25 July 2024
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OFTEC has announced the appointment of a Technical and Training Manager in a new joint role to enhance the support provided to technicians and uphold best practice in the industry.
David Knipe takes on the position following 13 years as OFTEC’s Training Manager. During that time the number of OFTEC approved training and assessment centres has grown from 65 to over 100. David also works closely with the seven certification bodies that certify OFTEC’s assessments, ensuring full independence and impartiality.
OFTEC has continued to expand the training courses on offer. Most recently, David supported the introduction of new heat pump courses, collaborating with manufacturers and the wider industry on the both the practical and theoretical content which is regularly updated.
Prior to this, David ran a training centre for school excluders and young offenders before becoming commercial manager for external courses at an FE college. During this time, he has built up extensive experience in the training industry over a thirty year period.
In his new role, David will further build the collaboration between OFTEC’s technical and training teams. Working closely with the two teams, he will focus on identifying industry issues and trends technicians are facing day to day. These insights will be used to refine the training programmes, technical manual and field guides to ensure technicians have all the support they need.
Following his appointment, OFTEC’s Technical and Training Manager David Knipe commented: “I’m excited to take on this new role which further solidifies the joint working between our technical and training teams. Combining these two areas will help enhance our support for technicians and uphold best practice in the industry. It will also enable us to be more responsive to the feedback we receive from technicians working day to day in homes and businesses across the UK.
“It’s an important time for our industry as we have new technologies, such as heat pumps, coming onto the market as well as continuing our extensive work to deliver a renewable liquid fuel alternative for kerosene. We have a comprehensive training offering, delivered by independent providers and, with the technical and training teams working closely together, we will continue to refine our courses to ensure full compliance with the latest legislation and uphold the high safety standards consumers expect.”
Paul Rose, CEO of OFTEC, added: “I am pleased to welcome David to his new role as we continue to ensure the training we offer fully aligns with the technical requirements of our installers. With over 1.7 million oil heated homes in the UK, liquid fuels remain a key technology which we are continuing to support through our proposed low carbon alternative. The established networking of existing training providers will enable us to deliver this transition quickly and smoothly.
“However, the landscape is changing and we want to ensure technicians are in the best place to diversify into other new technologies, including heat pumps. This will not only mean they can support with the UK’s ambition to reach net zero, but also expand their business into new areas and markets. I look forward to working closely with David to deliver this ambition.”
OFTEC’s training encompasses liquid fuel, solid fuel and heat pumps. For more information visit www.oftec.org/technicians/industry-training/training-courses-assessments.
