Manchester receives heat pump training boost
19th February 2024
UK: A partnership between Daikin UK, the Quantum Group and the Green Skills Academy will deliver heat pump training for college tutors and staff at nine Greater Manchester colleges.
The aim is to train 50 heating and plumbing tutors by April 2024 and subsequently develop a dedicated training programme to help train the next generation of heat pump installers.
“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,” said Daikin UK’s head of product and training Martin Passingham.
The five-day course will be made up of an LCL Awards Level 3 in the Installation and Maintenance of Air Source Heat Pump Systems, delivered by the General Services Administration (GSA), and a Daikin Monobloc Level 1 Installation, and Daikin Altherma 3 Level 2 Commissioning certification, delivered by Daikin.
It will provide college staff with the qualifications and knowledge to launch and deliver the government’s first of its kind Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship across the colleges – including Hopwood College, Trafford College and Oldham College – from September 2024.
“Our Green Skills Academy was established in 2023 to play a key role in overcoming the biggest barrier we are facing across the UK to achieving net zero, by training the workforce to overcome the skills shortage,” commented Roosevelt Alexander, director of the Green Skills Academy at the Growth Company.
“In Greater Manchester alone, we need an additional 3,000 heat pump installers by 2027 and this can only be achieved by ensuring that there is training support available for the trainers themselves to pass on to the next generation of the workforce.”
Daikin Europe signed a partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority last year to create a test-bed for net-zero technologies and services in public buildings, including social housing.
Part of the agreement was that Daikin would also address the shortage of human resources for HVACR technology and installation in the UK, including developing training programmes with schools and re-employment centres in Greater Manchester as well as creating an official qualification system.
Related stories:
Daikin picks Manchester for heat pump trials – 6 February 2023
BELGIUM/UK: Daikin Europe has signed a partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to create a test-bed for net-zero technologies and services in public buildings, including social housing. Read more…
