LONDON: Skills body calls on government to ensure the construction workforce has the right skills in place to meet the energy-efficiency challenge ahead.

CITB-ConstructionSkills has responded to government plans outlined by Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, for a new 'Green Deal' to create almost 250 000 jobs by improving insulation and air-tightness in homes across 26 million homes in the UK.

Announcing the plan at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, Mr Huhne said: In partnership with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC), CITB-ConstructionSkills will be launching a 'Cut the Carbon' campaign next month".

The three-year, industry-wide campaign will run across England, Scotland and Wales, helping to raise companies' awareness of the legislation, the timelines and the new opportunities presented by the low carbon agenda. Practical support and training will also be available to help companies gear up for the changes needed to the industry's skills base.

The 'Green Deal' will see energy companies providing loans to homeowners so they may make improvements to their homes to reduce carbon emissions in the form of wasted energy. These loans will be repaid back to energy companies through the savings homeowners make in their energy bills through the new energy-efficiency measures they install.

Responding to the announcement Mark Farrar, chief executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills said: "This is great news for thousands of small and medium-sized construction businesses across the UK, who have faced tough times through the recent recession and who will welcome this boost.

"However, it is vital that these companies are ready and equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills across their workforce to be able to retrofit houses with the latest energy-efficiency technologies if we want to both meet the Government's exacting carbon reduction targets and bring the greatest economic benefit to the industry."