Two members of the Scottish parliament (MSP) have visited Vaillant’s Centre of Excellence training facility in Glasgow.
The visit coincided with an announcement that the Scottish government is set to fund a £17.6m Green Heat Innovation Support Programme and plan to make sure the right skills are in place to help decarbonise home heating. Patrick Harvie MSP, minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants’ rights, and Stephanie Callaghan MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, visited Vaillant to see how the company is planning to move the green skills agenda forward.
With a target of over 1m homes to be to be running on zero direct emissions heating systems by 2030, the installation of heat pumps plays a key role in the Scottish government’s low carbon future and green job plans, according to Vaillant’s representatives. As part of the visit, the MSPs witnessed a face-to-face heat pump course, where installers were learning how to install and commission the Vaillant air source heat pump range.
Vaillant’s facility offers training courses that build on what the company feels are needed to drive the net zero ambitions. The first of which is the need to upskill existing and new heating engineers. Current estimates suggest 100,000 heating engineers will need to be fully trained to get near the target of installing 600,000 heat pumps each year in the UK by 2028.
Patrick said: “I was pleased to announce the Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan and Green Heat Innovation Support Programme at Vaillant’s Centre of Excellence training facility in Glasgow. Having access to warm, comfortable places to live and work is essential to our nation’s health and wellbeing, and it is critical that the right skills are in place to help decarbonise home heating.
“This visit was a fantastic opportunity to understand Vaillant’s views on the journey to decarbonisation and see the great work that they are carrying out at their training centres in Scotland.”
Stephanie added: “It was a pleasure to see the training facilities at the Vaillant Centre of Excellence in North Lanarkshire. I’m really pleased that we have a training centre within my constituency that heating engineers can utilise to upskill, and ultimately help residents within Scotland switch to low carbon heating solutions.”
During the visit, Vaillant also discussed its latest partnership with Aberdeen Training Centre. The partnership is set to help extend its course availability through the training provider and college network.