Population growth in Australian cities is influencing government policies around sustainable living and urban greening within high-density living areas. The growing interest has been encouraged by increasing availability of technologies that make their construction easier and more economical. As such, there is an increasing demand for skills in developing rooftop gardens and green walls.

Industry consultation has identified the need for skills standards and training in the design, construction, installation and maintenance of green walls and rooftop gardens in Australia.

The Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) approved this project, out of the 2019-2022 IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work.

Skills Impact and the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping and Conservation & Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will manage this project, consistent with the 2012 Standards for Training Package Development.

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Green walls and rooftops help to cool our cities, manage storm water and improve air quality. These ‘living’ roofs and walls are growing with popularity, as they offer city residents healthy, environmentally responsible buildings. The growing interest is encouraged by government policy, as well as increased availability of technology that makes their construction and maintenance easier and more economical. This is opening up job opportunities in industry, with skills and knowledge adapting to respond to the needs of this specialised sector.

Landscapers are familiar with building constructions, such as garden beds and tree landscapes at ground level. However, the skills and knowledge required to design, construct, install and maintain these sorts of infrastructure on walls and roofs is specialised. Consideration needs to be given to drainage and filtration systems, soil/media and plant selection, waterproof barrier selection, nutrient requirements, working at heights on elevated work platforms, and local government legislation. Knowledge of environmental factors and microclimates is also important, as well as how much weight a structure can bare. The unique skills requirements of workers in this sub-sector will be identified as part of this project and reflected in the national skills standards, to support the skills development and career opportunities in this growing occupation.

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Relevant Occupations

Green walls and rooftop gardens designers, and those involved in construction, installation and ongoing maintenance.

Timeline

Aug 2019
Initial scoping

Sept 2019
Development of drafts

Nov 2019
Drafts available for broad consultation

Feb 2020
Validation of final drafts

Mar – Apr 2020
Finalisation of Training Package components

June 2020
Submission for endorsement

Project Team

Opportunities for stakeholder input

Stakeholder input is appreciated throughout the duration of this project. The documents will be drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts and their networks. Opportunities to provide targeted feedback will occur when the draft materials are made available in November 2019, and again for validation of final drafts in early February 2020. However, your feedback is welcomed at any time, and will help us in drafting the training package materials. It is important that training provides a skilled and flexible workforce for the future. The qualifications, skill sets and units need to reflect real work experience. So, if you work in the sector, Skills Impact encourages your input and help. Please feel free to register your interest for project updates and consultation opportunities by following the newsletter subscription link below. Alternatively, please feel free to contact the project manager, Lucinda O’Brien on 03 9321 3526 or [email protected].

Stakeholder Consultation Process

A list of key stakeholder organisations has been identified for this project. Skills Impact will ensure contact is made with each of these organisations during the development of this project to seek their involvement and their views on the draft qualifications, skill sets and units.

If you are aware of an organisation that you think should be involved, please contact the project team to ensure they are contacted by us.

Of course, all and any interested industry participants are encouraged to engage in the consultation of this project, when the draft qualifications, skill sets and units are available for feedback via this webpage and workshops that take place around Australia. Consultation is not limited to the organisations on this list. This list simply helps us to identify those organisations that, because of their industry role, size or specialty, are likely to have a key interest in the development and outcomes of this project.

Green walls and rooftops are increasing in popularity for their capacity to cool our cities, manage storm water and improve air quality. Thanks to the encouragement of government policy and improved availability of the technology to construct and maintain green walls and rooftop gardens, job opportunities are opening up.

Specialised skills and knowledge are required to design, construct, install and maintain these sorts of infrastructure. As part of this project, work is now underway to review skill sets and units of competency to address these skills needs.

In September, a workshop was held with stakeholders and subject matter experts who work directly in this field. At this meeting the required functions, roles and tasks involved to create and maintain green walls and rooftop gardens were discussed. It was identified that the skills required for design vary to those needed for construction. Education for the maintenance of green walls and rooftop gardens was also identified as an important area.

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Green walls and rooftop gardens offer city residents healthy, environmentally responsible buildings, helping to cool our cities, manage storm water and improve air quality. With city councils encouraging this trend through policy and the increased availability of technology, these features are becoming more common, opening up job opportunities in the sector. As industry adapts its skills and knowledge to the unique requirements of green walls and rooftop gardens, it’s important to ensure this is captured in the skills standards for the sector.

Three new skill sets and three new units of competency have been developed as part of this project, covering the skills and knowledge required for individuals to design, construct and maintain rooftop gardens, green walls and green facades.

Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft units of competency and skill sets that were made available on this webpage for feedback from 30 October – 1 December 2019. 

During this time, feedback was collected via the online feedback hub, five face-to-face consultation workshops, a webinar, and email. The drafts, including any comments made on the feedback hub, are still available for viewing below.

Feedback will inform the work on the final drafts which are expected to be available for industry validation in February 2020. A summary of the feedback and how it was addressed in the final drafts will also be available.

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Roof gardens, vertical gardens, and green facades offer many benefits for city residents, helping to cool our cities, manage storm water and improve air quality. Such infrastructure is becoming more common, as technology and council policies make it easier to build. This is opening up job opportunities in the sector, requiring industry to adapt its skills and knowledge to the unique context of the work. Capturing the skills standards required to design, construct, install and maintain such infrastructure is essential to supporting job roles in this field.

Thank you to those who provided feedback on the final draft skill set and units that were made available on this webpage for feedback from 7 February – 1 March 2020.

They have been revised to include terminology consistent with that used within industry, which is reflected in the updated proposed titles and throughout the documents. Concern was raised during consultation that the scope of the proposed unit AHCGRIXX1 Design rooftop gardens, green walls and green facades was too large as it contains 36 Performance Criteria (PC) and a learner would have to design for three different situations. Consultation with Subject Matter Experts confirms that the unit needs to be kept as one unit as it is common for workers to use a range of building styles and techniques across one project.

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