Delays to the government’s ban on buying new gas boilers is leading to a specialist training centre ramping up its courses for engineers.
Gas boilers across the UK are being phased out and plans had initially been in place to ban their installation after 2025.
The Government last year delayed this deadline by 10 years to 2035. The deadline will mean that no new gas boilers can be installed and homeowners will be required to switch their boiler when it is due to be changed.
The Energy Training Centre at Evesham New College, which is part of college group WCG, is a purpose made training and assessment facility for individuals working in gas, electric, plumbing, heating and renewable energy.
It works primarily with small local businesses from across Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. The centre is equipped with the latest resources and systems to ensure training meets the ACS Gas Training standards.
Roy Thomson, WCG Centre Coordinator for the Energy Training Centre, says that the change of deadline means that its vital that training is still being delivered to develop gas engineers.
“When the government first revealed its plans for the 2025 deadline, a lot of people in the gas industry started to look at diversifying into other sectors, and if you were a young person coming into the industry you likely wouldn’t have chosen to focus on gas,” said Roy.
“However, with the government now pushing that deadline back by 10 years, there is a new demand for engineers to deliver servicing and works associated to gas boilers.
“We need to keep developing individuals with this skill-set and we are hoping to be able to run multiple courses a month at Evesham New College to deliver this training.
“There is still a need for more gas engineers and, as with many professions, there is a skills shortage in the sector.”
The Energy Training Centre delivers training programmes to encourage people to work in the industry through apprenticeships and full-time programmes, while also specialising in bespoke training for existing professionals and employers.
It specialises in plumbing heating and ventilation, while offering ACS gas training and assessment for natural gas and LPG, vented and unvented hot water systems, OFTEC servicing and maintenance of oil tanks/vessel and boiler accreditation and energy efficiency.
For more information about Evesham New College’s Energy Training Centre visit https://wcg.ac.uk/page/116/the-energy-training-centre