The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) has said the transition to a low carbon economy could create "huge opportunities" for the Highland construction industry over the coming years.

However, it added that construction companies need to develop their green skills and credentials in order to take full advantage of the potential growth opportunities on offer.

The SBF made the comments as it welcomed Energy and Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing to launch a new 'Sustainability in Scottish Construction' project and free training seminar for local building firms at Inverness College.

The 'Sustainability in Scottish Construction' project has been developed by the collaborative NETpositive Initiative. It offers online training for SMEs in the construction sector on appraising the sustainability of their business and developing a sustainability action plan.

Through the project, a newly developed easy-to-use online tool will be made available, free of charge, to enable building companies to develop the skills and credentials they will need to take advantage of anticipated growth in sustainable construction over the coming years.

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Currently, repair and maintenance works represent around 40% of total construction output in Scotland and it is predicted that this sector will grow by an average 2% - or almost £80m per year - between now and 2017, due to the growing demand for energy efficiency measures and microgeneration installations.

A continued growth in demand for low carbon building technology is also expected to support around 12,000 low carbon jobs across the Scottish construction industry.

SBF believes the growth in sustainable construction presents huge opportunities for the industry in the Highlands and throughout Scotland as it continues to recover from a five-year downturn.

In light of forthcoming legislation on public procurement, it also expects sustainability to become an increasingly important criterion for construction businesses seeking to qualify for public sector contracts.

Scottish Government Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister, Fergus Ewing said: "Scotland's construction industry has a huge part to play in helping Scotland to become a low carbon economy, producing energy efficient homes using sustainable low embodied energy materials.

"I'm pleased to attend the Scottish Building Federation and NETpositive launch of their new collaborative project which offers practical advice and support to construction employers in the Highlands and throughout Scotland.

"This initiative allows businesses to take advantage of the growing opportunities associated with cutting carbon emissions from the built environment. It will also help to make Scotland's construction sector more efficient, more cost effective and better positioned to thrive in a competitive economy.

"This is another example of how Scottish ingenuity, adaptability and enterprise are helping to change the face of business to make it greener, smarter and cleaner."

(JP/CD)