Thousands to be trained to boost energy efficiency in homes across the country

Thousands of people will be equipped with the right skills to make homes more energy efficient due to new government funding which will see training courses rolled out across the country.

Since the 25th July training providers, such as colleges and accreditation providers, are able to bid for a share of £8.85 million to help up to 8,000 people – whether current installers or those new to the industry – develop the skills and expertise needed to retrofit homes with energy saving measures.

The courses is free or provided at low cost, and will cover a range of key energy efficiency measures, from putting in loft insulation to draft proofing measures.

Training providers will have until 25th August 2023 to apply for the funding to deliver the courses, with training places expected to open later this year.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:

“We’re investing billions of pounds to improve energy efficiency across the country – saving households hundreds on their bills while making sure Britain’s homes are fit for the future.

We’ve already helped millions of people to do this, but we need an army of skilled professionals able to install insulation and other energy-saving measures in homes across the country.

Today’s funding will give training providers the opportunity to put on the courses needed to help create the skilled workforce ready to join this rapidly-growing market, with people able to benefit from these courses at low or no cost.”

Through the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition, accredited energy efficiency training will either be free or heavily subsidised saving trainees hundreds of pounds as they develop their skills and gain qualifications.

Successful organisations will provide “training and support to installers to help build the capacity of the supply chain and upskill individuals which will support organisations to gain PAS 2030 certification, the industry specification which all energy efficiency installers must be certified to and compliant with to participate in government funded schemes”.

This will include installer training that leads to a recognised qualification NVQ or equivalent, and short courses.

Training, which will be delivered until 31st March 2024, will be focused on two packages:

  • retrofit assessor and retrofit coordinator: provision and delivery of training to PAS 2035 standards
  • insulation: provision and delivery of training to National Occupation Standards or higher in the installation of domestic insulation measures

David Pierpoint, CEO of The Retrofit Academy, a leading training provider in retrofit courses, said:

“The Home Decarbonisation Skills Competition is an essential vehicle for increasing capacity while maintaining high standards and we welcome the government’s £8.85 million funding allocation.

It is essential we use this funding to unlock more talent, upskill workforces and drive the infrastructure required to decarbonise the UK housing stock and we intend to continue our partnerships with the government and industry to build on the 5,000 learners we have already enrolled onto our range of retrofit training courses.”

The competition will run alongside the £5 million Heat Training Grant, which officially opened last month and aims to train more than 10,000 low-carbon heating installers to work on heat pumps and heat networks by April 2025.

These grants of £500 towards an individual’s training, which usually costs around £600 to complete – meaning the vast majority will be covered by the government.

Find out more about the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.

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