Heating engineers can now get £500 towards training to become qualified heat pump installers through the government’s £5m Heat Training Grant.
As part of building a skilled workforce to scale up heat pump installations, over 60 approved training centres across England will provide more than 6,000 heating engineers with the skills needed to qualify as a heat pump engineer. This will be backed by a ‘generous discount’ to make it even easier for people to train, a statement has said.
The scheme will provide £500 off the cost of training per person which usually costs around £600 to complete, meaning the vast majority will be covered by the government, it said.
Meanwhile, the Heat Training Grant Competition for heat networks has also opened today for training providers to bid for £500 discounts to train up to 4,000 new heat network professionals.
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “Heat pumps and heat networks are critical technologies for decarbonising heat – and play an important role in the country’s push towards net zero.
“With consumer demand set to surge in the coming years, we have committed to helping industry manufacture our own heat pumps and we will need thousands more expert installers ready for action.
“This grant will not only give the rollout of heat pumps and heat networks a huge boost but will help to develop a skilled workforce who will reap the rewards of joining a thriving installer market.”