The South Lanarkshire College has launched a new BPEC certified approved mobile training and assessment facility which is now available to colleges across Scotland to provide heat pump training to heating installers.
The service is to focus on rural and remote areas and in places where there isn’t currently college training provision. The mobile centre is to also act as an extra training facility for colleges responding to surplus demand for heat pump training.
Installers will be able to visit the mobile centre to be trained and certified on heat pump installations and also to gain their Water Byelaws/Regulations and Domestic Vented and Unvented Hot Water Storage qualifications.
The mobile training facility was launched by Mr Graeme Dey, Minister for higher education, further education and Minister for veterans at South Lanarkshire College on 2 August.
The project has been fully funded by the Scottish government and has come to fruition due to a collaboration between Energy Saving Trust, Energy Skills Partnership (ESP), South Lanarkshire College and NIBE Energy Systems.
Harry Mayers, head of home energy Scotland and business energy Scotland at Energy Saving Trust, said: “We’re pleased to see this project coming to life. The Green Heat Installer Engagement Programme identified challenges the industry was facing from the lack of training provision in remote and rural areas of Scotland.
“This new facility is designed to play a key part in addressing the need for better training provision in these areas and support Scotland’s ambitions to decarbonise the way we heat our homes and buildings.”
Primarily, the centre will be used by colleges to deliver heat pump training locally. When not in use for training, other organisations with a legitimate purpose can use the training centre. The Green Heat Installer Engagement programme, managed by Energy Saving Trust, will administer the training resource in partnership with ESP.
Energy Saving Trust, ESP, and South Lanarkshire college are grateful to NIBE who have provided their latest equipment on ground and air source heat pumps for the facility in kind, as well as assisted with the design of the technologies and provided support throughout the development stages.
Stella McManus, principal at South Lanarkshire College, added: “This facility will also help meet the Scottish government’s “Heat in Buildings Strategy” over the next few years and showcases heat pump technology to a wider audience including schools and the communities that colleges serve across Scotland.
“South Lanarkshire College’s commitment to responding to climate change has been evident for more than fifteen years and is sector leading, therefore we look forward to the project’s success.”