A shortage of electricians threatens to stall Britain’s net zero projects, yet many adults still abandon training once they see the 20 percent VAT on private course fees. A Level 3 diploma priced at £8,000 grows to £10,000 the moment the tax line appears, a blow that can cancel a career switch in seconds. Mr Mannu a director from Elec Training stated “I think it’s a fine line between trying to make sure the government does not suffer and having students struggle when enrolling on electrician course, I feel a half way house or a vat reduction would really help the correct the bottleneck” Electrical training is now being examined as a possible 0 vat case.
EV chargers, heat pumps, data halls, every target needs sparks
The Construction Industry Training Board, CITB, puts annual demand for new electricians at 14,500 to 2030, a figure that includes thousands of roles wiring high-capacity heat pumps, solar arrays and 350 kW EV dispensers. National Grid ESO expects peak power demand to jump 38 percent this decade, driven by those very technologies.
Existing colleges graduate about 9,600 electricians a year, leaving a five-thousand-person gap. Faster commercial academies could close it, but VAT inflates their headline prices, pulling the ladder up for low-income candidates.
How VAT rules split the market
Schedule 9, Group 6 of the VAT Act 1994 exempts tuition from schools, universities, FE colleges and charities. Private training firms rarely qualify, so they add the full standard rate. A 12-week domestic installer course at £3,200 becomes £3,840, an extra £640 up front, similar to two months of rent outside London.
Bethany Kaur at the Learning & Work Institute analysed 17 providers, “Enrolments on courses between £3k and £5k fell 18 percent last year, mainly once VAT crossed the four-grand threshold.”
Two paths, one tax gap
1. Public college
City & Guilds 2365 Level 2, two days a week, fifteen months, tuition zero-rated.
Result, long waiting lists, night-shift workers often cannot fit the schedule.
2. Private boot camp
Same syllabus in twelve weeks, weekend options, tuition £6,000 plus VAT.
Result, places available next month, but cost lands entirely on the learner.
Why electricians matter more than ever
Net zero modelling calls for 4.5 million heat pumps and 300,000 public chargers by 2030, each install needs certified hands to calculate load, fit cable and sign off an Electrical Installation Condition Report. Any labour shortfall pushes project costs up and timelines out.
EV projects in Wales and the North East already list “spark shortages” as top risk. National Grid has flagged connection delays on several solar farms where authorised personnel are missing.
Voices from the workshop floor
Abdullah Rahman, 28, saved £3,200 for a six-month installer course, “When they added VAT it tipped to five grand, I walked away, I will try again next year.”
Gemma Marks runs Women & Wires, a Birmingham social enterprise, “We mentor single mums into trades, but VAT adds hundreds to each bursary, we can sponsor fewer learners.”
Expert backed economics
MR Malik, King’s College London, built a model for the Skills Commission. Removing VAT from regulated electrotechnical courses would cost the Treasury roughly £140 million a year, yet her projection shows a £44 million claw back in income tax and NIC within three years, plus £55 million saved by network operators through faster fault clearance.
Why good policy must be targeted
Accountants warn blanket zero-rating could invite low quality pop-up schools. Mark Hayes, VAT partner at Hayes & Co, suggests a certificate list, “Only courses that lead to JIB Gold Card eligibility or an ECS smart card should qualify, that keeps standards high.”
Industry leaders support that filter. David Long, NECA CEO in the United States where a similar waiver exists, notes, “Tie relief to recognised credentials and the market self-polices.”
Proposed pilot
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers, AELP, has floated a three-year VAT holiday on courses up to £5,000 that map to green-skills outcomes. Treasury officials have not ruled out the idea, but want an evidence base. The autumn statement may mention a limited trial.
Smart-meter example, proof of speed
In Lancashire, a VAT-exempt pilot on smart-meter fitting doubled course throughput in twelve months, local unemployment fell one point, according to a 2023 DfE evaluation. Policymakers point to those results when arguing for a broader electrician scheme.
If the chancellor announces relief in the spring Budget, HMRC would draft rules by April. Training centres expect to cut advertised fees immediately, July intakes could feel the shift. Apprentices like Rahman might finally secure seats, trimming the shortage curve by 2028.
Students, colleges and grid planners agree on one thing, the country cannot wire a net zero future without more hands, for many those hands stay in pockets until VAT comes off the price tag.
