This energy advice training session, open to all and lasting 2.5 hours, will help individuals and organisations who work with low-income households at risk of fuel debt and cold homes.

Attendees will learn to recognise the signs of fuel poverty and to direct people to an appropriate agency for further support to stay warm, healthy and out of debt.

The training costs £49.50 per person. (Free tickets are available for staff and volunteers of the following organisations: Talking Money; We Care Home Improvements (Bristol and B&NES); Citizens Advice (Bristol, B&NES, North Somerset); North Bristol Advice Centre; AMS Electrical; Bristol Energy Network; Clean Slate.)

We are running this training every three months. You can book a place on the first of these, on Wednesday, 26 Jun 2024 (10:00am to 12.30pm) on our eventbrite page.

This is an online event – join from anywhere!

What the energy advice training will cover:

• How to recognise that someone is in fuel poverty.
• Health and social impacts of living in a cold home.
• Advice on using heating and hot water controls.
• Dealing with electricity and gas suppliers.
• Making the home more energy efficient.
• Tackling damp and mould.
• How to give energy efficiency advice to the people you support.
• Accessing further support.

This training will be particularly valuable in view of the ongoing cost of living crisis where many households struggle afford to heat their homes.

And even if your primary reason for supporting vulnerable clients is not about energy advice, there is bound to be something useful for you in this training.

Alternative dates

We are also running this training on the following days, one online and two in-person at our Bristol offices:

• Wednesday 25 September 2024 – in person
• Wednesday 4 December 2024 – online
• Wednesday 12 March 2025 – in person

About the Trainer, Nick Trapp

Nick first got involved at CSE as a volunteer Arabic-English interpreter, before joining full time in 2020. He gives advice on heating, energy saving behaviour, damp and mould, financial support and low-carbon home improvements, and takes on advocacy work for vulnerable clients faced with unmanageable bills or poor treatment from their energy supplier. He recently trained the Matthew Tree Project to give advice on energy, and briefed NHS employees on how to recognise the signs of fuel poverty in patients’ homes. Nick is a clear and concise communicator with an understanding of the dynamics of encouraging behaviour change in individuals.

For more information about the training, contact Lorna Wilcox (lorna.wilcox@cse.org.uk).