UK allocates £8.85 m to upskill people to make homes more energy efficient

26 / 07 / 2023

By Marwa Nassar - -

The UK allocated about £8.85 million to organize training courses to help up to 8,000 people to make homes more energy efficient.

The courses will be free or provided at low cost, and will cover a range of key energy efficiency measures, from putting in loft insulation to draft proofing measures. This will not only help drive household energy bills down and reduce emissions, but represents key employment opportunities for people to stay in and progress in work.

Training providers will have until 25 August 2023 to apply for the funding to deliver the courses, with training places expected to open later this year.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said “We’re investing billions of pounds to improve energy efficiency across the country – saving households hundreds on their bills while making sure Britain’s homes are fit for the future.”

“We’ve already helped millions of people to do this, but we need an army of skilled professionals able to install insulation and other energy-saving measures in homes across the country,” he said.

Today’s funding will give training providers the opportunity to put on the courses needed to help create the skilled workforce ready to join this rapidly-growing market, with people able to benefit from these courses at low or no cost.

Nearly half of homes in England now have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above, saving them hundreds on their energy bills. However, today’s funding will help deliver on the government’s ambitions to go further and faster, creating a new wave of skilled tradespeople while boosting opportunity in local communities and growing the economy.

Through the Home Decarbonization Skills Training Competition, accredited energy efficiency training will either be free or heavily subsidised saving trainees hundreds of pounds as they develop their skills and gain qualifications.

Successful organizations will provide training and support to installers to help build the capacity of the supply chain and upskill individuals which will support organizations to gain PAS 2030 certification, the industry specification which all energy efficiency installers must be certified to and compliant with to participate in government funded schemes. This will include installer training that leads to a recognized qualification NVQ or equivalent, and short courses.

Training, which will be delivered until 31 March 2024, will be focused on 2 packages; retrofit assessor and retrofit coordinator through provision and delivery of training to PAS 2035 standards, and insulation through provision and delivery of training to National Occupation Standards or higher in the installation of domestic insulation measures.

Derek Horrocks, chairman of the National Insulation Association (NIA) and the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) said “I am delighted to see the government is committing further funding towards retrofit skills and training through the Home Decarbonization Skills Training Competition.”

“Achievement of energy efficiency targets is vital to ensure that millions of people across the country can enjoy a warmer, healthier home. A fundamental requirement for achieving this ambition is building a workforce of sufficient size and skill to deliver.”

“Our members look forward to collaborating with all those working to develop green skills and make this competition a success.”