British Gas recruits 1,100 to gain foothold in insulation business

The utility giant is hiring staff and setting up depots across the UK, with plans to roll out the service within a year.

It already offers loft and cavity wall insulation but only through external contractors and wants to bring the work in-house to capture a slice of the surge in demand.

Last year, British Gas insulated 270,000 loft and cavity walls through its existing external contractor service.

The domestic UK insulation market is forecast to more than double from the current 600 million a year within three years under Government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34% within 10 years compared to the level seen in 1990.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said last year that the Government's ambition was to provide cavity wall and loft insulation for all suitable properties by 2015.

British Gas said it was looking to recruit cavity wall insulation technicians, loft insulation technicians, team managers, energy experts and also some roles for planning and support.

The bulk of the jobs - 290 - will be in London and the South East, where there is the greatest concentration of homes.

But it will also recruit 60 people in the South West, 100 in East Anglia, 190 in the Midlands, 200 in the North West, 100 in Yorkshire and North East, 80 in Wales and 80 across Scotland.

British Gas said: "Over the last five years we have insulated over 1.5 million lofts and cavity walls, including 270,000 last year, but using external contractors.

"We are aiming to bring this in-house as part of a much wider push to build our energy efficiency and services business, adding additional expertise and value as demand is set to increase rapidly."