Skills and training award

Birmingham-based specialist insulation provider SWIP takes a democratised, accessible and comprehensive approach to skills development. This approach is based on the principle that the ‘golden thread’ of the transition to net zero is quality – and that quality is impossible to achieve without a highly skilled and continuously supported workforce. 

 

With that aim in mind, SWIP is removing the traditional barriers to technical knowledge by moving beyond closed-door corporate training, and creating an open-access educational ecosystem. This model ensures that the skills gap is being closed not just through classrooms, but through live, on-site technical training delivery as well.

 

SWIP uses digital platforms, bespoke in-person sessions and partnerships with higher education institutions to provide training in retrofit – both fabric and whole-house approaches – as well as in internal wall insulation and room-in-roof systems.

 

The training is personalised and adapted to every recipient – from college students and apprentices on site to retrofit co-ordinators, installers, local authorities and social housing directors.

 

The judges said:

“A really strong entry that shows development end to end, be it with the internal workforce, consumers and customers, as well as clients, designers, contractors and assessors. It thinks outside the box to address the knowledge gap”