A surge in tradespeople looking to upskill in heat pumps has been reported following government plans to subsidise replacement of gas boilers.
Findings by training provider Logic4training showed demand for heat pump training has skyrocketed since the government announced its Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
As part of the Heat and Buildings Strategy, from April next year, the UK government will be offering 90,000 households subsidies of £5,000 towards the cost of this low carbon technology.
Logic4training’s study showed a huge 6,700% year-on-year increase in online enquiries for heat pump training courses on the day that the government made the Heat and Building Strategy announcement.
There was also a 433% week-on-week increase in traffic to its Heat Pump Training Courses web page, a statement said.
Its study also showed that Google experienced the highest ever search interest for the query ‘air source heat pump course’.
Logic4training director Mark Krull said: “Gas boiler installations stop being installed in new-builds in 2025 and the government aims to phase out all new gas boiler installations by 2035. It has also been confirmed that under no circumstances will consumers be required to get rid of a working gas central heating system.
“As gas boilers have an average lifespan of 10 to 15 years it is fair to assume they will be around for at least another 30 years, if not more, requiring regular servicing and maintenance. Heat pump courses are designed for existing plumbing and heating engineers looking to upskill, providing a great opportunity for installers wishing to future-proof their business.”