Government announced retrofit training to boost green sector jobs

Thousands of new low-cost training positions have been made available to help sustainably insulate properties.

Last week the government announced up to 8,000 people – including current workers and those new to the property industry – will be able to develop the skills needed to retrofit homes through a host of training providers as a result of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Scheme.

In addition, a further 4,000 people will also be able to obtain £500 towards training to install and maintain heat networks, such as heat pumps, through the Heat Training Grant.

‘The UK is a world leader when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, and we’re investing billions of pounds to help decarbonise the nation’s heating, saving homes and businesses energy and cutting bills,’ said Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance. ‘To do that we’re helping to improve the energy efficiency of homes and ensure they have access to cutting-edge low-carbon heating technologies such as heat pumps and heat networks.’

However, news of the government launching new training programmes to help sustainably retrofit homes has come at a turbulent time. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has just announced plans to scrap minimum energy efficiency targets for homes, begging the question of how much authorities prioritise making homes warmer and better for the environment.

The new training scheme, which will be delivered until 31^st March 2024, will be focused on two packages:

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

Under the £5m Heat Training Grant, five new training providers – based across England – will assist in developing a new generation of heat network professionals by offering courses to educate them on how to install the new technologies.

The project will provide £500 off the cost of training per person, which often costs around £500-£600 to complete – meaning all or the majority of funds will be covered by the government.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education, said: ‘Low carbon heating will be vital with supporting our nation’s drive to net zero by 2050. It’s no good making these leaps in technology if we don’t have thousands of people out there trained up to fit and maintain the pumps and other equipment.

‘This apprenticeship will provide exciting opportunities for the next generation to establish themselves in a fast-growing sector and be available to people of all ages to upskill, so everyone reaps the career benefits and can play their part in making homes and the economy more sustainable.’

Image: Sigmund

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