Education – New energy

According to the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), the building energy management systems (BEMS) industry is fast-growing, with new technologies driving an ongoing need for engineering, design and software skills.

“The requirement on businesses and commercial developers or landlords to decarbonise, meet indoor air quality standards, reduce energy consumption and waste, decrease ongoing property maintenance costs, and drive-up yields, are all resulting in increased applications of BEMS and automation systems as a solution,” explains Stacey Lucas, president of the BCIA.

“BEMS isn’t a career that is well known within engineering disciplines. It’s not yet well taught in schools, colleges or universities, but the work BCIA and other partners are doing to address this is helping. Buildings Services T-Levels, Engineering T-Levels and Buildings Services degrees are helping to shape a pipeline of people that understand the opportunity that BEMS presents them.”

Full control

Part of the building services sector, jobs within BEMS focus on the design, installation and maintenance of sophisticated control systems that monitor, manage and optimise a building’s energy consumption. According to Skills England, the broad purpose of the occupation is clearly focused on the control, performance and efficiency of energy usage and comfort control in industrial, commercial and public buildings. It requires an associated understanding of these environments and the balance between cost, comfort, safety, health and wellbeing. Typically, a BEMS controls engineer will be involved from the design stage, helping to optimise energy management systems that control the buildings’ services, such as heating, air conditioning and renewables. Some may also create related software and graphics as well as install and commission these types of systems.

This role requires a broad understanding of mechanical, electrical and energy-based engineering disciplines. Practical experience with heating systems provides a strong base that plumbing and heating engineers can build on if they want to pursue a BEMS apprenticeship, a Level 3 NVQ in Building Management Systems, or Building Controls Professional Assessment (BCPA).

Clear path

According to the BCIA, understanding career opportunities and pathways into the industry and development is essential to fill the skills shortage in this sector.

“Raising awareness of the myriad roles that exist within the BEMS and automation industry – be that data, software, graphics, technical support, design, installation, service and maintenance – is vital,” says Lucas. “Creating opportunities to enter the industry through initiatives such as skills bootcamps and the hugely successful Level 4 BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship will help increase the workforce.”

Although companies in the industry are responding and creating training pathways to attract and retain people, and the government is committing to green skills, with the focus remaining on domestic installations, incentivised products such as heat pumps don’t support the wider industry.

“There is a significant advantage for the government to back commercial/non-residential markets, but there is a gap in policy currently,” explains Lucas. “Equally, understanding technologies that can generate the same or even better results (carbon and energy savings) with quicker pay-back periods plays an important role, as does incentivising businesses to utilise other technologies and backing the skills agenda more clearly across green industries.”

The BCIA advocates maintaining the value and integrity of quality apprenticeships and increasing funding in apprenticeship delivery rather than reducing the duration of apprenticeships and changing the end-point-assessment process, as this could compromise competency and quality of the workforce.

“The government needs to invest in more initiatives to promote green industries so they’re included within curriculums and careers advice, with funding available for training,” adds Lucas.

The BEMS sector is undergoing significant growth, so there are plenty of career opportunities, from controls engineers and project managers to service engineers and installers.

“This sector offers job certainty, as well as the opportunity for engineers to upskill,” says Lucas. “Quality and competency are key in our industry. With training and practical experience, there is a range of career paths to choose from.”

Investing in apprenticeships

The BCIA believes apprenticeships are hugely valuable: “The BEMS Controls Engineer (Level 4) was launched three years ago, with the first apprentices completing their three-year learning programme and emerging as fully qualified BEMS controls engineers eligible for an ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) Gold Card. There are almost 300 apprentices on the programme, which also includes a higher number of older apprentices who are using the apprenticeship as an opportunity to retrain and refocus their careers.

“The apprenticeship is a highly technical, higher-level apprenticeship. For an industry that sits within the strict competency regimes, the quality of training provision is vital so that engineers emerge with the right skills, knowledge and approach to a fulfilling and challenging career.”

• For more information on careers in BEMS, visit: bcia.co.uk