Daikin UK partners with Greater Manchester colleges to boost green heating training

Low-carbon heating specialist, Daikin UK is working in partnership with colleges and training providers across Greater Manchester to help train the next generation of green heating installers as the nation shifts away from fossil fuel boilers.

In partnership with the Green Skills Academy, Daikin UK will deliver the first ‘Train the Green Trainer’ programme for college tutors and staff at nine Greater Manchester colleges, including Hopwood College, Trafford College and Oldham College – with the ambition to train 50 heating and plumbing tutors by April 2024.

The aim is to develop a dedicated training programme to address the lack of certified heat pump installers in the region, which are crucial to Greater Manchester’s ambition of being a net zero city by 2038.

The five-day course 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. It will equip college staff with the qualifications and know-how to launch and deliver the Government’s first of its kind Low Carbon Heating Apprenticeship across these colleges from September 2024.

Daikin UK will also be working with college staff in Greater Manchester to install Daikin heat pumps at the colleges on completion of the five-day course.

It is estimated there are only 3,000 trained heat pump engineers in the UK – yet at least 27,000 will be needed in the next six years alone. The UK is facing a major challenge to fill the green skills gaps 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 - 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 per cent increase in BUS grant applications, including heat pump installations.

Martin Passingham, Head of Product and Training at Daikin UK, said: “Demand for heat pump installations in the region is currently being let down by the 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 the Green Skills Academy 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.

“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 per cent of GDP (£26bn).”