CSIC partners with AECB to help accelerate Scotland’s journey to net zero

Designed to provide Scotland with the low carbon skills for the future, the long-established AECB course is designed to help accelerate the delivery of the CSIC Low Carbon Learning Programme launched at COP26 in November 2021.

The AECB CarbonLite Retrofit course is the UK industry-leading course for advanced Net Zero carbon retrofit training aimed at construction professionals and contractors familiar with the challenges of repair, maintenance and improvement of existing buildings.  

The course aligns with the emphasis on addressing both energy efficiency and good quality building fabric recognised in the Scottish Government’s ‘Heat in Buildings Strategy – achieving net zero emissions in Scotland’s buildings’. AECB also joins strategic partners the Passivhaus Trust (PHT), patrons of CSIC and WARM who run the AECB CarbonLite Passivhaus Contractor Training programme in the CSIC Low Carbon Learning Programme.  

As a signatory to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s High-Performance Buildings Initiative, the AECB is joining a collaborative global network of 26 international Centres of Excellence of High Performance Buildings (including CSIC) to provide education, training, and other critical resources to regional building industry practitioners, supporting local industry in the rapid development of buildings consistent with the UN Framework for energy efficiency standards in buildings.  

Caitriona Jordan, head of retrofit programmes at CSIC, said: “Skills will be an absolutely critical part of helping the construction sector as well as the UK and Scottish economies move towards a Net Zero future. We want to help construction workers develop their knowledge and expertise of the gold standard for energy efficient homes, and the AECB CarbonLite Retrofit course assists in gaining a deeper insight into the fields of retrofit and sustainable building standards.”

“More people in the sector with knowledge of these types of building and the skills necessary to deliver solutions will help energy efficiency become mainstream. It will also help ensure we have a workforce fit for the future and could contribute to creating new jobs in the construction supply chain while addressing societal issues such as fuel poverty.”

Trish Andrews, AECB CarbonLite training manager, said: “The AECB is delighted to work in partnership with Construction Scotland Innovation Centre’s Low Carbon Learning Programme. The AECB is building educational partnerships that work effectively to put the built environment and retrofit skills at the heart of addressing the climate change agenda. We offer industry-leading low carbon retrofit training to the construction sector to meet Net Zero carbon goals. The AECB CarbonLite Retrofit course addresses the energy crisis we are facing right now.”

The CSIC is launching the course on Tuesday 15th March. The CSIC is running an open competition offering 20 fully funded places on an accelerated e-learning AECB CarbonLite Retrofit course over the coming months completing at the end of July. Funding for the 20 places on the accelerated e-learning AECB CarbonLite Retrofit Course is thanks to the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Government, through the National Transition Fund.

The open competition to secure a free place on the accelerated e-learning AECB CarbonLite Retrofit Course is now online on a strictly first-come/first-served basis closing on March 10.

The 20 participants will start the course on March 15 with completion required end of July 2022. Students have access to the AECB Knowledgebase, webinars, links to national and international reading material and networking opportunities. They have access to the Low Energy Buildings Database (LEBD) that includes 150 retrofit case studies. On completion, they will join the growing community of UK CarbonLite Graduates.