Energy secretary visits Panasonic’s training centre

UK: Energy secretary Grant Shapps has visited the new Panasonic heating and cooling systems training centre in Welwyn Garden City.

The visit by the Welwyn MP, last Friday, followed Grant Shapps’ recent trip to Japan for the G7 Summit during which he also visited the Panasonic factory and R&D facility in Tokyo.

During Friday’s visit to the Welwyn Garden City facility, the government minister was able to learn about, and see first-hand, Panasonic’s heat pump developments. He also learnt about Panasonic’s latest incentive – a new scheme to encourage installers to train in this new technology, by offering £500 in rewards on completion of their accredited heat pump training and their first Panasonic installation.

“It’s always encouraging to see local politicians and government ministers taking an active interest in the issues that matter to their constituents, and the recent visit by our MP and secretary of state is a great example of this,” commented Panasonic Heating & Cooling Solutions UK country manager Jose Alves.

Explaining the thinking behind Panasonic’s new heat pump training incentive, Panasonic UK’s head of renewables Paul Taylor said, “Training is a vital aspect of ensuring that our workforce has the skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing economy. It also helps ensure that the heat pump installations are of a high quality and provides reassurance in their reliability and high level of energy efficiency which not only helps reduce carbon but also helps reduce energy costs. It’s great to see that our MP recognises this.”