Your local college may offer upskilling short courses or you can access training through a private training provider. If these options are not available to you, training can also be delivered in your region through the mobile heat pump training centre. 

You can find a list of Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) approved training courses on the MCS website. 

College training providers

BPEC–certified courses in ground and air source heat pumps are available across Scottish colleges, giving those in the heating industry the opportunity to upskill on heat pumps. 

Courses take around four days, depending on the level of your experience, and are nationally recognised qualifications in the installation and maintenance of heat pump systems. There are different MCS approved heat pump qualifications. The BPEC qualification is developed from the National Occupational Standards and is recognised by the MCS registration body as an acceptable qualification to join one of their respective schemes. 

The cost of a course is around £600. However, you may need the additional mandatory qualifications which will incur additional costs. Section 3.1 explains the qualifications required to do the course.

The following colleges are currently offering certified courses on the installation and maintenance of heat pumps systems:

• Ayrshire College
• Borders College  
• Glasgow Clyde College  
• Dumfries & Galloway College  
• Dundee & Angus College  
• Edinburgh College 
• Fife College
• Forth Valley College 
• Glasgow Kelvin College  
• North East Scotland College
• South Lanarkshire College  
• West College Scotland  
• West Lothian College
• UHI Inverness 
• UHI Moray 
• UHI Perth 

If shorter courses are not shown on your local college’s website, you can contact them directly to discuss your training needs to see if they can help. 

Private training providers

There are private training providers across Scotland who offer upskilling courses on heat pumps. The cost of a course varies across training centres and course type, but typically starts at £600. The providers featured on this list offer courses that are recognised by industry and MCS. The following private training providers are currently offering certified courses on the installation and maintenance of heat pump systems:  

• Aberdeen Training Centre  
• The Energy Training Academy  
• Skills Training Group

There may be other training providers offering MCS-recognised heat pump courses. Please get in touch if you would like us to feature a training provider here.   

Mobile heat pump training centre

The mobile heat pump training centre is a fully-equipped resource providing BPEC–certified heat pump training to rural and remote areas of Scotland. If there are no training providers in your area, this could be a solution to upskill your workforce. The centre is managed by the Green Heat Installer Engagement Programme at Energy Saving Trust in partnership with South Lanarkshire College.

The Scottish Government’s Heat Pump Skills Fund can help cover training costs by offering up to £700 or 50% of the total fees, depending on which amount is lower. To find out more and express your interest in booking a training session, please see our mobile heat pump training centre webpage.

This information is also included in the how to become a heat pump installer guide from the Green Heat Installer Engagement Programme.