The government's £5 million Heat Training Grant has funded training for around 3,000 heat pump installers since it launched in July 2023, according to figures published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero1. The department said the grant will provide around 10,000 opportunities before April 2025 for heat pump and heat network professionals1.
The scheme was launched to support the growing demand for heat pump installations under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants towards the upfront cost of a heat pump1. The department said the target for 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028 is backed by government support1.
"So far this has funded training for around 3,000 heat pump installers since July 2023 and will provide around 10,000 opportunities before April 2025 for heat pump and heat network professionals"
The Heat Training Grant was launched in July 2023 to train heat pump installers and heat network professionals across England2. A separate £8.85 million skills scheme supports training for insulation and retrofit professionals, and the government has committed £15 million since 2020 to developing skills in the energy efficiency and low carbon heating sectors, supporting over 16,000 training opportunities to date2.
Installers working within government schemes must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or an equivalent body2. As of August 2023, there were over 1,500 businesses in the UK certified with MCS to install heat pumps, estimated to employ over 4,500 installers2.
The figures were published alongside wider Boiler Upgrade Scheme data. Applications in April 2024 were up 93% compared with April 2023, with 2,380 applications that month1. Average monthly applications between November and April rose 49% to 2,136, compared with 1,435 before grants were increased1. More than 40,000 applications have been made in total, with over 25,000 grants paid out and more than £148 million issued since the scheme started1.
Why it matters for households
The number of trained installers affects how quickly a household can get a heat pump fitted and how much choice it has over who does the work. A larger, certified installer base is the practical link between grant funding and a home actually getting a low-carbon heating system installed. For a household weighing up a heat pump, the availability of a local MCS-certified installer is a precondition for accessing grant funding at all2.
The training figures sit alongside the wider Heat Pump Grants and Funding Across the UK, which set the upfront support available. The government has said heat pumps are three times more efficient than gas boilers1, and the running-cost picture depends on tariffs designed for heat pumps as well as the installation itself.
What happens next
The Heat Training Grant is expected to provide around 10,000 training opportunities before April 20251. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been extended to 2028 with additional funding for each of the years following 20252. No further detail on the training grant beyond April 2025 has been reported.
Sources2 cited
- Demand for heat pumps rises following increase in applications to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme - GOV.UK, gov.uk
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme Regulations: consultation, assets.publishing.service.gov.uk