OFTEC representatives have announced that it has been successful in a bid for funding available under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.
The funding is set to enable heating technicians to undertake training on air source heat pumps and the design of heat pump heating systems at greatly reduced cost, through OFTEC’s network of approved training centres. Funding is also being made available through the competition for training skilled retrofit and energy efficiency installers.
The funding available through the competition, which is worth £9.2m in total, is specifically targeted at small to medium sized businesses. The competition is designed to boost the number of installers able to install technologies needed to enable homes to be net zero ready, according to BEIS representatives.
David Knipe, training manager at OFTEC, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been successful in this competition. For small businesses moving into renewables, the cost of training can be a significant barrier, so initiatives such as this are extremely welcome.
“Building the number of skilled installers will be essential if we are to achieve our decarbonisation objectives. We hope this funding will enable many more to undertake training through our network of centres, which will make them eligible to join the microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) and support the deployment of heat pumps, a key low carbon heating technology.”
The funding is only available for training centres and technicians based in England, business leaders have said. The details of the scheme are still being finalised, however, it is expected the subsidised training will be available from the beginning of 2023.