LEAMINGTON SPA: Plumb Center has announced a new training course that will enable its trade customers to practice as Green Deal Advisors.
Plumb Center sees the involvement of heating installers as central to the success of the Government's Green Deal scheme, which aims to boost the energy-efficiency of the UK's domestic and commercial building stock. Plumb Center itself is working towards Green Deal Provider registration, as well as supplying approved products, training and other support to its customers.
Only authorised Green Deal Installers may install energy efficiency measures under the Green Deal
finance mechanism, and Plumb Center is working with NAPIT to enable current heating installers to build on their existing skills by gaining Green Deal Installer accreditation.
However, Plumb Center believes that the best way of delivering a successful Green Deal will be for the Green Deal Installer also to act as a Green Deal Advisor – who will carry out a qualifying assessment of the property, and recommend measures to be installed. The person best placed to do this, in the opinion of Plumb Center, is the heating installer.
The new Green Deal Advisor course, specially developed by Plumb Center and its training partner Sevenoaks Energy Academy, involves both in-house training and some home study. This will give all the knowledge needed to produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and a Green Deal assessment.
There are no pre-course requirements for the standard course, which lasts seven days. However, if a person works as an electrician, Level 3 domestic plumbing or heating engineer, gas engineer, MCS installer, air conditioning engineer or structural engineer, they will already have some of the knowledge and skills required.
Therefore for those engineers who are Gas Safe registered or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified, a shorter five day course is offered.
Plumb Center also offers a shorter Green Deal Advisor course for certified Domestic Energy Assessors.Simon Allan, Plumb Center's director of renewables said: "We've developed this course in response to demand from our customers. They see the potential in Green Deal, and want to get their Green Deal training and other support from a company they know and trust, rather than people they've never heard of.
"The Plumb Center course is structured as a mixture of remote learning and classroom modules, to reduce the cost of gaining the Advisor qualification, and to minimise disruption to the trainee's business. It is important to remember, when comparing various courses, that the Plumb Center costs include the Green Deal Advisor Qualification and a bespoke software package to enable completion of a Green Deal assessment."
Plumb Center has already trained more than 600 people to BPEC and NICEIC-recognised qualifications in renewables technologies at its nationwide network of seven training centres. An eighth centre is soon to open in Falkirk.
