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Government funds £5m discount scheme to train thousands of heat pump installers
The government is funding a £500 per person discount towards training for more than 6,000 heating engineers to become fully qualified heat pump installers.
The scheme opened on Tuesday and is being funded by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s £5m heat training grant. It will provide a £500 discount off the cost of training per person, which usually costs around £600 to complete.
More than 60 approved training centres in England will offer the discount, aimed at helping build a skilled workforce to scale up heat pump installations.
Applicants will sign up for the training through their chosen provider and confirm they are eligible for the grant.
The government’s Heat Training Grant competition for heat networks also opened today for training providers to bid for £500 discounts to train up to 4,000 new heat network professionals.
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In addition to the grant, heating manufacturers – including Baxi, Ideal Heating, NIBE, Vaillant and Worcester Bosch – are expected to offer additional discounts and offers to participating trainees.
The government is also calling on training providers across England to help grow a new wave of heat network engineers by offering courses to upskill and teach them how to install and maintain them.
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, said: “Heat pumps and heat networks are critical technologies for decarbonising heat and play an important role in the country’s push towards net zero.
“With consumer demand set to surge in the coming years, we have committed to helping industry manufacture our own heat pumps – and we will need thousands more expert installers ready for action.
“This grant will not only give the roll-out of heat pumps and heat networks a huge boost, but will help to develop a skilled workforce who will reap the rewards of joining a thriving installer market.”
Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association (HPA), said: “We welcome the launch of the Heat Training Grant and are pleased to see training providers across the country, including HPA members, being included in the first funding round.
“Creating a large, highly skilled heat pump installer base is essential for expanding heat pump roll-out in the UK and is a priority for the association and its members.
“Heat pumps are a key aspect of decarbonising home heating and are central to achieving the government’s net zero targets.
“We encourage heating engineers to make use of the heat training grant to undertake subsidised training and expand their skill set and future-proof their business in readiness for the exponential growth required to meet the government’s target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.”
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