Kevin Clarke, account delivery manager at Procure Plus, shared his insight on the government’s £8m investment into the Warm Homes Skills Programme.
Anything that helps tackle the retrofit skills shortage should be welcomed, and the government’s new Warm Homes Skills Programme is no exception. This £8 million investment promises to open doors for thousands of people and help ease one of the most persistent and pressing bottlenecks in the retrofit supply chain.
At Procure Plus, we’ve seen first hand just how urgent this issue is. In the past four years alone, we’ve procured over £250m worth of retrofit contracts, and across every single one, the message from contractors and clients alike has been the same: we don’t have enough trained people to deliver the work.
That’s why we’ve taken action. We’ve partnered with City and Guilds to support upskilling programmes for existing employees in the installation and maintenance of green technologies. This includes training for electrical and plumbing staff to install and maintain air source heat pumps and solar PV systems. Additionally, we’ve collaborated on pioneering initiatives like the construction training programme at HMP Styal, marking the first-ever construction workshop within the women’s prison estate.
But we’re under no illusion that this is enough. The scale of the challenge is huge. Meeting net-zero goals, upgrading thousands of homes, and building a greener economy will take an industry-wide effort.
Skills development can’t sit on the sidelines of retrofit delivery – it has to be central to it. That’s why employment outcomes sit at the heart of every single procurement we undertake. We don’t just want contracts to be delivered efficiently and on time – we want them to leave a legacy. That means new jobs, apprenticeships, training opportunities, and long-term career paths, especially for those furthest from the job market.
So, while this programme is a significant stride forward, it’s imperative that we view it as part of a broader, collaborative effort to build a resilient, skilled workforce ready to meet the challenges of a net-zero future.