Monday 16 August 2021

Kwasi Kwarteng backs heat pump training scheme

Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng has backed a new heat pump training course, which aims to provide the heating industry with the skills required to meet the needs of Boris Johnson’s ‘Ten Point Plan’.

The training course has been launched by the Heat Pump Association (HPA) to overhaul the journey to becoming a heat pump installer and upskill current workers in the UK.

The ‘Ten Point Plan’, published last November, set a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 to decarbonise heat on the route to net zero.

The HPA has stated the course will be available across 38 training centres throughout the UK, with the capacity to train more than 40,000 installers each year.

Kwasi Kwarteng commented: “The Government is absolutely committed to working with industry to drive down the costs of heat pumps over time, so they are increasingly affordable for consumers.

“While heat pumps are fast becoming a natural option for households, we need to ensure we have enough skilled tradespeople to hit our target of 600,000 installations each year by 2028. The HPA setting up this training scheme is absolutely critical in this endeavour.

“Today’s news is a great example of how government and industry can work together to accelerate progress and create the high-skilled jobs needed to make homes greener and more energy-efficient.”