Lack of installers putting heat pump target at risk

More new heat pump installers will need to be trained every year between now and 2028 than there are currently in the sector if the UK is to meet its installation targets, a new report has claimed.

The government has set a goal of increase annual installations of heat pumps from around 30,000 in 2020 to 600,000 by 2028.

However, the report released by the charity Nesta on Thursday (7 July) estimated that there are currently only 3,000 heat pump engineers in the UK and at least another 27,000 will need to be trained over the next six years. This, it said, will require annual increases of 4,000 to 6,000.

The report, titled How to scale a highly skilled heat pump industry, found the sector is beleaguered with issues such as an ageing workforce and a lack of incentives for people to take up training.

It analysed the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) database and found there are around 1,300 companies certified by the MCS that install heat pumps. To meet government targets, the industry will need to add roughly 5,000 to 7,000 engineers every year from 2025 until 2035 as the sector scales up.

The report made a series of recommendations for how the sector can go about recruiting and training enough engineers. It said there is currently no single, clear route for someone new to the industry to train as a heat pump engineer, with training offers often “fragmented and sometimes inconsistent”.

“Providing clearer pathways, such as a low carbon heating apprenticeship, will make the training journey simpler, more comprehensible and attractive,” the report said.

To this end, the charity recommended that colleges, training providers and governments should work together to establish direct routes to training as a heat pump engineer.

The report said the heating sector will also need to address a lack of diversity as it seeks to replace an ageing workforce. Data from Gas Safe showed that of the 130,000 registered gas engineers in 2019, 82% were aged 41 and over and 58% were 51 and above. Just 6% of the total labour force was under the age of 35.

The report added: “Considering the high average age of engineers, and that many will be retiring within the next decade, the industry needs to cast the widest possible net to attract recruits who are currently underrepresented.”

Analysis of engineer job adverts found there is no financial incentive for gas boiler engineers to take on heat pump installation training, as wages for these jobs are broadly lower than for gas boiler installations and training can cost thousands of pounds.

To address this, Nesta called on the government to offer £5,000 incentive payments to train 5,000 heating engineers each year. It noted that this would cost one-sixth of the annual £150 million budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme at £25 million per year.

It said this could be “far more effective in meeting installation targets than subsidising homeowners to buy heat pumps”.

The report also proposed cash incentives for companies to encourage them to take on and train new heat pump engineers.

The charity additionally recommended that the government appoint a body to oversee the expansion of the low-carbon heating industry and workforce. This should develop a “clear action plan” and collect and publish data to track the growth of the sector.

It said governments across the UK should launch a national campaign about net zero homes, heat pumps and the crucial role of heat pump engineers to help “crystallise a new image for the sector”.

Nesta said the industry also needs to improve productivity and suggested that heating manufacturers should get involved more directly in training engineers.

Codrina Cretu, senior analyst of sustainable future at Nesta and one of the report’s authors, said: “A shortage of trained heat pump engineers could put a spanner in the works of the government’s net zero target.

“We will need thousands more heat pump engineers trained every year to make real progress in providing low-carbon alternatives to gas boilers and meet increasing demand for qualified installers, but this won’t happen while there is a risk of engineers spending more on training than they will make from it.

“Governments in the UK should look at trialling cash incentives to get more people and companies training heat pump engineers, as well establishing direct routes to training via low carbon heating apprenticeships and college courses.”

In response the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy disputed the figure for the number of current heat pump engineers and instead estimated there are around 4,000 – enough to match current levels of deployment.

A spokesperson added: “We are confident that we will hit our target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028, and have spent almost £6 million in support of training for tradespeople delivering home retrofit improvements.

“This is on top of providing 7,000 training opportunities, and working closely with industry to ensure that high-quality heat pump training is available.”