queensland's building and construction industry. This will be achieved by partnering with peak industry bodies to deliver accredited training courses, with a particular emphasis on training in regional Queensland.

Training course participants will have 50 per cent of their course costs subsidised, resulting in around 3,500 training places over four years. Up to 500 of these places will be for third and fourth year apprentices and recently qualified tradespeople. The initiative will boost the green skills base across a range of professions, including:

• Architects
• Contractors/Builders
• Cost Planners
• Engineers
• Interior Designers
• Landscape Architects
• Project Managers
• Quantity Surveyors

The training aims to equip the existing workforce with a better understanding of green building practices and their application to building projects.

7.2 Skills for Sustainability

The Queensland Government has allocated $600,000 to develop a Skills for Sustainability Action Plan that that will meet the green skilling and workforce development required by industries. To be implemented in 2010 to 2012, the Plan will ensure that:

• training for all new apprentices includes competencies in new and emerging green technologies such as PV installations, solar hot water systems and grey water systems;
• existing tradespeople have access to skilling for sustainability in priority sectors such as energy, water and waste management;
• priorities for skilling are identified in consultation with industry so that new training products can be developed; and
• the VET sector has the trainers, assessors, networks and infrastructure needed to deliver the skills in demand from a low carbon economy.