Training installers to insulate homes

How is this company helping to plug the green skills gap?

Spotted: With labour and skills shortages on the rise across all EU Member States, the European Commission recently presented an action plan that includes “support for skills development, training, and education.” One of the organisations working to reduce skills gaps is German insulation expert VARM.

VARM’s solution is twofold. By running training programmes in insulation installation, which also support newly skilled labourers in entering the workforce, VARM is addressing a known lack of green skills in the construction industry. And as more workers learn the essential skills to install insulation and make buildings more energy efficient, VARM also helps to reduce the energy consumption of the region’s built environment – Europe’s single largest energy consumer.

Part of the company’s training programme includes the option for installers to start, and scale, their own building insulation business. The business-in-a-box support includes connecting installers with homeowners – helping to provide rapid access to important building sustainability upgrades.

VARM’s blow-in insulation is mould-resistant, recyclable, and non-flammable and can reduce a building’s heating costs by up to 50 per cent. The company uses sustainable materials in its insulation that include recycled glass bottles and wastepaper, along with byproducts such as wood fibre from other industries.

One of VARM’s goals is to insulate one million homes in 10 years. The company recently raised €5.7 million in seed funding, which will assist VARM in expanding its training capabilities and business programmes for newly skilled installers and entrepreneurs.

Written By: Keely Khoury