The event, organised by Fife Climate Hub in partnership with Fife College, plumbing trade body SNIPEF, the Verdancy training group and Perth firm IMS Heat Pumps, aimed to raise the opportunities and challenges of moving away from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of heating, such as heat pumps.
It came as a coalition of housing, environmental and fuel poverty bodies called for faster action from the Scottish Government on these issues.
Dunfermline heating engineer Pawel Jeka, 41, runs a small business fitting and servicing gas boilers. He came to the event to hear about what support was available to learn new skills.
Jeka said: ‘We have had a few requests about heat pumps from customers. People ask do they work, are they efficient, how much do they cost to run. It’s hard to answer without the training we need.
‘If the government wants us to fit heat pumps we need some support. It’s not a secure landscape at the moment for us to take that leap. It’s not only about the money, it’s about the clear path.’
Ben Brown, 20, is an apprentice gas engineer from Leven. He said that ‘people panic when new things get introduced. But I don’t think there’s any panic for the future, I think it’s looking bright.’
‘I think gas heating for homes will disappear gradually, and by the time I’m no longer here it’ll be a story of what we used to do.’
Fife Climate Hub manager Andrea Habeshaw said: ‘Heat pumps and renewable energy solutions are not just the future—they are the present. Every homeowner, renter, and organisation responsible for public and private buildings has a role to play in creating a more sustainable Fife.
‘It was inspiring to see so many people engaging with this technology as part of their future careers, and we look forward to working with Fife College and other partners to continue driving this forward.’
Earlier this month, the government announced it would be delaying its Heat in Buildings Bill, a piece of legislation which aims to improve energy efficiency in Scottish homes and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Today Existing Homes Alliance, a coalition of organisations including Citizens Advice Scotland, Shelter and the Energy Saving Trust released an open letter to First Minister John Swinney stating the importance of having strong laws to help those working in the heating sector build certainty.
The letter said: ‘Improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes and switching from fossil fuel heating is a fundamental part of tackling climate change and fuel poverty.
‘Scotland’s businesses will be central to this, and to make it happen, we need certainty.’
Alan Ward, gas engineering lecturer at Fife College, said that Scotland had the technology but needed more commitment from government to keep up with changes in the sector.
‘We could say upwards of 10 years before we do start to say goodbye to gas, but we need to get people thinking about the changes that are coming.
‘The Scottish Government, as well as the UK Government, as well as the global UN policy has said we need to reach net zero, so if we don’t make those changes we’re going to be left behind.
‘We have the resources and the technology to make that change.’
Scott Sanford, Technical Services and Skills Manager for trade body SNIPEF, also attended the event. He said that small businesses like Jeka's needed better support. 'For micro businesses the shift to cleaner heating is a big challenge.
Scotland differs from England because don’t have the heat training grant which allows installers to upskill. So there is a lack of funding. Micro businesses need that support more than anybody. If they want to upskill they’ve got to take time off their work, they’ve got to pay for their course, depending how many courses they need it could be up to 2 weeks off their work which is a lot of money.
‘They need the government support to help them help the government hit those targets, which will help us get to net zero.'