- the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- customer service skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- knowledge of building and construction
- analytical thinking skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- persistence and determination
- the ability to work well with others
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Your day-to-day tasks may include working as a:
- heating installer, fitting heating equipment and pipework systems
- ductwork installer, putting in ductwork and ventilation systems
- domestic heating installer, fitting central heating systems in homes
- service engineer, planning and carrying out regular maintenance and repairs
- commissioning engineer, making sure systems meet their original design specification
- control engineer, designing and installing the control panels that operate and adjust heating systems
- renewable energy engineer, working with systems using wind, tidal, solar, wave, hydro, geothermal, biomass and hydrogen
You could work at a client's business or at a client's home.
Your working environment may be cramped, you'll travel often and at height.
You could move into a managerial role or technical sales.
With further training you could become a building energy management systems control engineer.
You can get more advice about working and training in heating and ventilation from the Building and Engineering Services Association.