Thousands
of people will be equipped with the right skills to make homes more
energy efficient, thanks to new government funding which will see
training courses rolled out across the country.
From
today (Tuesday 25 July) training providers, such as colleges and
accreditation providers, will be 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 will be 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. This will not only help drive household energy
bills down and reduce emissions, but represents key employment
opportunities for people to stay in and progress in work.
Training
providers will have until 25 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.
Nearly
half of homes in England now have an Energy Performance Certificate
rating of C or above, saving them hundreds on their energy bills.
However, today’s funding will help deliver on the government’s ambitions
to go further and faster, creating a new wave of skilled tradespeople
while boosting opportunity in local communities and growing the economy.
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 31 March 2024, will be focused on 2 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
Derek Horrocks, chairman of the National Insulation Association (NIA) and the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) said:
I
am delighted to see the government is committing further funding
towards retrofit skills and training through the Home Decarbonisation
Skills Training Competition.
Achievement
of energy efficiency targets is vital to ensure that millions of people
across the country can enjoy a warmer, healthier home. A fundamental
requirement for achieving this ambition is building a workforce of
sufficient size and skill to deliver.
Our members look forward to collaborating with all those working to develop green skills and make this competition a success.
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
scheme builds on the £15 million provided since 2020 on skills
training, which has delivered at least 16,000 opportunities in the
energy efficiency, retrofit and low carbon heating sector.
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.
Energy
efficiency remains the best approach to reducing fuel poverty in the
long-term, contributing to warmer homes and reduced energy bills as well
reducing carbon emissions.
The
government is helping to make homes across the country more energy
efficient through the Home Upgrade Grant, and the Social Housing
Decarbonisation Fund and will extend support further through ECO4 and The Great British Insulation Scheme.
These
schemes are part of the £6.6 billion government is investing over this
Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings,
reducing our reliance on fossil fuel heating. In addition, £6 billion of
new government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.