Green Skills & Decarbonisation
Implementing the Green Skills Roadmap
CWM has developed an ambitious and forward-thinking Green Skills Roadmap, designed to position the region at the forefront of the green transition. You can explore the full roadmap here: Roadmap to the future – Green Skills West Midlands.
At the heart of this strategy is the newly established Green Technical Skills Group, which will lead the development of innovative green skills provision across the region. The group has kicked off a major phase of action focusing on three key areas:
1. Designing and Delivering New Green Skills Provision
This group will coordinate the development of new learning opportunities aligned with regional needs — including apprenticeships, adult training, and the integration of green skills into existing study programmes. The first major initiative will be a collaborative response to the WMCA Retrofit Pilot, with other priority areas on the agenda. The group will work in partnership with key stakeholders to co-create new provision, which will then be delivered by sector-specific priority groups (such as Construction for retrofit-related training).
2. Collaborative Marketing to Employers and Communities
To ensure strong engagement, the group will lead a joint marketing effort to promote green skills training to employers, local residents, and strategic partners. A key initiative will be the creation of a ‘Green Prospectus’, developed in collaboration with Skills WMW, to showcase the region’s collective offer to employers.
3. Creating a Centralised ‘Resource Hub’
To support all colleges across the region, a brand-new Green Skills Resource Hub will be launched on the CWM website. This hub will become a go-to destination for green curriculum resources, labour market intelligence (LMI), and staff development tools, supporting colleges in designing and delivering future-ready green training.
To find out more about the Green Skills technical group or the delivery of wider aspects of the Green Skills Roadmap contact Neil Thomas neil.thomas@collegeswestmidlands.org.uk.
Towards Net Zero – Decarbonising our Estate
Supporting Colleges to Decarbonise and Lead by Example
The Towards Net Zero group is driving forward the mission to help colleges green their own estates and decarbonise operations, turning campuses into living examples of climate leadership. The remit of the group includes:
- Understanding and reporting on Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) to track carbon usage.
- Exploring ways to collect and utilise energy-saving data to inform action.
- Engaging with sector experts.
Working collaboratively colleges are shaping and delivering retrofit project proposals, exploring joint funding bids and taking advantage of co-funding opportunities.
