The Energy Training Academy (ETA) has launched the first phase of a Scotland-wide growth plan with expansion into Glasgow.

The Edinburgh-headquartered energy education centre is on a mission to address the country's green skills shortage and will be delivering intensive heat pump courses at a new west coast training base.

Since ETA opened its doors 18 months ago, similar courses have been proving popular with companies keen to upskill their gas engineers as part of their renewables journey, and demand is also expected to be high along the M8.

The academy has joined forces with one of the market leading heat pump manufacturers, Daikin UK, to deliver the five-day courses at the company's Scottish HQ in Paisley, extending its portfolio of training and qualifications fully across Scotland's central belt.

They will be a combination of theory-based and practical followed by assessment. Successful completion of the intensive week-long programme will see candidates attain an NICEIC-approved award allowing them to install heat pumps. That will in turn allow the holder to be MCS registered which could open the door to government funding for customers.

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Running from September, it's the first time ETA's courses will have been available in the Glasgow area and marks a significant step forward in the academy's growth plans.

The Daikin collaboration comes after a recent tie-up with Octopus Energy Group, which will see hundreds of their engineers undergo training at the state-of-the-art Edinburgh centre.

Commenting on the expansion, ETA co-founder Mark Glasgow said: "It's a huge compliment to what we have created over the last year and a half and a really strong endorsement of what the academy is all about.

"It's a real boost to be so highly thought of by these companies. Having these partners on board will keep us moving forward at the right pace and keep creating optimism in the sector. It will also help push us on towards meeting the UK Government's target of 600,000 heat pump installations by 2028 as there is no doubt as a country we are well behind at the moment.

”To be able to deliver these training courses from coast to coast is a strong statement for the academy and with lots of good conversations being had, we want to be in a position to further extend our reach across Scotland.”

Technical director Ian Edgeworth said: "With an initial view to upskilling heating engineers in air source heat pump technologies, ETA also offers a suite of additional courses including water regulations, hot water safety systems, energy efficiency, safe electrical isolation and low temperature hot water and heating design amongst others to follow shortly.

"We're looking to partner with local authorities, businesses or individuals to offer training via the successful ETA model. For example, there may be some unused office spaces or empty buildings which could be transformed into a modern teaching facility and we are happy to explore any viable options.”

Daikin UK's Training Manager Daniel Jackson said: "Scotland is an important region for Daikin and being able to extend our training offering with the help of ETA means our customers have access to not only Daikin product training but to a full suite of valuable skills training courses that supports their transition into installing sustainable heating and hot water solutions."