Energy efficiency, zero emissions and low carbon heating systems, microgeneration and heat networks - skills requirements: consultation analysis

2. Engagement Methodology

Engagement Activities

2.1 The main engagement activities undertaken were an online consultation and supplementary webinars. Each is considered in turn below.

Online Consultation

2.2 The Scottish Government promoted an online consultation on Scottish skills requirements for energy efficiency, zero emissions and low carbon heating systems, microgeneration and heat networks for homes on its Consultation Hub website (Citizen Space). The consultation ran from 5 February to 30 April 2021.

2.3 The vast majority of consultation responses were submitted through the Scottish Government's online portal. Ten responses were submitted to the Scottish Government directly, for example, by email. Where this was the case, the Scottish Government logged and added each response directly to Citizen Space.

2.4 All responses received were checked and moderated by the Scottish Government prior to providing EKOS Ltd access to Citizen Space. EKOS exported consultation responses from Citizen Space into Microsoft Excel for data cleaning, review and analysis.

2.5 A total of 53 responses were received, including two duplicate responses from the same individual within an organisation (i.e. a submission via Citizen Space and an email copy). One response was therefore removed prior to the final analysis.

2.6 There were therefore a total of 52 valid responses, with almost all submitted by organisations, Table 1.

2.7 No campaign responses were identified.

Table 1: Profile of Respondents

Respondent	Number	%
Individual	5	10%
Organisation	47	90%

N=52

2.8 Membership or professional bodies were more likely to have responded to the consultation, and accounted for almost half of all organisation respondents, Table 2.

Table 2: Profile of Organisation Respondents

Organisation Type	Number	%
Membership or Professional Bodies	23	49%
Public Sector	9	19%
Third Sector	8	17%
Private Sector	7	15%

N=47

2.9 Appendix A provides details of how organisation respondents have been categorised.

Analysis

2.10 The analysis seeks to identify the most common themes and issues. It does not report on every single point raised in the consultation responses. All submissions to the consultation will be reviewed separately by the Energy & Climate Change Directorate.

2.11 Equal weighting has been given to responses. This includes the views of, on the one hand, large organisations with a national or UK remit or membership, and, on the other, smaller organisations with a more local focus (or an individual's viewpoint).

2.12 All but two of the consultation questions were open-ended, and we have tried to theme and quantify responses where possible and appropriate.

Limitations

2.13 Respondents to any consultation or survey are self-selecting.

2.14 The depth of responses to survey questions varied – some respondents have provided full and detailed responses, while others have provided short or even single word responses.

2.15 Not every respondent answered each and every question, and some responses went beyond the scope of the question(s) posed.

Webinars

2.16 Two webinars were hosted and facilitated by the Energy Saving Trust on the 11 March and 15 March 2021 which supplemented the main online consultation. The webinars provided an additional opportunity for stakeholders and interested parties to feed into the wider engagement process.

2.17 The first webinar session was open to stakeholders across Scotland. The second session was focused geographically, and among other things, specifically considered the impact of the proposed skills requirements on Scottish island supply chains.

2.18 The two webinars comprised:

• Presentations by representatives from the Scottish Government Short Life Working Group to set the scene and to go through the detail of the proposals and questions in the consultation.
• Interactive Polls.
• Question and Answer sessions.
• Signposting to the Citizen Space online consultation to encourage responses.

2.19 A total of 144 individuals registered for the webinars, of which 91 attended, representing an actual attendance rate of almost two-thirds, Table 3.

Table 3: Webinar Registration and Attendance

Webinar	Registered	Attended	Attendance
Stakeholder	109	69	63%
Island Stakeholder	35	22	63%
Total	144	91	63%

Source: Energy Saving Trust, Key stats from Scottish Government Skills Consultation webinars.

2.20 From the information provided, a wide range of individuals that work in the sector registered for the webinars. A majority were coded as "other", Table 4. The data, however, provides a flavour of who registered for each webinar.

Table 4: Job Type of those Registered for Webinars

Respondent	Stakeholder Webinar	Island Stakeholder Webinar	Total	Total %
Other	62	18	80	56%
Energy assessor	12	6	18	13%
Installer (other)	12	3	15	10%
MCS Installer	8	4	12	8%
Manufacturing	10	2	12	8%
Surveyor	4	1	5	3%
Architect	1	1	2	1%
Total	109	35	144	100%

Source: Energy Saving Trust, Key stats from Scottish Government Skills Consultation webinars.

2.21 Tables 5 to 7 provide details of webinar poll questions and responses. Key points to note include that:

• Prior to the webinar session, a majority of attendees that answered the poll question were aware of the BSI PAS 2035/30 standards (68%).
• Some 60% of attendees that answered the poll question, however, reported that they had no or little overall knowledge of the BSI PAS 2035/30 standards.
• The main barriers facing suppliers on the islands were identified as training and certification costs, and a lack of awareness about what is happening in the market.

Table 5: In your opinion, what is the biggest barrier facing suppliers on the islands? (Island Stakeholder webinar only)

Response	Number	%
Uncertainty/confusion over government schemes	2	17%
Training and certification costs	4	33%
Time and cost issues for accessing island properties	2	17%
Lack of awareness about what's happening in the market	4	33%
Paperwork and administration involved with retrofit	0	-
Total	12	100%

Source: Energy Saving Trust, Key stats from Scottish Government Skills Consultation.

Table 6: Prior to today, were you aware of the BSI PAS 2035/30 standards?

Response	Stakeholder Webinar	Island Stakeholder Webinar	Total	Total %
Yes	41	10	51	68%
No	19	5	24	32%
Total	60	15	75	100%

Source: Energy Saving Trust, Key stats from Scottish Government Skills Consultation webinars.

Table 7: What is your overall knowledge of the BSI PAS 2035/30 standards?

Response	Stakeholder Webinar	Island Stakeholder Webinar	Total	Total %
None	17	3	20	27%
Little	18	6	24	33%
Reasonable	12	5	17	23%
Good	5	0	5	7%
Very good	6	1	7	10%
Total	58	15	73	100%

Source: Energy Saving Trust, Key stats from Scottish Government Skills Consultation webinars.

2.22 A list of questions asked by webinar participants are contained in Appendix B. The team that facilitated the sessions either answered questions on the day and/or committed to providing a response in due course.