Funded training in heat pumps and energy efficiency

Training courses are being rolled out in England to grow a skilled workforce of heat pump and energy efficiency installers. The government has put up more than £9 million in funding for the winners of its Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.

The funding will pay for free or heavily subsidised training opportunities for installers of clean heating and energy efficiency measures and will be used to deliver 8,900 courses at accredited centres across

Vaillant has announced the death of Martin Butcher, who passed away on 24 December after a long illness.

Vaillant has paid tribute to Martin’s devotion to his career of more than 42 years. He was renowned for his technical excellence not just in Vaillant Group but the wider industry. He joined the company, known at the time as TI Glow-worm, in 1980, in the Research and Development department.

Martin grew his career over many years, starting as a workshop technician, progressing his career as a test engineer and finally became an R&D manager leading the development teams on projects such as the Glow-worm CXI and Flexicom ranges.

Martin also worked on other ground-breaking products such as the Fuelsaver, Hideaway, and the first condensing boiler, the Glow-worm Energysaver.

When the parent company of Glow-worm, Hepworth Heating, was taken over by Vaillant Group in 2001, Martin

England for prospective heat pump and energy efficiency installers.

Organisations will provide appropriate installer training that leads to a recognised NVQ qualification or equivalent and Continuing Professional Development-style short courses.

Organisations providing training include the BESA Academy, CB Heating, Elmhurst Energy, GTEC, Heat Geek, the Retrofit Academy and the North West Skills Academy.

A new FaultFinder digital tool from City Plumbing is helping housing associations diagnose heating system faults and identify replacement parts quickly and accurately.

The tool’s diagnostic capabilities mean that gas engineers will no longer need to be in the property to diagnose the problem.

Aimed at housing associations and private landlords, FaultFinder enables tenants to add details of their problem to an online portal or over the phone. used his research and development background to support starting the manufacture of Vaillant boilers in the UK.

This gives engineers the opportunity to restore heat and hot water as quickly as possible by triaging the issue remotely and understanding whether a visit is required or the tenant can fix the issue themselves.

If a home visit is required, engineers can quickly source the correct spare parts from their local City Plumbing branch before arriving at the property.

In more recent years, he took on the role of technical quality manager, managing a small team, supporting the business with understanding legislation changes, SAP updates and, most recently, working towards consultations on the Future Homes Standard and Part L updates.

Martin was a prominent member of the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) technical committee. His wealth of knowledge was never-ending, he showed patience to those who learned from him and was a mentor to many different people over the years.

Martin’s passion for engineering and knowledgesharing led to life-long friendships across the industry and he will be greatly missed by many.

Screwfix is extending its range of refurbished power tools, giving customers more sustainable options.

Last year the retailer launched a successful trial on Screwfix.com, giving tools a second and longer life, and it’s now growing the range to include more than 700 products. More than 75,000 items were refurbished in 2022.

When products are returned, they are fully PAT and functionality tested. All components and instructions are checked, cleaned and refurbished. Refurbished tools are supplied with all accessories and come with a one-year guarantee.

Where it is not possible to repair and refurbish a faulty product, Screwfix recovers spare parts and recycles.

The Strategic Management Board (SMB) is looking for an independent chair for an initial term of two years.

The successful applicant will be expected to chair and facilitate quarterly meetings and any extraordinary meetings, ensuring and monitoring that decisions taken are implemented. They will also act as a spokesperson with key stateholders.

The SMB ensures gas engineers are safe and competent by maintaining the Matters of Gas Safety assessment requirements, covered in the Nationally Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) and other routes to Gas Safe registration. It also maintains training requirements, covered in the Standards of Training in Gas Work (IGEM IG/1) and associated IGEM training specifications.

The position is not remunerated. Closing date for applications is 15 February 2023.

You can find out more about the role, its requirements and how to apply at: www. registeredgasengineer. co.uk/job/gas-industrystrategic-managementboard-chair/