Skills Bootcamp Success: The Gas Rooms Training and Assessment Centre
The Gas Rooms Training and Assessment Centre at Burton-in-Kendal is a small, privately run BPEC and City and Guilds accredited training and assessment centre that opened in 2018 after a need was identified for plumbing and heating engineers in Cumbria to be able to access a local training centre with an emphasis on close industry links to complete their industry specific qualifications.
The Gas Room aims to bring together a wealth of industry knowledge and experience along with an extensive understanding of construction specific training requirements gained from 29 years of working in the local industry, to provide high quality, industry focused, training and qualifications to the construction industry and offers training and assessments in Natural Gas, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Oil, Air Source Heat Pump Design, Installation and Maintenance, F-Gas and ODS Regulations, Unvented Hot Water Systems, Water Regulations, Energy Efficiency and Groundworker, Service Pipe and Meter Housing.
The Gas Rooms is now in their fourth year delivering a Skills Bootcamp in Air Source Heat Pump Upskill, a package of nationally recognised training and qualifications designed to upskill plumbing and heating engineers, and installers in Cumbria with the skills and knowledge required to correctly design, install and maintain air source heat pumps.
John Ladell, Director of The Gas Rooms says “As a local Cumbrian skills provider, we have been delighted to be involved in the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in the county. The funding gained through Enterprising Cumbria has enabled us to increase our engagement with engineers in the local area, enabling us to grow and further develop our links with the industry, which is something that has always been very important to us as a local training centre. Completion of the course has provided local engineers and plumbing and heating companies access to new business opportunities in the renewables sector, enabling them to join industry competent persons schemes required to access government grants and incentives, remain competitive, create more job roles and secure new types of contracts. We have received really great feedback from engineers and over the last four years and there has been an increasing demand for places on the course making it evident that the Skills Bootcamp programme has had a positive impact in ensuring the local industry is equipped to meet the demand for the installation and maintenance of air source heat pump systems in Cumbria and help meet the Cumbria Net Zero by 2037 target, along with helping to grow and increasingly establish The Gas Rooms as a highly reputable training and assessment centre within the local industry here in Cumbria”.
As a small independent training provider, The Gas Rooms has been responsive to the needs of local engineers and the local industry. To meet evolving industry needs, the Skills Bootcamp in Air Source Heat Pump Upskill has been further developed from previous years to now offer engineers a choice of different training/qualifications to enable the upskill course to meet the specific needs of the engineer/businesses as the renewable heating industry develops and air source heat pump systems become an increasingly integral part of the industry.
Providers delivering Skills Bootcamps came under the Ofsted remit a couple of years ago and since then The Gas Rooms has had two successful inspections, which now means they are well placed to consider delivery of other funded learning opportunities and currently have plans underway for a further expansion of courses and premises to be able to expand delivery.
Watch this space!