"With growing pressure on skills, a growing number of employers are engaging with workforce and skills initiatives designed to support long-term talent development, apprenticeships, and structured training pathways." says Matt Harvey in his latest blog on workforce initiatives.

The RACHP sector is entering a period of significant workforce demand. The transition to low-carbon heating, increasing adoption of heat pumps, refrigerant regulation changes, and the wider drive towards net zero are placing growing pressure on an industry already facing long-standing skills shortages.

As a result, a growing number of employers are engaging with workforce and skills initiatives designed to support long-term talent development, apprenticeships, and structured training pathways. One of the better-known examples is The 5% Club, an employer-led movement that encourages organisations to increase the proportion of their workforce undertaking formal training and “earn and learn” programmes.

Founded in 2013, the initiative has grown to include more than 1,100 employers from across the UK economy, ranging from SMEs to major national businesses and public sector organisations. Its core ambition is for employers to work towards having at least 5% of their workforce engaged in structured training routes such as apprenticeships, graduate programmes, sponsored student placements, or other recognised development pathways.

However, the wider issue extends beyond any single organisation or campaign.

Across the RACHP sector, employers continue to report recruitment challenges, particularly around experienced engineers and technical specialists. At the same time, the industry faces an ageing workforce alongside increasing demand linked to decarbonisation and clean energy targets. The heat pump market alone is expected to require a substantial expansion of the skilled workforce over the coming decade.

This challenge affects multiple parts of the sector, including contractors, manufacturers, facilities management providers, wholesalers, and specialist engineering firms, many of whom are competing for the same limited talent pool.

In response, more businesses are looking at how they can strengthen workforce planning and improve engagement with future talent through apprenticeships, technical education, T Levels, graduate schemes, and upskilling programmes. Some employers are choosing to engage with initiatives such as The 5% Club, while others are working through local skills partnerships, industry associations, schools engagement programmes, or social value frameworks linked to procurement requirements.

There is also increasing recognition that workforce investment is becoming commercially important. Public sector procurement, infrastructure projects, and ESG reporting are placing greater emphasis on social value, local skills development, and evidence of workforce training commitments.

For the RACHP industry specifically, there is an additional reputational consideration. Despite offering highly skilled careers linked directly to sustainability and clean energy, the sector has historically struggled with visibility among younger people and schools. Many employers are therefore exploring new ways to position themselves as long-term investors in future talent and technical careers.

Importantly, many businesses may already be contributing significantly through existing apprenticeship programmes, trainee recruitment, work placements, or structured staff development activity — even if this is not formally measured or recognised externally.

As workforce pressures continue to grow, the broader conversation for the RACHP sector is likely to centre less on whether skills investment is needed, and more on how employers, providers, and industry groups work together to build sustainable talent pipelines for the future.