Warm Homes Skills Programme

The £8 million Warm Homes Skills Programme, running until July 2026, will provide subsidised training opportunities of up to 9,000 for installers and retrofit professionals, including installing insulation and solar panels in homes and non-domestic properties.

There will be 4 work packages covering courses in:

• fabric insulation and solar panel installation
• skills for working on non-domestic buildings
• retrofit assessor and retrofit coordinator qualifications
• shorter entry-level courses for those new to the retrofit sector

Financial support to training providers across England will be available through a skills competition to fund delivery of accredited and non-accredited Ofqual-registered courses. Trainees currently working in the energy efficiency and building retrofit sectors in England, as well as those aiming to enter the sector, will be able to benefit from funding.

The aim of the programme is to increase supply chain capacity and competence which will support the delivery of government retrofit schemes and the decarbonisation of buildings in support of the government’s Warm Home Plan ambition.

A maximum of £1 million will be available for each competition project in the first phase, across all four work packages, subject to subsidy control restrictions. The number of projects funded will depend on the range of solutions proposed and the quality of the proposals received.

Successful projects will be expected to achieve one or more of the following competition objectives:

• deliver high-quality fabric and solar installation training to National Occupational Standards, or higher as appropriate, resulting in an accredited qualification for the trainee that is aligned to PAS 2035/2030 or MCS standards
• deliver high-quality training in retrofit coordination and retrofit assessment skills to PAS 2035 or PAS 2038 standard, leading to the relevant accredited qualification
• deliver high-quality entry level retrofit awareness training to begin the career journey of those new to the retrofit sector

In addition, successful projects will be expected to provide trainees with a strong understanding of the routes into the retrofit sector and the opportunities within the government’s energy efficiency schemes. This may include providing tailored training and careers support to unemployed people and those currently underrepresented in the construction sector.

How to apply

Training providers will need to:

• read the competition guidance
• complete and submit the application form to whsp@nottinghamcity.gov.uk by midday on 617 June 2025

Responses should be in PDF format and clearly show how the application meets the requirements of the work package chosen. The subject line of the email should include ‘WHSP application submission’.

When responding, training providers should state the work package(s) and geographical area(s) that their proposal relates to.

Further information

The programme will be administered by the Midlands Net Zero Hub on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. For further information on the scheme, please contact the Midlands Hub at WHSP@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.