LCL Awards is pleased to welcome new Halifax-based, Viva Training Academy to its list of approved training centres. Set-up by heating and insulation business owner, Richard Firth, Viva prides itself on providing a supportive and learner-focused environment which offers a range of building services courses, including LCL Awards’ New Entrants Gas MLP and Level 3 F Gas qualification.

We’re delighted to be the sponsors of the training category at the forthcoming ACR and Heat Pump Awards. Awards will be given to the winners of a wide variety of classes in the ACR and heat pump sector and other sponsors include manufacturers and wholesalers. This is the first time we’ve sponsored the event.

To bring our Domestic Electrical Installer qualification in-line with new industry requirements a revised version, DEI20, will be available early in the new year.

From January 2020 current F-Gas legislation will enforce new rulings to ensure that installation, service and equipment bans come into force for appliances that run on higher GWP products such as R404A.  RAC magazine held its annual F-Gas Question Time event in London recently and experts from the cooling sector agreed that now the use of R404A as a variable refrigerant in Europe was coming to a definite end, it was time to get down the nitty gritty.

Last month the government extended the deadline for its smart meter roll-out from 2020 to 2024. Largely due to a lack of confidence in the original technology and the reliability of the SMETS1 devices, installation figures have fallen way behind projections so there’s an urgent demand for installers to help redress the shortfall.

A recent BBC report into the UK’s response to climate change, written by business editor, Simon Jack, makes interesting reading. Government targets to cut carbon emission to zero by 2050 require immediate and strong action from today. 

A procurement exercise was launched at the beginning of the month to appoint a new organisation to operate as the Standard Setting Body (SSB) once the present incumbent, E&U Skills, steps down at the end of March next year.

This year’s LCL Awards’ Shield has been awarded to Matthew Blance from Shetland, an apprentice at Moray College UHI. Matthew, who is employed by Steven Johnston, was given the award for being the Best Gas, Oil and Renewables Apprentice at the college’s annual prize-giving ceremony on September 26^th.  The Martin Group, specialists in test instrumentation, supported us in donating an AGP45 gas leak pen as part of Matthew’s prize.

In response to a growing demand for electric vehicles, LCL Awards has developed a new EV charging qualification; Level 3 Award in the Installation and Commissioning of Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment in Domestic, Commercial and Industrial locations. The course has been introduced to help electricians take advantage of a marketplace that has grown significantly over recent years.

Following an audit of our MLP, carried out at our head office and at Moor Training over the summer, IGEM has deemed LCL Awards a Recogniser of training for new entrants training in the gas industry. We are only the second organisation to be given this status and are delighted to take on the role.