Careers in domestic retrofit

Retrofit careers

What is retrofit?

Retrofitting includes a wide variety of jobs and skills that help to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings. When a property has been retrofitted it can retain heat for longer. This increases the comfort of a home whilst also lowering energy usage which can result in lowered energy costs and carbon emissions.

There are a wide variety of retrofitting jobs requiring lots of different skills. Some help to reduce heat loss, such as fitting various forms of insulation, and others involve replacing fossil fuel heating systems with low carbon technologies such as heat pumps. Retrofitting also requires skills in a variety of other important areas such as energy advice, digital design, and project management.

The demand for retrofit

Lowering our energy consumption and switching to renewable technologies such as solar or heat pumps, plays a huge role in reducing our carbon emissions.

Heating and powering our homes accounts for just over a quarter (28%) of our region’s carbon emissions, making retrofitting incredibly important to achieving our environmental goals.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) indicate that over 250,000 homes in the West of England require retrofitting. That’s a huge amount of retrofitting work over the next few years to meet our net zero targets.

Group of people installing solar panels.

Retrofit careers

Why get into retrofit?

Make a Real Difference to People's Lives: Help households stay warm, live more comfortably whilst reducing their energy costs.
Drive Positive Environmental Change: Your work would directly reduce carbon emissions, and support the region's efforts to combat climate change.
Skills for the Future: Retrofitting is key to the UK government's strategy to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Demand for retrofit professionals is growing, opening up new opportunities for meaningful employment.
Free Training and Grants: A wide range of fully-funded courses and training grants are available to help you get qualified and confident in retrofitting (see details below).

Retrofit careers

Retrofit skills training

Find out what it's like to learn about and work with exciting new renewable technologies in the retrofit sector, such as heat pumps!

Retrofit careers

Salary Indicators

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Heat Pump Engineer

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Solar PV Installer

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Retrofit Coordinator

Skills requested by employers

If you are considering changing careers or starting out on your career journey, there are lots of different retrofit roles you can move into.

Research has identified the core transferable skills most beneficial in the retrofit industry:

Adaptability
Cross-discipline working
Collaboration
Critical thinking
Communication
Problem-solving
Systems-thinking
Business Management
Change Management
Leadership
Project Management

Pathways

Find your pathway into domestic retrofit

Explore a career pathway in in domestic retrofit, offering information for new starters as well as experienced professionals looking to train up.

1 Plumbing pathways Explore retrofit pathways for plumbing and heating skills.

2 Electrical pathways Explore retrofit pathways for electrical skills.

3 Construction pathways Explore retrofit pathways for construction skills.

4 Project Professions pathways Explore retrofit pathways for different professional project-related skills.

Retrofit training

How to find the right course for you

Career changers or new starters

If you are looking to start afresh in the retrofit industry, work experience, apprenticeships and technical education are all good routes to exploring new careers.

Option 1: Apprenticeships and technical education

Eligibility: 16+
Cost: Free. In the case of apprenticeships, learners are paid (rates of pay vary).
Length: Varies depending on level and subject area but typically 1-5years.
Benefits: Combines real work with training and study, where you get to put skills into practice.

You can explore the variety of courses apprenticeships and technical education on the IfATE Occupational Maps. For local support and guidance, contact the Western Training Provider Network.

Option 2: Work experience

Experience is key to working in retrofit roles and is often an essential requirement for earning certain qualifications. Arranging a work experience placement is a great way to get a sense of the industry as well as build skills, gain experience and grow your network.

Professional organisations supporting different industries often provide advice on gaining work experience (look for links to ‘Professional and Industry Bodies’ at the bottom of each of our retrofit pages).

Industry professionals (CPD and upskilling)

If you have experience in a relevant role such as a builder, plumber, energy assessor, or electrician and want to widen your skillset to include retrofitting, there are lots of short courses available to you. Below are some examples of common types of training.

Option 1: Skills Bootcamps

Eligibility: 19 years+
Cost: Free
Length: up to 16 weeks (part-time/flexible courses to help fit around commitments)
Benefits: Great for upskilling and/or broadening your skillset to support progressing your work opportunities, often a fast-track to an interview.

Search for a relevant bootcamp, or read the stories of others who have completed them.

Option 2: Further Training or Continual Professional Development (CPD)

Eligibility: Various
Cost: Various
Length: As little as a few hours, up to weeks or months depending on the subject.
Benefits: Great for keeping up-to-date on industry standards and developments, and developing new skills.

Have a look at the different retrofit pages for more detailed information.

Take a quiz

If you are unsure which areas of retrofit are for you, why not try Go Construct’s Quiz to help you understand the areas of the built environment might be suited to you and your interests.

Contact a Skills Connect advisor

Career pathways map

Discover our downloadable retrofit career pathway maps, which outline the various retrofit courses and qualifications, from entry-level to progression routes for those looking to develop their existing skills.

This resource has been designed primarily for Skills Providers, to help support others looking to develop their careers

Download the retrofit pathway map (pdf, 1mb)