Almost 9,000 free or heavily subsidised training courses will be running across England until March 2023 for people working or looking to start roles in green energy and building retrofit.
The courses are being delivered by 18 training providers across the country, from the Isle of Wight to Newcastle, who all won funding as part of the government’s Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.
The training available is designed for people already working in the heating and plumbing sector who are looking to retrain or grow their existing skills, as well as for those looking to enter and work in the energy efficiency, building retrofit and low carbon heating sectors.
“The green energy sector is driving growth and creating jobs right across the country, and this funding will make sure we have enough tradespeople trained up and able to take advantage of these opportunities,” said business and energy minister Lord Callanan.
Billions of pounds slated for home energy efficiency
The aim of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training scheme is to build both the overall number and skill levels of trained installers across England to help achieve the government’s ambition to ramp up the pace of upgrading the nation’s homes.
According to government-backed estimates, improving the fabric of every building in the country in need of energy efficient retrofit will require 12,000 workers to be trained every year to 2025.
The government has so far committed to £6.6 billion of funding for energy efficiency during this parliament, with a further £6 billion committed to 2028. An additional £4 billion will be delivered through the current round of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme to 2026, which obligates large energy suppliers to deliver home insulation measures in low income and vulnerable households.
In addition, a new £1 billion ECO+ scheme will install measures in hundreds of thousands more households who have previously not been able to access support through the ECO scheme.
Find training courses
A full list of the winning training providers and the courses on offer is available on gov.uk.
