British Gas has created an additional 200 apprenticeship roles to install smart meters in customers’ homes, explain to customers how to use the in-home display and provide energy efficiency advice.
The announcement takes the number of apprentices recruited this year to 1,000.
The new recruits will receive technical training and will study for a diploma in smart metering dual fuel, after which they will join the installation programme. Each apprentice will take a year to complete their training.
The supplier already has 1,400 qualified gas smart energy experts installing smart meters in homes.
British Gas is now installing smart meters at a rate of one every sixty seconds and it has installed 1.5 million smart meters in homes so far.
British Gas smart metering’s managing director Jorge Pikunic said: “We’ve taken the lead in giving our customers more control and insight into their energy use through smart meters. The new recruits will mean we can help even more people benefit from smart meters.”
Energy minister Lord Bourne visited the British Gas Academy in Tredegar and said: “We need engineers with skills in this sector, so it’s great to see British Gas expanding its smart meter apprenticeship scheme.”