HEAT PUMP BODY WELCOMES INSTALLER GRANT

THE HEAT PUMP ASSOCIATION (HPA) has welcomed plans announced by the Government in March for a £5m Heat Training Grant aimed at supporting 10,000 low-carbon heating installers over the next two years. Heating engineers will be eligible for grants of up to £500 towards training costs, creating new green jobs and helping to future-proof the heating industry.

The scheme echoes calls by the HPA for government to provide more help to kickstart the heat pump installer base to bolster the chances of the UK hitting its heat pump installation targets.

The grants will cover most of the cost of a Level 3 heat pump training course, while manufacturing members are expected to offer additional discounts to participating trainees – further reducing costs for installers and providing a more affordable route to becoming a heat pump engineer. Those additional benefits could be worth up to a further £500 in product vouchers, additional training and other support.

The HPA set out in its Pathway to Heat Pumps report that the first pillar of transforming Britain’s heating industry would be to create a highly-skilled installer workforce. The report recommended more intervention from government to support adopters of low-carbon heating technology through compensation for training and loss of earnings while undertaking it.

HPA chair Phil Hurley commented: “Installers are the most important ambassadors of heat pumps to the consumer and the HPA warmly welcomes this scheme to support them build on their existing skill base to become the green heating installers of the future. This is exactly the sort of early-bird support we have called for.

“We already have the building blocks in place: our own training course and capacity among our members to train 40,000 installers per year. This government scheme will give the industry a real boost in helping installers upskill for heat pumps to take over from gas boilers as the go-to heating technology for new and replacement systems alike in the majority of homes.” q