The Heat Training Grant Explained

✔ The Heat Training Grant gives engineers £500 discounts on training courses

✔ The £5 million scheme should help to train 10,000 new heat pump installers

✔ 38 training providers all over England are qualified to offer the discount

Heat pumps are a crucial part of reaching net zero, and they’re increasing in popularity – but not quickly enough.

One of the main reasons behind this is the lack of trained installers, which is why the government has introduced the Heat Training Grant.

This scheme allows some providers to offer massively discounted rates on heat pump and heat network training programmes, which will make them more affordable for new engineers.

If you’d like to get a heat pump, fill in this quick form with a few details, and we’ll put you in touch with local experts who’ll give you free heat pump quotes.

What is the Heat Training Grant?

The Heat Training Grant is a government grant of up to £500 that engineers in England can use to subsidise short heat network and heat pump training courses.

The government said it hopes the scheme will run until March 2025

The grant was created to increase the number of engineers who are able to install eco-friendly domestic heating systems, like heat networks (which are also known as district heating) and heat pumps.

With an initial investment of £5 million, it should train 10,000 heating engineers.

Who is eligible for the Heat Training Grant?

Almost all trainees in England will be eligible for the Heat Training Grant.

You can qualify if:

• You’re a sole trader, unemployed, or employed by a company with 250 (or fewer) employees
• Either you or the company that employs you are certified by a competent person scheme for heating and hot water installations, like APHC, BESCA, Blue Flame Certification, NICEIC, Gas Safe Register, HETAS, NAPIT, OFTEC, or Stroma
• The government hasn’t given you or the company that employs you grants totalling more than £315,000 in the past three years

If you’re not certain that you fulfil all these requirements, ask one of the training providers that offer the grant.

All eligible courses are short and targeted at trainees who have previous experience in heating, construction, and/or building.

How do you apply for the Heat Training Grant?

You don’t need to apply for the Heat Training Grant.

Providers entered a competition to secure government funding that now enables them to offer courses with a Heat Training Grant discount.

You can take advantage of the Heat Training Grant by registering for a relevant course with any of the 38 training providers offering courses with the grant’s discount.

This list includes plenty of educational institutions, as well as manufacturing powerhouses like Baxi, Daikin, and Worcester Bosch.

Courses are available all over the country – from the north-east to the south-west – so you should have no trouble finding one near you.

Which heat training providers can you use?

You can use any of the 38 companies offering a valid Heat Training Grant course.

Check out the list below to see which educational and corporate organisations have qualified.

How much will you pay with the Heat Training Grant?

You’ll pay as little as nothing if you choose a course that uses the Heat Training Grant.

Prices range from free up to £450, with most courses costing around £200 after the grant’s £500 discount.

The exact amount you pay will depend on the course you choose, and which provider you go with.

We’d recommend looking at all the providers in your area, and making a choice based on their respective prices and reputations.

Can you get extra support on top of the Heat Training Grant?

Certain heat pump manufacturers are offering extra discounts and perks to engineers who take a Heat Training Grant-eligible course with them – on top of the initial £500 reduction.

Ideal Heating

Ideal will give you an extra £500 discount if you take a Heat Training Grant course at any of its locations in Yorkshire, the south east, and the south west.

The Hull-based company has promised that engineers will be able to receive training for a £100 registration fee.

Worcester Bosch

Worcester Bosch is offering a free additional training programme to any engineers who take a Heat Training Grant course at its Wakefield, West Thurrock, or Worcester centre.

Choose from Low temperature heating design, Water regulations, Hot water systems and safety, Basic electrics for heating engineers, Wiring of central heating systems, Introduction to renewable heating, and Compress 7000i air to water and hybrid heat pumps.

NIBE

NIBE will hand over a £1,300 discount to engineers who take a Heat Training Grant course, but there’s a catch: the discount isn’t on the initial course.

To access it, you’ll need to become a NIBE Pro member afterwards, then take one or more of the Swedish company’s courses available in the NIBE Pro package – which is where you can use your £1,300 discount.

Vaillant

Vaillant is offering an extra £500 discount to engineers who take one of the company’s Heat Training Grant courses at its centres in Belper, Bristol, Elland, Farnborough, Maidstone, and Sunderland – though, again, it’s only valid on an additional course from Vaillant.

You can choose from a list including Low temperature heating and hot water design, Design of heat pump systems, Water regulations, Vented and unvented hot water systems, and Electrical safe isolation.

Baxi

If you sign up for a training course at one of Baxi’s Dartford, Warrington, and Warwick centres and go on to install a Baxi air source heat pump, the company will give you reward points.

Why was the Heat Training Grant created?

The Heat Training Grant was created to make heat pump training courses affordable for engineers, with the goal of attracting more people to the industry.

This will hopefully lead to an increase in heat pump installations.

The UK has fallen behind on its path to net zero, with just 69,000 domestic heat pumps installed in 2022, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – a sharp increase on 2021, but far below the year’s target of 130,000.

One reason for this shortfall is a lack of qualified installers.

There are only around 3,000 heat pump engineers across the country, which is not nearly enough to meet the current demand, and far below what’s needed to match future demand.

The CCC stated that the UK will need 30,000 new engineers by 2030 to hit the necessary targets to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

If the Heat Training Grant succeeds, 10,000 new installers will be trained in its initial two-year run, which is a good start.

Will the Heat Training Grant be a success?

The Heat Training Grant has a high chance of success, as long as all the groups involved throw their weight behind it.

The initial cost of training is the main barrier for many potential installers, so taking away that obstacle should attract thousands more young engineers to the industry.

However, the government and the organisations offering the training schemes need to promote it properly, ensuring prospective installers hear about the offer.

The government has failed with initiatives like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Green Homes Grant because it didn’t spread the message well enough. People won’t engage with schemes if they don’t know they exist.

If the government and training providers promote the scheme properly – and funding is maintained until the current March 2025 end date and beyond – the programme could be a crucial step on the road to net zero.

Next steps

You now have all the information you need about the Heat Training Grant.

If you’re a budding engineer, it’s a great way to get some important training without spending all your money.

Once you’ve passed one of these courses, you’ll be able to start installing heat pumps.

If you’d like to see how much a heat pump would cost you, fill in this quick form with a few details, and we’ll put you in touch with trusted installers who’ll give you free heat pump quotes.

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