The UK's low carbon ambitions will undoubtedly secure work for plumbing and heating engineers into the foreseeable future, the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF) has said.

Outlining her hopes and expectations for 2022, SNIPEF CEO, Fiona Hodgson has said that skills and renewables are two key areas for the construction industry.

She continued: "To meet this demand those already in the industry will need to upskill and there is added urgency to increase the number of apprenticeships if we are to secure a skilled and competent workforce able to design, install and maintain low carbon technologies.

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"My hope for 2022 is that we attract a more diverse range of people into an industry that will make a real positive contribution to climate change and social wellbeing. Furthermore, I would like to see additional financial support and/or tax breaks for employers who employ apprentices but who often struggle with the costs involved.

"The government ambition is for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed per annum by 2028 and for new and replacement gas boilers to be phased out by 2035 at the latest. While the ambition is commendable, without a clear route of how we will achieve this, it is simply a statement. While heat pumps are one solution other low carbon heat systems also need to be considered and I would like to see other technologies such as hydrogen forming part of government policy.

"To stimulate demand and confidence from consumers additional funding support will be necessary and levels of competency need to be stipulated for all installations to ensure quality."