Employer Spotlight: NVQ Funding Boost For Energy Efficiency Group
Energy Efficiency Group is a gas and insulation firm carrying out retrofit and installation work in the North of England and the Midlands. We’ve been working with them since 2022, helping them gain insulation NVQs for their team.
The Group focuses on domestic insulation and retrofit projects financed through government grants schemes and ECO4. They have faced two significant hurdles since they started: Covid lockdown in 2021 and PAS2030 accreditation (to access government grants).
Founded in January 2021 at the start of the second Covid lockdown, the challenge of setting up the firm was fraught with additional barriers.
“Thankfully we were able to keep working during Covid lockdown,” says co-director, Gurpreet Lamsar. “But understandably, people were less trusting about letting us access their properties to do the work”.
The company persevered and today they have between 10 and 15 employees and subcontractors working on their jobs.
Another challenge faced by Energy Efficiency Group was ensuring they met the requirements of eco funding, including PAS2030 certification.
The Group decided on NVQ assessment as a means of acquiring PAS2030. “It took us a long time to get everything we needed in place for PAS,” explains Gurpreet.
Part of the requirements for PAS2030 is demonstrating installer competence, which can be achieved by installers gaining NVQ insulation qualifications.
Energy Efficiency Group contacted us about assessment in two areas: NVQ Level 2 in Under Floor Insulation and NVQ Level 2 in Cold Roof Insulation. We were pleased to inform them that they were eligible for government skills funding through the European Social Fund.
Energy Efficiency Group’s employees gained their qualifications through the onsite assessment and training (OSAT) route which is designed to minimize downtime and allow installers to continue working while they achieve their NVQs.
“I thought it was going to be like a college or classroom course, but it felt more like Open University where you work at your own pace,” says Jay Kothari, one the group’s under floor insulation installers. “I was able to collect evidence for my NVQ portfolio while I was working, and everything else I did in the evenings after work.”
You can read more about Jay’s experience with us in the full interview he gave us here.
Co-director Gurpreet, who undertook an NVQ himself, was equally impressed with the seamlessness of the process.
“The assessment was very flexible,” he says. “Ian (DMR insulation assessor, Ian Southworth) was amazing and he aligned his time with mine when arranging the onsite visits.”
Gurpreet says employee morale has seen a boost from the NVQs. The Group has now been able to push ahead with work on the ECO4 scheme, contributing towards improving the energy efficiency of Britain’s domestic buildings, and reducing their carbon emissions.
Energy Efficiency Group accessed Insulation NVQ funding through the European Social Fund.
Could your insulation and retrofit firm benefit for government funded NVQ assessment like Energy Efficiency Group? To check your eligibility, call us on 01942 673047 or visit our NVQ funding page.