HVAC Heat Pump New Entrant Training Grant

The HVAC Heat Pump New Entrant Training Grant is administered by the Colorado Energy Office as one of two funding opportunities under the Training for Residential Energy Contractors Grant Program. The broader TREC initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and is intended to strengthen Colorado's HVAC workforce in support of beneficial electrification. The New Entrant Training Grant specifically supports existing or new training programs that prepare new entrants for the HVAC workforce, with an emphasis on heat pump technology. The companion HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant serves existing workers, but its distinct eligibility and project provisions are not included here except where necessary to distinguish the New Entrant Training Grant. For the HVAC Heat Pump New Entrant Training Grant, eligible applicants include community colleges, trade or technical schools, private training organizations, nonprofit organizations, and organized labor or industry associations. The Colorado Energy Office especially encourages applicants serving rural and rural resort regions in order to support statewide access to resources and training. The source does not restrict the New Entrant Training Grant to particular Colorado counties, municipalities, or other sub-state areas. Certifying agencies, employers, and manufacturers are identified as eligible for the separate Upskilling Grant and therefore are not treated as independently eligible applicant types for the New Entrant Training Grant based on the information provided. New Entrant Training Grant funds may be used to expand curricula to include heat pump training, purchase training equipment, recruit new students, and cover other costs associated with training activities. These allowable activities directly support the program's objective of building training capacity and preparing people entering the HVAC workforce to work with heat pump technology. The source states an award range of $50,000 to $350,000 per awardee per grant program. No matching contribution is required. The supplied source does not state the total amount available specifically for the New Entrant Training Grant, the expected number of awards, an indirect cost limitation, a subaward limitation, or a specified performance period. The Colorado Energy Office is not currently accepting applications for the program. Future funding rounds are to be determined, and the agency warns that any future application rounds are subject to changes. Previous-round application materials, a previous informational webinar recording, and a previous Q&A document remain available for reference. Because these materials relate to a prior round and the supplied source does not reproduce the application requirements contained within them, specific application questions, required uploads, narratives, evaluation criteria, scoring procedures, submission portal requirements, and other application components cannot be established from the supplied text. No current application opening date, application closing date, pre-application deadline, or required pre-application gating step is stated. The program is therefore treated as not currently accepting applications rather than as an active or continuously rolling opportunity. The statement that future funding rounds are to be determined indicates the possibility of future funding but does not establish an annual, quarterly, biennial, or other predictable recurring schedule. Accordingly, no future application date or recurrence calculation is established from the source. Applicants interested in a future round can sign up for TREC grant updates and should recognize that the prior application materials are provided only as references and may not reflect requirements for a future competition. The Colorado Energy Office also provides a Heat Pump Training Toolkit developed with input from the TREC Workforce Advisory Group to assist entities seeking to start or expand HVAC training programs that incorporate beneficial electrification technology, particularly air-source heat pumps. The funder's language indicates that applicants should align proposed activities with preparation of new HVAC workforce entrants and the development or expansion of heat pump training. Organizations serving rural and rural resort regions are particularly encouraged to apply when a future round becomes available. The source provides ceo_climateworkforce@state.co.us in connection with inaccuracies or omissions in the Heat Pump Training Toolkit and related resources, but it does not explicitly identify an individual grant program contact, program telephone number, current application deadline, award notification date, or project performance timeline.

Focus proposals on preparing new entrants to the HVAC workforce with an emphasis on heat pump technology. Supported activities include curriculum expansion, training equipment, student recruitment, and other training costs. Applicants serving rural and rural resort regions are especially encouraged.