Installers Train Under Pressure

Good training shows up before that point. It shortens the pause when something looks unfamiliar. It turns We’ll figure it out into Oh, we’ve seen this before. And when the job is done, it disappears again. No drama or certificates, just fewer problems carried into the next install.

Strip back our European Mechanical Installation Monitor Q4 2025, the message is clear. Across Europe, installers are juggling heating, hot water, heat pumps, ventilation, controls, sometimes electrics, sometimes solar. The work is broader, the systems more connected, and the margin for error far thinner. So training carries real consequences, and installers gravitate toward formats that reduce uncertainty fastest. And being surprisingly consistent about it.

The main findings are from the European Mechanical Installation Monitor Q4 2025. Historical comparisons from Q1 2021 and Q4 2023 are labelled separately; a share of courses taken online is not the same measure as the share of installers who prefer online training.

The Job Dictates the Learning

Let’s start with the work itself. Across the surveyed markets (UK, Germany, France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands), core HVAC activities are stacked high and wide, with the usual workload: installation, maintenance, commissioning, troubleshooting. That’s where time goes, and that’s where mistakes cost money and reputation.

At a European level:

• heating installations are done by 82-98% of installers
• hot and cold water installations sit between 77-97%
• heat pump installations already involve 60% of UK installers, 71% in the Netherlands, and a massive 95% in Germany
• ventilation runs as high as 86% in Germany and 82% in the Netherlands

Fig. 1: Heat pump installation involvement by country, EMIM Q4 2025.

Meaning niche work has become mainstream. And here’s the part that matters for training: the more complex the system mix, the less room there is for guesswork. You can’t keep figuring it out on-site forever when commissioning, controls, refrigerants and regulations all collide.

This explains why installers are picky about training formats. When the work is physical, sequential and without a doubt unforgiving, learning has to be grounded and has to map directly to what happens on site. If it doesn’t, it won’t survive contact with a full calendar.

Face-to-Face Still Carries Weight

Digital training, webinars, on-demand platforms, AI-powered learning… yes, and ho! Sounds great, but is actually a bit more complex. When installers were asked how they prefer to train going forward, online-only came dead last in almost every country.

• only 7-8% of installers prefer online-only training
• face-to-face training is the most preferred format overall
• a balanced mix of online and face-to-face is widely accepted as a practical compromise

And while this resistance seems anti-digital, it’s really more about effectiveness. Acceptance goes up across the board, even in the less-inclined markets, when online is combined with face-to-face.

In a room, with the system right in front of you, things get resolved fast. Someone asks the naive question before it turns into a costly mistake. Someone else flags what goes wrong in practice, but never shows up in manuals. You see how it’s supposed to look, sound and feel when it’s done right. One session like that saves hours later. France, Belgium and the Netherlands are especially clear on this. In those markets, online-only training is the least attractive option by a long way.

Poland’s reported 8% preference for online-only training is within the 7–8% range described above; it does not by itself explain why installers choose a format.

That lines up perfectly with how installers already work. They’re happy to check something quickly online. They’re not interested in being told that a screen replaces hands-on time with a system they’ll be responsible for later.

How the Balance Developed: Q1 2021 and Q4 2023

Q1 2021: Online Participation Was Not Online Preference

The Q1 2021 discussion looked back at training during 2020, when pandemic restrictions affected which formats were available.

Over 90% of plumbers and HVAC installers in Europe have followed training over the past year. On average, installers followed between five and nine training courses, where new regulation and the installation of specific products were the most important topics. Training courses were mostly provided by manufacturers, but also by wholesalers.

About half of the training courses in 2020 were done online (vs. face-to-face) in the UK, Germany and Poland. In Belgium and the Netherlands, about 20% of courses were done online. The lowest rate of online training was in France, where only 1 in 20 courses was online. Nevertheless, installers indicate that the share of online training has increased compared to previous years, particularly in Germany, where 92% of installers have done more online training.

The country percentages in the previous paragraph measure courses taken online; the 92% figure measures German installers who reported doing more online training.

That being said, there is also a counter-movement, as the vast majority of installers still prefer to have face-to-face training. In Germany, only 10% of the installers prefer online training over face-to-face training, in the other countries this is even lower. There is clearly a yearning towards physical contact and face-to-face training, even though participation in online training is at an all-time high.

One other thing to consider is the fact that not all types of training can be conducted (or are not preferred to be) online. Topics like new laws & regulations and trends are more suited to online training than for example installation training.

One thing almost all installers agree on is that the manufacturer is the most important source for training.

Q4 2023: Face-to-Face Remained the Preferred Format

According to the HVAC installers their key strategy to mitigate the labor shortage problems is the recruitment of non-qualified staff. This necessitates comprehensive training programs. The demand for training among European installers is notably high, with over three-quarters actively participating in training sessions. German and Polish installers exhibit the highest engagement in training, while French installers show the lowest participation.

Despite the prevalence of labor shortages and heavy workloads, face-to-face training remains the preferred method across all six European countries surveyed. Installers in the Netherlands and Belgium express the highest preference for face-to-face training, with approximately 8 out of 10 installers favoring this mode of instruction. Conversely, installers in the UK and Poland display lower preferences for face-to-face training but still exhibit a significant inclination towards it compared to online alternatives.

The preference for online training among European installers is relatively low across all countries, with Poland showing the highest inclination at 11%. However, there is an expectation among installers that the future will witness an increase in online training options, alongside a mixed-method approach incorporating both traditional and digital formats.

The Topic Decides the Format

Training preferences depend on risk-profiles. For the most important topics, face-to-face is an unsurprising favorite. These are high-stakes areas; get them wrong and the consequences domino straight into the site. Breaking things down, we’re talking about:

• product installation
• troubleshooting
• maintenance
• commissioning
• technology-specific training (heat pumps, ventilation, controls)

Product training is different. Products change. Specs update. Sometimes you just need a clear walkthrough you can revisit or a quick glance at the update. That fits digital formats well, and it’s probably why – in the UK and Poland – online training is equally treated, or even preferred, when the topic is product-specific.

So the argument structure is learn the theory online – handle the hardware in person – solve problems face-to-face.

The Q4 2023 Topic Priorities

The earlier Q4 2023 report asked HVAC installers which topics were best suited for training. The following topic findings should not be combined with the Q4 2025 format-preference figures.

On a European level, the best topic for training revolves around the installation of products. About 38% of all European HVAC installers mentioned this as the best topic for training. Other priorities included new laws and regulations, new technologies, commissioning, troubleshooting and maintenance.

There are however, significant country differences.  For example, in the UK, 56% of the installers mentioned that the installation of products is the topic best suited for training. But for example in France the topic mentioned the most was troubleshooting (58%), in Germany technology training (35%) and in the Netherlands training on maintenance (36%). Another interesting outcome is that for most of the top 5 topics best suited for training face-to-face training is preferred.

Only in the UK and Poland installers have a preference for online training on the topics of new regulations and laws.

Understanding the training needs of the installers, the method of training and the topics is vital for offering trainings that are a good market fit. In our Q4 2023 report on training needs of the European mechanical installation monitor, you will find all the answers on these questions and more.

Why Is Training Dropping?

Looking at the numbers, training participation has softened since 2023. But let’s add context to the situation.

In 2025:

• around 73-81% of installers in several surveyed markets still attended at least one training
• France’s 56% show the largest decline in participation
• Belgium is the only market where participation held up better, hitting a steady 76%

Possible pressures behind this drop include tighter order books, labor shortages and less time (… not less need!).

In fact, half of European installers say they’re more likely to buy from manufacturers who provide training. In Germany, Poland and Belgium the preference reaches 53%, while France is at a somewhat lower – but still meaningful – 32%.

Labor Shortages Are Pushing Training

A quick snapshot of the continent leads us into a familiar chorus. 70% of Polish installers report labor shortages, we’re seeing 60% in the Netherlands and around 40-47% in Belgium, the UK and Germany. Looking ahead, roughly every second installer expects labor shortages to remain an issue for the next five years.

So how do they plan to deal with it? Hire non-qualified staff and train them internally. So there’s even more weight on clear training structures, manufacturer-led education and practical, repeatable learning formats.

When experience is thin, training becomes the safety net.

Timing Matters Too

Another detail that often gets ignored is when training happens. The first half of the year is the preferred training window, spring to early summer works best and autumn is consistently the least attractive period. Why? Look at the workload. Installers aren’t refusing training. They’re just cautious about doing it at their busiest.

However, there’s also a sizable group in every country that reports no strong seasonal preference, which gives manufacturers flexibility if the content is worth their time.

The Q1 2021 Seasonal Comparison

Given that paradox, it is essential to know when installers expect to have the time to follow trainings. That is why we asked that question to 700 HVAC installers and plumbers from 6 European countries during the interviews for the Q1 2021 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Mechanical Installation Monitor.

Looking at Germany, France and Poland, winter seems to be the preferred time to follow trainings. Although January and February score quite high in the UK as well, July is actually the preferred month for training according to installers there. In Belgium, preference seems to culminate around the month of May.

In the Netherlands, differences between preferred months were small.

As days are noticeably shortening and temperatures drop in autumn, HVAC installers are busy making sure people’s installations are ready for the winter to come. After being less active during summer months, those systems may show sudden malfunctions when having to deal with the drop in temperature. Aside from such Autumn troubles, the last days of summer do not seem preferred for training in Germany, Poland and especially France either.

Whatever the reason may be, most HVAC installers from the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands seem to agree that between August and November is not a great time for trainings. But what does all this matter for manufacturers?

As other results in the Q1 2021 report of the European Mechanical Installation Monitor point out, the manufacturers are the most important source of information about trainings for the European HVAC installers, which is a great position to use tactically. The above shows that European installers do not want to bother with training during certain months, but what if you offer them the information about and opportunity of training just after those busy months in which they probably encountered certain issues that could be solved by certain types of training?

These country preferences were recorded in Q1 2021. The later Q4 2025 findings above describe a broader preference for the first half of the year; neither wave implies that every installer follows the same calendar.

The Bottom Line

Nothing in the EMIM Q4 2025 points to installers being disengaged from training. What it does show, however, is professionals operating under constraint.

That’s why face-to-face still anchors learning where mistakes are expensive. That’s why online works best as reinforcement, not replacement. And that’s why blended models win when they respect how jobs actually unfold, not how training calendars are planned.