Group Horizon has announced that more than 100 apprentices have registered for the Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Controls Engineer Apprenticeship since it was first launched in April 2021.
The apprenticeship was launched in partnership with the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) following a culmination of over four years of work by the Trailblazer Employer Group to address an industry-wide shortage of BEMS Controls Engineers. The seventh cohort of apprentices began their training in November 2022 taking the total number to 112.
Josh Parkin, assistant building management systems engineer at Durham University, said: “What attracted me to the BEMS and controls industry was the ability to manage field equipment such as heating, ventilation, cooling and hot water from an automatic system and how much energy saving it can achieve. I am enjoying the apprenticeship and have found it beneficial in my day-to-day role at work by putting what I learn on my course into action.”
Zach Stanley, a BEMS Apprentice with Kendra Energy, added: “I was very attracted to this industry because it allowed me the freedom and the ability to learn in a way I never had before. The hours of learning are in my hands and I can control it. I am able to attend site with another engineer each day and learn a different skill or different part of the system and it is amazing that I am able to have a job and learn at the same time.”
The training programme for the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship can be delivered on the apprentice’s company site and through classroom and/or online learning sessions. It can take up to 36 months to complete.
Peter Behan, director at Group Horizon, said: “100 registrations in less than two years is a significant milestone and we are delighted that we are helping to address what has been a serious issue for the Building Controls sector for some time.”
Graeme Rees, BCIA’s president, added: “The BCIA has long recognised that there has been a significant gap in skills and the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship was designed to help fill that gap. To have more than 100 people enrolled on the programme already represents a fantastic success on the part of the employer group that put it together.”