Research and analysis

Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition: Phase 2 evaluation summary

Published 1 September 2025

Applies to England

Research survey executive summary of HDSTC Phase 2: Extract of research survey

By Winning Moves prepared for Midlands Net Zero Hub and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in February 2025.

The full evaluation report can be found on the Midlands Net Zero Hub’s website.

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Introduction

The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) has funded three retrofit and energy efficiency skills training competitions. The first competition was the Green Homes Grant Skills Training Competition (GHGSTC), which Winning Moves evaluated in 2022. The second and third were delivered as the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition (HDSTC) Phase 1 and Phase 2. Winning Moves evaluated Phase 1, which culminated in the submission of an evaluation report at the end of October 2024.

This report complements the evaluation by providing insight into the experiences of trainees who accessed training under Phase 2 of the competition. In addition, it presents evidence collected from a smaller cohort of Phase 1 trainees (who contributed to the evaluation), to identify any further benefits derived from the training and to understand trainees’ intentions in relation to accessing future provision and other related training courses.

DESNZ launched Phase 2 of HDSTC in July 2023, with delivery contracts starting from October. Targeted at people already working, or who wanted to work, in the energy efficiency and building retrofit sectors in England, this phase of the competition had budgeted for £8.85 million^{[footnote 1]} of funding to be distributed to 24 training providers, including seven that also participated in Phase 1. The funding was used to deliver accredited training supporting the scaling up of the retrofit and energy efficiency sectors. The competition - and the courses it funded - was organised into two distinct ‘Work Packages’ (WP); WP1 focused on retrofit assessment and coordination, with WP2^{[footnote 2]} providing training in the installation of domestic insulation measures. By the end of competition delivery, Phase 2 had achieved 7,309 training place completions, against a target of 8,000 (91% of the places targeted).

WP1 – training to PAS 2035 standards for retrofit assessor and retrofit coordinator roles.

WP2 - training to National Occupational Standards, or higher, in the installation of domestic insulation measures.

This research project had three stated aims: (1) To understand trainees’ experiences of the training they completed; (2) To identify the barriers and enablers they faced in accessing training; and (3) to explore the extent to which the competition and the training delivered impacted trainees’ work in both the short and long-term.

The methodology comprised three distinct but interrelated surveys, delivered via telephone with online ‘top-up’:

• A survey of trainees who completed a Phase 2-funded course: this survey was completed by 401 respondents, 140 WP1 trainees and 261 WP2 trainees, with a response rate of 8.4% (we used 4,742 contacts to achieve the 401 interviews).
• A follow-up survey of trainees who had been surveyed as part of the Phase 1 evaluation: to obtain updated insights on impacts and future intentions, a shorter survey was conducted with 61 trainees who had completed the Phase 1 evaluation survey and agreed to be recontacted.
• An online survey of Phase 2 trainees who started but did not complete the funded training: due to DESNZ and Midlands Net Zero Hub (MNZH) interest in the number of course withdrawals, a short online survey was sent to trainees that had signed up for, but not completed Phase 2-funded courses; 69 trainees responded from 870 contacted, a response rate of 8%.

Where possible and useful, this report compares findings from the Phase 2 trainee survey with findings from the Phase 1 trainee survey and the follow-up survey (Work Package 1 only, as only 14 Work Package 2 trainees were interviewed in Phase 1).

Understanding and motivations

As in the Phase 1 survey, the cost was the most cited barrier to take up of training and the subsidisation of course costs was considered an important factor in business decisions to participate in the competition. 40% of Phase 2 survey respondents^{[footnote 3]} stated they would not have participated in the courses had the training not been free or subsidised.

Beyond cost consideration, the most common motivation was the expectation of gaining new sector specific / technical skills (reported by 92% of all respondents). Trainees also hoped that participation in the course would provide the opportunity to work on new contracts and in new work areas and futureproof their employment in the decarbonisation and green retrofit markets.

Trainee survey respondents were positive and complimentary about the competition’s ability to address the most common barriers to accessing training. Almost two thirds (62%) stated the competition had addressed the cost of training barrier ‘to a great extent’, while 56% and 51% respectively felt that the competition had been very effective in addressing barriers around the relevance of training and course location.

Course delivery

Most trainees were happy with the course(s) they attended - 77% of WP1 and 78% of WP2 respondents stated that they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their course overall (73% amongst Phase 1 WP1 trainees). There were similar levels of satisfaction with the quality of the trainers. As in the Phase 1 survey, several trainee respondents would have liked to have seen more opportunities to put learning into practice during the training.

The proportion of non-completers, 22% of all course enrolments, was of interest to both DESNZ and MNZH, with emphasis on understanding the reasons why individuals withdrew from the courses and what mechanisms could be employed to encourage re-engagement with similar courses in the future. Amongst those trainees responding to a separate survey, the main reasons for not completing courses were:

• Changes to work commitments / contracts, meaning either (a) trainees had insufficient time to complete the course; (b) trainees felt they no longer needed to attend the courses e.g. they moved onto contracts where retrofit skills were not needed.
• Changes in their personal or employment circumstances.
• A feeling that they had obtained the skills and experience required without the need to fully complete the course and / or end of course assessment.

Course impacts and future intentions

From the perspective of trainee survey respondents, the courses seem to have been largely successful in delivering meaningful impacts that closely align with the trainees’ original motivations for participating. 80% of WP1 and 71% of WP2 respondents stated they had gained new sector-specific and technical skills that they were hoping to use on contracts soon. A similarly high proportion of trainee survey respondents stated that completing the course had given them increased confidence to complete retrofit assessor/coordinator or insulation installation work in the future.

When comparing Phase 1 follow-up responses with those from Phase 2 trainees, the data suggests an increase in respondents reporting that the training generated tangible commercial benefits - more work, a pay rise / promotion, a new job, although the differences cannot be considered statistically significant.

Trainees were asked to consider the amount of contract work they had obtained from specified government schemes before and after they completed the training. Data from the survey illustrated that, for each of the government schemes listed, between 15% and 34% of all trainee survey respondents had already undertaken work since the training or planned to complete work within the next 6 to 12 months. Analysis by work package showed that for WP1 trainees, this figure ranges from 20% for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to 34% for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), while for WP2 trainees, this figure ranges from 15% for the BUS to 24% for the SHDF.^{[footnote 4]} Completion of accredited courses, including achievement of PAS qualifications has helped trainees to access work through government schemes and has served to future proof their employment for the immediate and longer term.

The benefits obtained from the HDSTC-funded training has also prompted further skills development, with 31% of WP1 respondents and 16% of WP2 respondents having already completed further training in retrofit or installation since completing the Phase 2 training. 44% of WP1 Phase 1 follow-up respondents stated they had completed further training since the HDSTC-funded training.

1. According to total claims data identified in the final report, approximately £6.35m of this £8.85m had been claimed by participant training providers. ↩

2. Work Package 2 also included provision of the entry-level “Understanding Domestic Retrofit” course. ↩

3. As in the Phase 1 evaluation survey, not all respondents identified themselves as the decision maker on whether they undertook the training. This 40% refers to all respondents and should, therefore be treated with caution. ↩

4. The BUS Scheme installs heat pumps and biomass boilers, for which training was not offered under Phase 2 of the competition. References to the BUS Scheme are likely, therefore, to have picked up on other drivers unrelated to the skills competition. ↩