Clean Heat Strategic Workforce Development Fund

Scottish Enterprise, supported by the Scottish Government, is offering workplace innovation support to companies that are either already active or interested in diversifying into the clean heat market. 

Clean heat includes:

• Energy efficiency
• Clean heat equipment and delivery systems (such as heat pumps and heat networks and their components)
• Supportive solutions (such as energy storage)
• Enabling solutions (such as digital and smart controls)
• Sources of fossil fuel free energy (such as mine water geothermal energy and waste heat)

As part of this service, your business will receive strategic workforce development support from a specialist in our Workplace Innovation Team.

Strategic workforce development for the clean heat sector can cover areas such as:

• Technical training, including training relating to:
  • the manufacturing of clean heat equipment and related components and enabling solutions (for example, thermal storage)
  • energy efficiency products
  • heat pump installations
  • the commissioning of heat networks or equipment for heat networks
• Training in enabling technology, such as:
  • CAD design
  • automation
  • 3D printing
  • electrical and mechanical engineering
  • working with different types of materials
  • data and digital
• Communication, social media, professional selling, and marketing
• Leadership and management development, change management, customer relationship management, Lean Six Sigma, and project management

This fund is for:

• Companies that are interested in receiving support to strategically develop their workforce in order to diversify or grow competitively in the rapidly expanding clean heat market
• Companies across the clean heat value chain, including those that design, develop, manufacture, operate, or install clean heat related solutions

Along with workplace innovation support, this fund provides financial support to help you develop your:

• Workforce capability and culture
• Workplace practices
• Leadership and management

The grants can be used to cover third party training or consultancy costs, as well as provide some support toward internal training costs.

We can provide grants in amounts between £5,000 and a maximum of £50,000.

The grants are intended to cover up to 50% of eligible project costs. For example, a project with eligible costs of £20,000 could receive £10,000 in grant support.

All projects need to be delivered by the end of March 2025, with final claims submitted by the end of April 2025.

All grants will be subject to our grants and appraisal processes.

To be eligible, your company must:

• Be registered or trading in Scotland
• Have between 10 and 250 employees
• Be located in the Scottish Enterprise area, which covers all parts of Scotland except the Highlands and Islands, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders
• Be committed to Fair Work practices 

You'll be asked to provide information that enables us to check whether you can receive support.

For example, you'll be asked to provide details of any other funding you've received as minimal financial assistance (de minimis) during the current and past two financial years. This information will help us determine whether we can offer you a grant without it exceeding your relevant allowance threshold for this timeframe.

If successful, you'll also need to show you have a credible plan to reduce your operational greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045.