The ‘Train the Green Trainer’ programme is providing college staff with the qualifications and knowledge to launch and deliver the Government’s first of its kind Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship across nine colleges from September 2024.
Daikin UK has delivered the first ‘Train the Green Trainer’ programme for 35 college tutors and staff across nine Greater Manchester colleges, including Hopwood College, Trafford College and Oldham College.
Supporting college trainers teaching in these new facilities is the next step to ensure learners are given a comprehensive foundation in sustainable and renewable energy technologies.
The UK is facing a major challenge to fill the green skills gap needed to meet the government’s ambitious target of net-zero by 2050 and its aim to have 600,000 heat pumps installed each year by 2028. It is estimated there are only 3,000 trained heat pump engineers in the UK – with more than 200,000 people need training for green energy roles by 2050.
Demand shows no sign of slowing, the government’s recent increase in funding available through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) from £5,000 to £7,500, saw a significant 173% increase in BUS grant applications, including heat pump installations.
The five-day course which is made up of BPEC level 3 in the Installation and Maintenance of Air Source Heat Pump Systems and a Daikin Monobloc Level 1 Installation, and Daikin Altherma 3 Level 2 Commissioning certification, delivered by Daikin.
Dan Jackson, Head of Training at Daikin UK, said: “Demand for heat pump installations is currently being let down by the lack of availability of trained and certified installers. At Daikin, we have the capacity to train more than 10,000 installers on air source heat pumps through our accredited and product related courses through Daikin Training Academies and through our extensive network of Sustainable Home Centres – and we’re striving to train around 30% of all installers in the industry. However, greater training and support to bolster access to installers is needed. Our partnership with Greater Manchester colleges will equip college staff and tutors with the tools needed to upskill a new generation of heat pumps installers and help fill the current installer gap.”
Daikin’s product courses are configured to progress from Installation through to advanced installation and commissioning which will cover the skills required to install Heat Pumps in a wide range of circumstances, also to fully configure and commission to suit the homeowners’ varying requirements.
Daikin UK is now working with college staff in Greater Manchester to install Daikin heat pumps at the colleges as part of the next stage of the partnership.
Iain Bevan, New Business Director at Daikin added: “Increased Government funding through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), and more awareness of the financial and energy saving advantages of heat pumps is driving increased appetite among UK homeowners – it’s vital that a wider pool of installers is on hand to meet this demand. Over the course of a heat pump’s 15-year lifespan, a typical three-bedroom home could save over 24,000 kg of CO2 compared with running a gas boiler, and achieve cost savings of more than £3,000*, which will rise significantly once the climate levy switches to gas and the price of electricity comes down. And if all 23 million gas boilers in the UK were replaced with heat pumps, the savings in wholesale gas costs would be worth around 1.2% of GDP (£26 billion).”
In Greater Manchester alone, there is a need for an additional 3,000 heat pump installers by 2027 and this can only be achieved by ensuring that there is training support available for the trainers themselves to pass on to the next generation of the workforce.
*Comparison between Daikin Altherma 3 LT Split heat pump and average gas boiler
