After lamenting the lack of practical Energy Assessor training and contemplating how a training academy might fulfil that need, I have some exciting news: the launch of Murton & Co’s e-learning platform, Murton&Courses.

This new virtual college aims to give inexperienced rookies the confidence to conduct independent assessments after the all-too-brief Non-Domestic Energy Assessor course.

Earlier this year I offered some trainees the chance to shadow me on a few jobs. They’d reached out after fearing that four days in the classroom simply wouldn’t equip them for their new career – and I’d increasingly come to realise that training centres don’t provide the necessary depth of practical learning. There’s a dearth of private companies stepping up to offer ad hoc training, mentoring and support to fill these glaring training gaps, which was one of the reasons why I decided to offer shadowing opportunities.

It was such a success that one of the trainees, Jay Morgan, is now working for Murton & Co, and has a promising career ahead of him. But when other trainee NDEAs in Cornwall and Reading asked for help, I realised that creating a video explaining the survey process would be a better way to reach out to all those needing support across the country. The resulting 30-minute film produced by videographic firm Scopic Productions aims to demystify the process of EPCs for clients, visually demonstrating how we gather robust data, with a tutorial video on processing to follow.

Rather than posting the video on YouTube or on a separate website, we’ve created a sub-domain of the Murton & Co website – www.murtonand.courses – through a collaboration with website manager Surf Up – which will host the e-learning platform where we can post this, and other videos and future bite-size courses. We’ve also teamed up with online training provider, Skills Shop, to create our e-learning management system software. This digital classroom will allow us to create and manage content for trainees and new Energy Assessors, interact with students and track their progress, filling the gap between the classroom and going out to work on a property. Our aim is to remove the anxiety, build confidence and improve the chances of passing the Quality Assurance Audits (which is around 40% fail rate for first time audits). Unlike a physical classroom environment, learners can work at their own pace, go back, forward, and access courses on any device, anytime, anywhere. It also reduces the cost of travelling to courses, making it flexible and cost-effective.

The possibilities are endless; we can use video, audio or PowerPoint, link to discussion groups and online chat rooms, create quizzes, and maybe even run live webinars. Our platform will hopefully prove to be a scalable, blended learning solution where we can integrate with in-person workshops, small shadowing groups, live learning online and classroom learning. It’s an exciting development for us, and I’m really fired up about its potential.

There’s no doubt of the need for new training methods as I hear the same complaints and cries for help on Facebook groups – even from those who have many surveys under their belt. One Energy Assessor posting on the NDEA group recently had been working as a trainee with a company for two years and still wanted to do another year before he felt confident enough to embark on the training course. These online groups are a great place to connect and ask questions; a good example is surveyors-uk.com, which offers training and CPD, and was launched on the back of a Facebook group to provide a safe space to ask questions and get support from qualified surveyors. But bear in mind that simply getting advice from any of these groups, although free, is unregulated and so there is no recourse for those adhering to the advice given, and anything you do via Facebook doesn’t count towards your annual CPD.

We’re going to launch our training platform in time for The Property Energy Professionals Association (PEPA) conference on 24th September, where there’s the chance to network with 400 other Energy Assessors. PEPA works closely with various government departments such as Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the trade body believes its annual meet will be a good opportunity to find out what’s happening post-election. Civil servants representing the new government will also be there, so it will be the first time since Ed Miliband took over as DESNZ secretary that we’ll get the chance to quiz them about when we can expect the long-awaited MEES deadline for commercial properties. After years of Conservative indecision around new building regulations and updated EPC methodology, let’s hope the Labour government can finally reassure the industry with firm dates. I’m sure this will then accelerate the demand for NDEA training courses – and supportive practical experience.

As the race towards Net Zero ramps up, increasing numbers of newly qualified Energy Assessors will need to appreciate their legal liabilities in order to operate in a professional industry. Murton & Co has started to build a platform that not only supports them on that journey but also raises industry standards.