Education offensive in the heat pump industry

The boom in heat pumps continues: According to the industry association GebäudeKlima Schweiz, 23 percent more heat pumps were sold across Switzerland last year than the year before. Sales figures have risen throughout Europe, and manufacturers are upgrading with new production facilities to meet demand. At the same time, the need for service specialists who are familiar with heat pumps is also increasing. Additional education and training programs are now being offered to help in this area.

"Many of our members are desperately looking for specialists with heat pump know-how," says Konrad Imbach, managing director of GebäudeKlima Schweiz (GKS), according to a media release. GKS represents manufacturers and suppliers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology and knows the challenges facing the industry. "In order for heat pumps to meet the demands placed on them in terms of efficiency as well as comfort and noise emissions, they must be properly planned, installed, commissioned and regularly maintained," Imbach added. Accordingly, well-trained people are elementary.

GKS and the Fachvereinigung für Wärmepumpen (FWS) have now reacted and expanded the training and continuing education program at various levels. With the support of EnergieSchweiz, the program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy for energy efficiency and renewable energies, a new lateral entry course in heat pumps has been initiated. This will be offered monthly from August 2023 and is aimed primarily at existing service specialists in the field of fossil heating systems who would like to expand their area of expertise with an eye to the future.

At the heating and air-conditioning technology company Hoval, they are preaching to the choir with this offer. "For us manufacturers and suppliers, the system change is now also making itself felt in the service and maintenance area," confirms Simon Galliard, Product Manager Heat Pumps at Hoval. "The need for specialists around heat pumps is increasing, while there are fewer and fewer systems to service in the oil and gas sector." Last year, sales of gas and oil boilers fell by 34 percent.

Practical knowledge in eight days

In the new course service technicians can acquire oil/gas in only eight days the necessary knowledge, in order to accomplish also at heat pumps independently the most usual service work. In addition to a theoretical part, practical work on commissioning, maintenance and malfunctions is trained directly on heat pumps. In concrete terms, for example, simulated faults are searched for directly on test heat pumps or standardized service procedures are sought.

In addition to retraining existing employees, the industry is also in need of new skilled workers. For this reason, the GKS has supplemented the training course for specialists in heating systems. An introductory module is now also offered. On the one hand, this benefits the specialists who want to enter the industry, but also the companies. Employees are trained more quickly so that they can take on their first tasks within a very short time. The training can then be continued with the basic module. And finally, there is the possibility of acquiring the necessary competencies with the in-depth module, which are required for the registration for the professional examination as a specialist for heating systems with a federal certificate.

And here you can find the training offer: Advanced training as a specialist in heating systems (gebaeudeklima-schweiz.ch)

Brigitte Mader, Communication, Swiss Federal Office of Energy (based on media release GKS)