Training for thousands to take advantage of green job opportunities
Organisations have been awarded funding to deliver accredited training programmes to boost numbers of skilled retrofit, energy efficiency and heat pump installers.
- Almost 9,000 training courses will be run across England for heat pump and energy efficiency installers thanks to £9.2 million government funding
- courses will be free or heavily subsidised and provide retraining opportunities for people already working in or looking to start roles in the green energy sector
- funding will let thousands take advantage of growth and jobs potential created by clean heating and push to reduce bills by improving energy efficiency of buildings
Thousands of training courses will be rolled out across England to grow a skilled workforce of heat pump and energy efficiency installers, as the government announces winners of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.
Shining a light on the huge scope for economic growth and job creation in the green energy sector, the £9.2 million funding will offer free and heavily subsidised training opportunities for installers of clean heating and energy efficiency measures.
The funding will see training providers deliver 8,900 courses at accredited centres across England for prospective heat pump and energy efficiency installers.
This will add to the rapidly growing number already saving households hundreds of pounds on their energy bills each year by delivering energy efficiency solutions, while helping the UK meet its ambitious carbon emissions commitments.
Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:
The green energy sector is driving growth and creating jobs right across the country, and this funding will make sure we have enough tradespeople trained up and able to take advantage of these opportunities.
We are making homes greener and cheaper to keep warm and training thousands more skilled installers will ensure we keep accelerating the pace of creating cleaner and more energy efficient buildings.
The government is accelerating the pace of upgrading the energy efficiency of housing with £6 billion funding committed to 2028, in addition to £6.6 billion in this parliament. A further £4 billion has been committed through the ECO4 scheme, which is delivering home insulation measures to low income and more vulnerable households, and the £1 billion ECO+ scheme, which will install measures in households who have previously not been able to access support through the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best long-term method of cutting household energy use and bringing down bills and this funding will be crucial in helping ensure there are enough trained installers to deliver upgrades across the country.
The funding will provide training for people already working in the heating and plumbing sector who are looking to retrain or grow their existing skills, as well as for those looking to enter and work in the energy efficiency, building retrofit and low carbon heating sectors, building both the overall number and skill levels of trained installers across England.
Training through the latest round of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition will be delivered until 31 March 2023 and follows the success of the previous round of funding in 2021 when the government invested £6 million, resulting in almost 7,000 training opportunities.
Organisations that have been successful in the latest funding round will provide appropriate installer training that leads to a recognised NVQ qualification or equivalent and Continuing Professional Development-style short courses.
Training opportunities will be provided across England with courses being run at centres in towns and cities from Truro to Newcastle and the Isle of Wight to Cumbria.
Notes for editors
- The competition is being facilitated by the Midlands Net Zero Hub: see the full list of successful training providers
- 3 training packages will be offered:
1. Retrofit assessor and retrofit coordinator: provision and delivery of training to PAS 2035 standards.
2. Insulation: provision and delivery of training to National Occupation Standards or higher in the installation of domestic insulation measures – underfloor, internal and external wall and loft.
3. Heat pumps: provision and delivery of training to National Occupation and MCS standards in the installation of domestic heat pumps – air and ground source.
- According to Construction Industry Training Board estimates, improving the fabric energy efficiency of every building in the country in need of retrofit will require 12,000 workers to be trained every year to 2025
- Analysis conducted by the Heat Pump Association suggests that over 30,000 additional heat pump installers will be needed by 2028