Keeping it in the family
GTEC has had the pleasure of training Max Wild, who, at the age of seventeen, has become Gas Safe’s youngest registered gas engineer.
Max, his Father Mark and brother Jack, have all been taking the LCL Awards Air Source Heat Pump qualification.
They accessed this training as part of the Renewable Heat Installer Training & Support Scheme (RHITSS), which offered up to 70% off the cost of becoming a heat pump installer.
Mark Wild has been working in the M&E sector for many years and has worked on electrical installation jobs all around the world. He is now Managing Director of his own company, MW Mechanical Group Ltd, based in Yorkshire where Max and his brother, Jack, are part of the team.
The company is well respected locally and specialises in gas and electrical services for the industrial and commercial sectors. Mark has been fired up by the enthusiasm that his sons have brought to the business and there are plans afoot to move the business forward and concentrate on renewables and new technologies.
Young talent
Max, the youngest son, is Mark’s apprentice. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns meant Max was not able to access college learning to any great degree (beyond Zoom) so Mark took the decision to self-fund Max’s education by enrolling him on a Managed Learning Programme (MLP) with a private training company.
It was clearly a smart move as Max has really excelled and, as we’ve said, become Gas Safe’s youngest ever, registered gas engineer. He has recently been shortlisted in the ‘Rising Star’ category at Heating Installer Awards.
Max’s brother, Jack, who is twenty, is nearing the end of his electrical apprenticeship but, during lockdown, COVID restrictions put a temporary halt to his college time too and the company he works for in Leeds has put him on furlough. He was not idle during this time – Mark was able to keep him occupied with work for the family firm.
Moving towards a renewable future
Mark sees the investment in his sons’ training as money well spent, hence his decision to train them – and himself – in Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) installation at GTEC. GTEC’s Managing Director, Griff Thomas shares Mark’s enthusiasm for renewables. He explains:
“We set up GTEC in 2007, offering renewables training only. We’ve had many ups and downs over the years as the demand for renewables has all too often been tied to government incentives, but we think the turning point for heat pumps has come and they will become the norm for all new builds and major renovations.
“When it comes to training, LCL Awards was the natural choice for us as they offer a modular approach to heat pump qualifications, meaning that a candidate can come on an Air Source Heat Pump course initially and then come back if they decide they want to go onto installing Ground Source Heat Pumps. No other Awarding Organisation offers this.
“We were delighted to welcome the Wild family to our training centre, its’ not often that you get two generations together and it was great to see father and sons working alongside on the new and upcoming technologies in such a passionate way.”
Not surprisingly, Mark is proud of his sons:
“Both boys have real get up and go and I wanted to encourage them as much as possible by using this year to supplement their qualifications. The ASHP course at GTEC was excellent and sets us in good stead for transitioning into the renewables sector. We’re set for a strong future, which is being shaped by them as much as me. It’s exciting!”
For more information about GTEC’s ASHP course, click here.
