The Green Deal - Advice to householders who provides it?

Green Deal Advisers

An important aspect of the Green Deal will be the provision of personalised advice to householders. It is likely, but yet to be confirmed, that the role of these advisers will be to:

• produce a fabric assessment, along the lines of an improved EPC, where one does not already exist. Current work to improve the EPC should position it to deliver this element of the Green Deal;
• provide personalised face to face advice to householders on the most appropriate energy efficiency measures for their home using the fabric assessment as the basis for that advice;
• provide advice on behavioural changes that an occupier can make to reduce energy consumption;
• lodge an updated EPC on the Register following installation of the measures.

It is important to stress that the detail of the Green Deal is still being developed so the proposed Green Deal Adviser role has yet to be finalised and is subject to change.

Qualifications and Training

National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Home and Community Energy Advisers were published in June 2009. Those standards were developed at a time when a rather different role was envisaged for HEAs. While many of the skills and competencies prescribed in the NOS are likely to be relevant to the role of the Green Deal Adviser, there will be a range of other skills and knowledge that an adviser working under the auspices of the Green Deal will require.
Asset Skills, the awarding bodies and others, are to update the NOS to ensure that it reflects all of the skills that will be required for the Green Deal. We expect to complete this process early next year, following which appropriate qualifications will be developed and brought forward. It follows that a suitable qualification for people wanting to become Green Deal Adviser does not currently exist.
DEAs are already qualified to produce EPCs. If it is decided that EPCs should form the basis of a Green Deal inspection, then they will be well placed to upgrade their skills and become Green Deal Advisers. We are working to ensure that the revised NOS takes account of the skills of existing DEAs and, where appropriate, that they are exempt from those elements of the standards that cover areas in which they are already qualified.

Green Deal providers

Green Deal providers will be organisations that have decided to become involved in the financing and delivery of the Green Deal. It will be for them to decide whether they recruit advisers directly, engage with them on a contractual basis or make other arrangements.

Accreditation

All Green Deal Advisers will need to belong to an accreditation scheme. It is envisaged that such schemes will need to be in place by early 2012.

 

So judging by the above it is hopeful that the Government will use the DEAs to produce the advice to householders - after all by the sounds of it they are already 50% qualified, if not more, have been working within the industry and with householders already, and have been badly burnt by the credit crunch, housing market, bad training providers and a variety of other problems. It would be ideal if the DEAs were used and finally give them an additional stream of income whilst promoting and emphasing how important the EPC and energy saving matters really are.