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Marketing may be the missing link in the heat decarbonisation puzzle
The UK heating sector is currently a highly scrutinised industry. While much focus is placed on the technical hurdles of the energy transition, I believe a significant human challenge remains: the structural skills gap.
To understand where we are, we must look at how the industry has changed. In the early 1980s, the sector moved away from a model of direct employment toward a sole trader industry. Disseminating best practice to this heterogeneous workforce became significantly more complex. Without a centralised training structure, individual installers often look to the brands they trust for their technical guidance. This means that, for better or worse, marketing materials have become a primary source of industry "best practice".
There is currently a persistent disconnect between emerging technology and the perceptions of this frontline workforce. Many experienced engineers maintain a belief that heat pumps struggle to heat British buildings or that radiators must be burning hot to provide comfort. These views are not held through a lack of skill, but through a lack of a technical narrative that translates the science into the language of the installer.
Government policy sees the skills gap as a major hurdle to decarbonisation. Any brand that proactively helps to bridge this gap is performing a vital service for the industry and the country. Marketing professionals hold the keys to this transition. If messaging remains superficial, it fails to provide the clarity required to shift long-held beliefs. However, when marketing teams truly understand the technical reality, they can create content that genuinely empowers the installer base.
I am hosting an inaugural technical briefing for marketing leads at Nesta on 9 March. Paul Kenny, Director General of the EHPA and former government adviser, will join us to discuss the importance of technical integrity in brand communications. My aim is to help marketing teams understand how their work can directly attenuate the skills gap by aligning brand messaging with the laws of physics.
Secure your place at the Inaugural Heating Communications Cohort here: Inaugural Heating Communications Cohort Tickets, Mon, 9 Mar 2026 at 10:30 | Eventbrite