A campaign to address a lack of certified heat pump installers in the UK has been launched with installers told there is a huge opportunity ahead. Energy Efficiency at City Plumbing, is behind the campaign, which is set to include a tour of the UK later in the year.
The campaign aims to address the lack of installers qualified to install heat pumps, which will be required to help meet the country’s ambition to decarbonise home heating in the drive for Net Zero.
Hemal Morjaria, Managing Director, Energy Efficiency at City Plumbing, speaking at the official launch of the company’s first Energy Efficiency Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire, said: “We are calling on installers to take this opportunity to upskill – and for the industry to make training as accessible as possible.
“The Heat Pump Association estimates we will need 30,000 certified installers to meet the government’s desire for 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. So, there is a lot of work to do to convince and inspire installers to take up training.
“This skills gap was identified way back in 2019 by the Committee for Climate Change, and it is one of the key reasons we’ve opened our Energy Efficiency Centre. The aim is to help customers gain access to training, improve their own businesses and to help the country towards Net Zero.”
Energy Efficiency at City Plumbing has partnered with GTEC Training to offer heat pumps training and is also opening its new Centre to the public.
Hemal added: “The Energy Efficiency Centre is designed to help transition installers across to new technologies and to display the technologies we have here at City Plumbing. That includes heat pumps, solar panels, underfloor heating.
“This means homeowners can visit to find out more about alternative heat source technology, be inspired by what they see and visualise how it would work in their own homes.”
The next step in the campaign is a ‘Forward Together’ trade tour in conjunction with leading suppliers, to educate and inspire customers on alternative home heating solutions.
The tour will visit 47 branches in England, Wales and Scotland between June and September.
A full list of the branches taking part can be found here: https://eecityplumbing.co.uk/forward-together-tour
IMAGE: (left to right) Adam Foy (Chief Commercial Officer – Highbourne Group), Dave Evans (CEO – Highbourne Group) and Hemal Morjaria (Managing Director, Energy Efficiency at City Plumbing)
