The online training scheme, consisting of four modules, which will go live early next year (2022), will provide people with practical advice and essential information on every aspect of ground source heat pumps. There will also be live online Q&A sessions with senior professionals within the industry, including Laura Bishop, chair of the GSHPA.

The scheme will focus on all types of ground source heat pump systems - commercial, residential, mixed-use and retrofit, and is aimed towards architects, consultant engineers, contractors, facility managers, energy managers and students - and anyone who has an interest in heat decarbonisation and net-zero.

Bishop said: "Over the next 10-20 years, we can expect to see a massive increase in heat pump deployment as low carbon electric heating is seen as essential to the country's efforts to reach net-zero. It's an exciting growth opportunity - heat pumps are a key part of the UK's green industrial revolution."

"But the GSHPA acknowledges the need to improve knowledge and public understanding of heat pumps, the need to upskill our existing workforce and the need to re-train people who wish to move from the gas heating and plumbing industries. We also want to help and encourage people who wish to embark upon a career in the heat pump industry for the first time. Our training scheme provides an easy way to learn and hear from some of the most experienced people working in the heat pump industry today."

The course will cover a range of topics including systems approach, building demands and matching to energy source, geology, system hydraulics, design software, combining heat pumps with other technologies, the interface with the supply chain, commissioning and importantly case studies.