Easton launches Renewables Hub to train apprentices in domestic green energy skills
1st November 2024
A new Renewables Hub at Easton College will play a key role in equipping plumbing and heating apprentices with the skills – in air source heat pumps, solar thermal systems, and rainwater harvesting - needed for the transition to low-carbon homes.
The Renewables Hub, based within the college’s Construction Skills Centre, will give plumbing and heating apprentices opportunities to practice installing, commissioning, and fault-finding on air source heat pumps, solar thermal hot water, and rainwater harvesting systems.
The Hub has been fitted with £100,000-worth of new equipment, including two air source heat pump demonstration rigs, designed and installed by R A Brown Heating Services Ltd, which are connected to a hot water cylinder and plumbed to radiators and sinks.
It also features a live rainwater harvesting rig, together with a fully operational solar thermal hot water system which is connected to solar panels on the outside of the Construction Skills Centre.
The teaching and learning space within the Renewables Hub is flexible, with room for additional rigs to be set up and tailored to employers’ particular training requirements.
Easton College is helping plumbing and heating businesses to train the next generation of engineers in low-carbon heating systems by offering a renewables pathway within the Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship Standard.
In addition, the college plans to introduce the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship Standard in 2025, designed to train those working exclusively on low carbon heating systems.
Demand for these skills is set to grow strongly, with the Labour Government committed to making Britain ‘a clean energy superpower’, and accelerating progress towards a net zero future, as one of its five missions for a better Britain.
With around 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from new and existing homes, replacing gas boilers with low-carbon heating systems is a key Government priority. A fundamental shift is underway in the plumbing and heating sector, with heat pump installations increasing by almost 20% last year.
The Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for Norfolk and Suffolk has identified net zero as a key priority, with a specific focus on increasing de-carbonisation skills and driving job creation. The linked Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) has provided £100,000 funding for the new equipment in the Renewables Hub.
Ben Goldsborough, MP for South Norfolk, officially opened the Renewables Hub on Friday 1st November. Mr Goldsborough commented:
I feel honoured to have opened the new Renewables Hub here at Easton College. The drive towards a green economy and net zero provides South Norfolk with an incredible opportunity to develop skills, create jobs, and generate sustainable, long-term economic growth.
“I firmly believe that South Norfolk can and should be at the heart of the technological revolution. We are right on the Science Corridor between Norwich and Cambridge, and we are home to some of the most innovative businesses, organisations and start-ups in the country. I want South Norfolk to lead Great Britain well and truly into the 21st century.
“Easton College’s new Renewables Hub is a perfect example of the ambitious and innovative thought which sets South Norfolk apart.”
Caron Goreham, Head of Apprenticeships for Easton College and City College Norwich, said:
We are already seeing a lot of interest from employers in the renewables pathway of the plumbing and heating apprenticeship, with two groups lined up to begin the apprenticeship this month and in January.
“As the adoption of air source heat pumps gathers pace, we expect to see the balance of plumbing and heating apprentices shift towards those on the renewables pathway and the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship Standard we’ll be introducing next year.
“The fantastic facilities in the Renewables Hub, which have been designed and installed by employers, give us everything we need to deliver this training. The flexibility of the space means we can continue to develop the facility as the technology evolves, as well as adapting to the particular training needs of our employer partners.”
Martyn Raine, Sector Skills Manager at MCS, which is supporting skills for the small-scale renewable energy sector, said:
The opening of the Renewables Hub at Easton College is a fantastic development and will help train a new generation of skilled workers. With Government policy setting a target of 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028, and recent announcements of additional funding for heat pump deployment, the heat pump workforce will need to grow, and Easton College will be at the forefront of realising that goal.”