Yahoo Finance Net Zero heat pump target under threat as engineers lured away by higher wages
The Government’s target for heat pump installations is under threat because salaries are not competitive enough to lure engineers, new figures have suggested.
Data from job site Adzuna found there were 2,313 advertised vacancies for electrical engineers in January, up 18.3pc year-on-year from 1,955 in January 2022.
But average salaries for such roles had only increased by 1.7pc in the same period – reaching £46,337 in January 2023.
This is below the 2pc UK average for wage growth, according to Adzuna’s data for advertised salaries, which rose to £37,060 in 2023.
The Government hopes to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, however, concerns have been mounting that there may need to be three times as many engineers qualified to install them as there are now.
Adzuna found there were more lucrative industries for engineers to pursue, including roles as a design engineer (average salary of £47,564 a year), nuclear engineers (£60,720) and control instrumentation engineers (£67,127).
It found that advertised salaries for design engineers had increased 12.5pc year-on-year, suggesting employers are increasing pay to compete for talent with employers seeking electrical engineers.
Engineers are required to possess an MCS certification to work with heat pumps. Adzuna’s data found only three advertised roles asked for applicants to possess one, suggesting employers were open to providing training on the job.
However, Paul Lewis, of Adzuna, said pay for electrical engineering roles were “slipping behind” despite some firms being “bullish” to poach engineers.
He added: “Against these headwinds, it could be a real challenge to grow the specialist electrical engineer workforce quickly enough to meet carbon goals.
“Offering on-the-job training as an incentive could be one way to address that.”
The high costs of installing heat pumps have also proven off-putting for households, as a typical installation costs £13,000 upfront, though there is a £5,000 government grant available.
Mike Foster, of the Energy Utilities Alliance, a trade body, said finding a qualified installer would still be a “major barrier” to Boris Johnson’s “fantasy” target of 600,000 installations a year.
He said: “We have already flagged to the Government that their assessment of the number of installers is flawed, out by a factor of three and puts at risk the whole net zero homes agenda.
“But this data on job vacancies and salaries suggests that those with electrical backgrounds will find more lucrative work in other fields and won’t start fitting heat pumps.”
“There is an ageing workforce currently employed in the energy and utilities sector. If we don’t train more people now, we will find it increasingly difficult to find an installer and they will cost more when we do.”
A spokesman for the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The plans we have set out in our Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy will deliver the skilled workforce we need as we accelerate our progress towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
“There are over 110,000 domestic heating engineers in the UK, and heating engineers can train to install heat pumps in one week. Industry groups are confident there is enough capacity to train more installers as heat pump deployment increases.”
