According to a statement, more than 500 trainee heat pump installers have signed up to Stiebel Eltron UK’s training courses, with around 170 having completed either the in-person or online courses. This follows the company’s £350,000 investment in a new centre.
Out of those to complete the course, 91% rated the content as extremely high, with 94% ranking the trainers as excellent and 100% saying they would recommend it.
According to a statement, Stiebel Eltron UK is currently set to deliver some 1,200 qualified engineers throughout 2023, almost half of the 3,000 which are currently available.
With the government aiming to deliver the installation of 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028, the increase in installers to fit them is a welcome boost to the market. It is estimated that to reach this target the number of UK heat pump installers would need to increase exponentially to 27,000.
Recognising a glaring gap to meet demand, Stiebel Eltron UK set about creating a training programme at its Bromborough headquarters which would cater for new-to-industry trainees and act as a viable tool to help the country’s 120,000 gas boiler installers transition towards heat pumps.
As a result, Stiebel Eltron UK created a new 280m2 training suite, which provides trainees with practical, hands-on experience, as well as producing a comprehensive course to complement it.
With the training course offering one and two-day programmes, depending on experience, attendees are introduced to the world of heat pumps, covering Stiebel Eltron UK’s products, their installation, maintenance and decommissioning.
For those unable to attend in person, Stiebel Eltron UK created an online training course, Heat Pump Pass, which is designed to give trainees a basic understanding of how heat pumps work and key considerations when carrying out an installation.
As well as training installers, Stiebel Eltron UK is committed to seeing them lead the industry going forward by providing them with HP Easy, a post-training support package which ensures high-quality technical support is available to them and their customers during any project.
Mark McManus, managing director at Stiebel Eltron UK, said: “Since launching the new training centre in November last year we’ve seen an influx of trainees signing up to gain better understanding of the heat pump industry.
“We recognised that while there was growing demand for heat pumps, this wasn’t necessarily reflected in the number of installers available and so decided to act with the development of our own training centre and training programme.”