Against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis and high fuel costs, recent research1 has revealed that over two thirds of Brits (69%) would be willing to invest in their current home to make it more sustainable to help save money.

At the same time, the government continues to boost spending for green home upgrades. As part of this, the Autumn Budget saw the announcement of a £6bn funding pot allocated to cutting energy use and bills in around a million homes. Of this, it was more recently announced that an extra £1.25bn will be put toward the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund which will be used to insulate or retrofit 140,000 low income, cold, social homes between 2025 and 2028.2

NICEIC technical director Paul Collins comments: “With a variety of heating incentives and grants available, it is likely that plumbing and heating engineers will see an increase in demand for low-carbon, energy efficient and renewable technologies. This means that installers need to be fully clued up on the latest and most advanced solutions so that they can not only advise their customers, but also be skilled on the installation of these new technologies.

“With this, it is now more crucial than ever that they invest in upskilling and they can do this by undertaking training and increasing their knowledge – especially when it comes to electrical installations. From solar thermal through to heat pumps, the range of low carbon technologies available now is vast. Those installers who do invest in good training and have a solid understanding of electrical requirements, will be better placed to unlock the opportunity.”

With this in mind, NICEIC has developed a new range of qualifications for heating and plumbing engineers seeking to ensure upskill their knowledge and competence in key emerging low carbon categories. Delivered by NICEIC's leading industry experts, the new qualifications are:

Solar thermal hot water

The training and assessment have been designed to provide the necessary skills for the design, installation, testing, commissioning, handover, servicing and fault-finding of solar thermal hot water systems in accordance with the latest NOS/QCF criteria.

Heat pumps

The training and assessment have been designed to provide the necessary skills for the design, installation, testing, commissioning, handover, servicing and fault-finding of ground and air source heat pump systems in accordance with the latest NOS/QCF criteria and MCS scheme requirements.

NICEIC head of business development & strategic partnerships, Neil Vincent commented: 'As crucial contributors to achieving Net Zero, plumbing and heating engineers play a vital role in the nation's transition to not only heat pumps but other low carbon technologies. However, to facilitate this switch they need to upskill and collaborate effectively with electrical contractors. Our new offering reflects these needs, and we are thrilled to bring these new courses to the heating and plumbing market.”