‘It’s better to embrace renewables than get left behind’
Just over half of the 1,000 vouchers issued to gas engineers to upskill to renewables at a discount have gone unused and now expired, says GTEC Training.
The Renewable Heat Installer Training & Support Scheme (RHITSS) offers discounted training and support in heat pump or solar thermal installation, with up to 70 per cent of costs covered, including training and MCS certification fees.
The scheme issued vouchers to 1,000 installers, worth up to £1,300 each, but the company’s Griff Thomas says he’s disappointed that nearly 500 vouchers have now expired unused. “It’s demonstrative of the general apathy towards upskilling into low-carbon technologies,” says Griff.
“There is no doubt that the government needs to do more to implement and fund installer training programmes to back up its ambitious policies. However, there are already some great opportunities out there for trades people with a positive mindset and an eye on the future.
“The government has promised 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028 but we have nowhere near enough installers to scale up to this level – currently, there are around 1,000 MCS-certified heat pump installers.
“Building services installers need to be thinking about their next move now. Don’t just dismiss upskilling as something that is too expensive and time-consuming – for most experienced installers, heat pump training takes just a week. The decarbonisation of heat is happening and it’s better to embrace it than get left behind.”
The expired vouchers will now be reissued, and you can find out more by calling 01969 666111.
