The Heat Pump Association is pleased to share new figures which highlight the significant progress in the number of people qualified to install heat pumps in the UK. Demonstrating the growing interest in the sector, the number of people training to become qualified heat pump installers has seen an impressive 166% increase from just under 3,000 in 2022 to almost 8,000 in 2023.
This increase brings the total number of qualified heat pump installers in the last two years to just under 11,000. While the data cannot determine whether qualified people are currently working in the sector, the exponential growth highlights the growing interest and investment in heat pumps in the UK and is testament to the work of training providers, heating engineers and manufacturers to expand the supply chain, supported by government grants. The HPA predicts that the UK needs the equivalent of 33,700 full-time heat pump installers to support the transition to clean heating systems in line with the government’s ambitions, and these figures show that good progress is being made.
Many of these 11,000 people will receive grants from various government programmes, including the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition, vocational camps and the ongoing Heat Training Grant. With the Heat Training Grant able to support around 6,000 additional heat pump apprentices in England over the next 13 months, this upward trend is expected to continue into 2024.