The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has welcomed the Heat and Buildings strategy, and has also called for a focus on training and skills for low-carbon technologies.
The Government announced that new gas boilers will be banned from 2035, and it has pledged to drive down the cost of installing and operating electric heat pumps by shifting green surcharges from electricity to gas bills to make heat pumps cheaper to run.
It will also offer installation grants of up to £5,000 to homeowners as part of a £450m fund launching in April.
BESA chief executive officer David Frise said: “This is welcome detail that confirms some of the government’s earlier commitments.
“However, delivering on the country’s wider low carbon pledges now requires a concerted focus on training and skills.
“Switching the industry from traditional fossil fuel solutions to more renewable and low carbon systems requires a monumental programme of reskilling and recruitment,” he said. “It also has major supply chain implications. We are not just talking about single pieces of technology here – installing a heat pump (or any fossil fuel alternative) calls for a certain approach to projects and requires installers to consider the building as a complete system.
“Someone who has spent their career installing boilers cannot just turn round and start putting in heat pumps without detailed training to understand the nuances of low-temperature heating including improving building insulation.
“Low carbon more efficient heating systems such as heat pumps will be no more expensive – and in many cases may end up cheaper – to buy and run than gas boilers,” said the department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). “This will significantly reduce the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels and exposure to global price spikes, whilst supporting up to 240,000 jobs by 2035.”
BESA said its members and the wider built environment sector were ready to step up to the challenge of developing a larger skilled workforce to underpin the government’s strategy but called for greater support for employers and wider promotion of built environment careers.
