Wolseley Group, owner of Plumb Center, is setting up a course to allow its SME customers to become Green Deal advisers, a move that it hopes will later allow it to emulate rival B&Q and market itself as a full-service Green Deal provider.
According to Plumb Center’s Ian Oliver, the training drive is due to the company being a client-facing business. “The trigger for larger Green Deal take-up could be getting a replacement boiler, so we see installers, called in to the home the moment a problem appears, as critical to the process,” he said.
“Every one of our installers will have to be Green Deal certified anyway, so it makes sense to give them a bigger role by becoming fully accredited advisers. We want them to advise on other complementary measures that can be carried out on the home.”
Wolseley’s initiative could eventually create a one-stop-shop for assessment, installation and funding for Green Deal retrofits. “We still have a few issues to resolve with it, but the aim is to become a fully-fledged Green Deal provider,” said Oliver.
The new Green Deal Advisor course will give participants skills to produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and a Green Deal Assessment.
