Construction businesses can find out how to make super energy-efficient buildings through a free course we are delivering.

Passive House for Construction Professionals and Management, a four week, one-day-a-week training programme that has been fully funded by the government, will start on Tuesday 7 March.

Passive houses are built to rigorous energy efficient design standards to help them maintain an almost constant temperature – thereby slashing their energy bills and carbon footprint.

The course will be run by Leeds-based passive house specialists Pure Haus, who will also be installing a mini passive house in our grounds on Thursday 2 March.

Welcome to the future of the construction industry

Director Kevin Pratt said: “Building energy efficient homes and retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient is the future.

“I’m so pleased that Harrogate College has embraced the future of the construction industry and this course is a really exciting project for us to be involved in.

“We’re looking forward to installing a ‘mini pure haus’ at the college, too; it will be a real eye-opener for students and help educate them about how we need to build homes to play our part in tackling climate change.”

As an environmentally conscious college which is working to achieve carbon zero status by 2035, we are always looking for ways to raise awareness of the sustainability and green skills agenda. In March, we will be holding a variety of environmentally-focused activities for our Green Month.

One of those events will see Zero Carbon Harrogate, at 6.30pm on 16 March, present a free introductory talk on Retrofitting Your Home. Guests will hear from several expert speakers about the art of eco-renovation and how to go about improving the energy efficiency of their properties.

This will be the latest in a string of retrofit courses or information events that we have helped to deliver over the past two years.

Playing our part in the fight against climate change

Principal Danny Wild said: “Creating more energy efficient buildings, and improving the efficiency of the ones we already have, is an important part of the fight against climate change.

“We are delighted to be partnering with local businesses and community groups to raise awareness of, and offer training in, skills like passive house building and retrofitting.

“It is such practices that we all need to adopt, as organisations and individuals, if we are to make real change, reduce our collective carbon footprint and, of course, save money.”

Other Green Month events will include a visit by North Yorkshire Rotters and their smoothie-making bicycle on 3 March and a fashion show on 29 March. A variety of sustainably produced dishes, meanwhile, will be served in the canteen throughout the month.

Click here to book a place on Passive House for Construction Professionals and Management. The retrofit talk, meanwhile, can be booked here.

Harrogate College prides itself on working hand in hand with local businesses and organisations to provide the skills and training they need to ensure that our economy grows and thrives. Our monthly newsletter is a handy way of keeping our partners informed of developments at the college.

To receive future Harrogate College Business Newsletters directly to your inbox click here

Business Newsletter – April 2022

Dear Partners, As a college focused on providing the green skills that our district needs we are always keen to announce new initiatives within this sector. A good example of this took place in April when we issued a press release all about how we are tailoring our courses to provide electric vehicle infrastructure training. Apprenticeships also have a vital role to play when it comes to plugging the national skills gap, so we are pleased to outline in this newsletter the steps we are taking to update our programmes and improve our offerings to best support local employers. Construction is one of the district’s key sectors, and we are delighted to be hosting a CITB funding awareness event at the college on Thursday 26 May when local firms will find out about grants, training and other forms of support.  One of the many events we held during March, for our Green Month, involved a visit from Too Good To Go, which works to reduce food waste by connecting people to restaurants and stores that have surplus, unsold food. We have now created an article all about the visit, as outlined below. We hope you enjoy the read. Danny Wild Principal Harrogate College — Meeting the electric vehicle challenge More training to support the country’s transition to electric cars will be introduced at Harrogate College this September. Harrogate, as recently widely reported in the media, has been revealed to be one of the ‘worst prepared areas in the UK’ in terms of supporting the shift to electric vehicles. Those findings were mainly based on the current scarcity of public charging points, with research showing that the district has just one for every 134 electric or hybrid cars. The college, however, is working hard to address the issue by teaming up with local specialists and providing technical courses to support the electric vehicle (EV) sector – and has just bought some charging units to use in training this September. Read the full story here. — Action on apprenticeships Recent figures have shown that apprenticeship numbers are falling nationwide – and especially in wealthier areas like Harrogate. Harrogate College, however, is taking action to reverse that trend by working closely with local businesses and tailoring its curriculum to deliver the skills they need. The college was part of a 100 in 100 recruitment campaign in February to encourage employers to take on an apprentice to ‘future-proof’ new and existing employees. Principal Danny Wild said: “While Harrogate is a relatively affluent town and many pupils who go on to study A Levels are likely to go on to university, we also need to factor in the increasing number of pupils who are interested in more practical options. “It is vital for businesses to understand how to recruit and support apprentices, and the college stands ready to support them. We work to ensure apprentices have the skills they need for the workforce. If we are to kickstart the economy by upskilling people, we need to promote apprenticeships as an option. “Through the 100 in 100 apprenticeship campaign and the employers’ network, there is plenty of opportunity for us to level up in the district. By addressing the employment and productivity gaps, we want to make sure no one is left behind regardless of what background or pathway they take.” The college currently works with more than 100 employers across industries such as hospitality, construction, science and pharmaceutical, as well as engineering. It consolidated its ties with those businesses by launching the Harrogate College Employers’ Network (HCEN) last October. Mr Wild added: “We are continually looking at ways to use our apprenticeship data so that we are better informed about how we can improve our programmes. We hope that as the employers’ network grows we can gather relevant data from all stages of the apprenticeship journey, both for the apprentice and employer, including on attendance at training right through to the endpoint assessment.” — Fresh thinking on food waste The college, which has made a Sustainability Pledge, is committed to promoting action that protects the environment – and recently introduced carbon literacy training for students and staff. As part of our Green Month activities in March, we brought together students and staff to educate them on the impact of food waste. An article all about the visit can now be read on our website, here. The college invited Lucy Mccarey, from Too Good To Go, to talk about the subject. Lucy, who has spent over two years fighting food waste and is passionate about the planet, introduced students to her top tips such as planning meals and storing food correctly – as well as using resources like the Too Good To Go app, where individuals can buy discounted food from organisations to prevent it being thrown away. —

Construction industry funding awareness event Harrogate College will be hosting a CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) funding awareness session for the local construction industry on Thursday 26 May. The event will give representatives from visiting businesses the chance to fiind out about what support, in terms of grants, funding and training opportunities, is available. The session runs from 8.30am to 9.30am and will include three short presentations including from John Long, of CITB, and Lorraine Kirbitson, from North Yorkshire Construction Training Group. A representative from the college will also give an overview of the courses and apprenticeships we offer, and show visitors the facilities that their staff and apprentices could use in our construction department. Those attending will also be able to find out about how to access free training at the college, funded by Zero Carbon Harrogate, later in the year. To reserve your place contact Lorraine on 07713 034917 (email lorraine@nyctg.co.uk) or book on Eventbrite here. —

We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of our Business Newsletter – we’ll be back with more next month!