Exeter-based SunGift Solar creates job opportunities for young people
A record summer of sun, heatwaves and predictions that future summers will only get hotter has led Exeter-based SunGift Solar to announce plans to expand its solar installer trainee scheme and its team of electrical apprentices.
Working closely with Exeter College, the business is looking to recruit trainees and electrical apprentices to assist with solar panel and battery installations for both commercial and domestic customers.
The new roles come on top of a raft of recent appointments that has seen the business significantly increase employee numbers. It also reflects a dramatic rise in the UK solar market where 142,536 solar installations took place in the first six months of the year, putting it on track to top last year’s record solar additions.
As a result, SunGift Solar is projecting a year-on-year headcount increase of 17% by the end of 2026, which includes plans for two additional graduates to join its designer training and progression track as part of its customer-facing team.
These growth plans include recruiting individuals that are not in education, employment or training – also known as NEETs – which currently account for around 13% of 16 to 24-year-olds (Office for National Statistics, 27 August 2026). SunGift Solar is looking to put suitable NEETs over the age of 18 through its SunGift School of Solar Excellence training scheme.
SunGift Solar has always aimed to identify and train ambitious candidates who share an ethos of excellence, ensuring high standards and a broad diversity of candidates.
SunGift Solar’s comprehensive solar installer training programme, which includes on-the-job learning, was developed internally by SunGift Solar and owes much to its lead installers, including Richard Bosworth.
The result is a training scheme that includes bespoke assessment manuals designed to accelerate career paths and personal development. This process sets out tasks for completion with clear criteria and competency assessments to ensure consistency and quality.
Once all stages of the training process have been successfully completed and signed off by team leads, trainees can apply for promotion. This creates a clear path for progression from trainee to installer and eventually on to lead installer, ensuring that solar installation offers a hands-on career pathway.
A similar pathway has also been built for aspiring solar array designers, taking individuals from junior designer through to senior designer.
Commenting on its expanding apprenticeship, graduate and NEETs recruitment programme, Beth Johnson, Director at SunGift Solar, said: “Our experience shows that individuals with the right aptitude, drive and desire to learn thrive at SunGift Solar – regardless of their working background.
“Supported by our staged training scheme and commitment to SunGift Solar’s core values, we have built a talented team from the ground up, many of whom have been with us for over 12 years.
“In the 9 years since I joined the company, our headcount has increased by almost 300%, and we’ve worked hard to create structured training and progression schemes to ensure our expanding team always reaches the right standard. Now, we’re looking to grow the team even further and we’re excited to work alongside Exeter College and other training providers and to support the Government’s aims with regards to NEETs.”
Johnson added: “We have a long history of working closely with Exeter College, employing their students and even joining them in the classroom to spread the word about solar PV as a career choice. This year we have taken on two of their graduates and hosted a further two as part of their T-Levels. Our new recruitment drive will include electrical apprentices as well as solar installers, all of whom will go through our training process.”
Mick Dixon, Curriculum Area Manager - Maintenance & Multi Skills at Exeter College, added: “SunGift Solar has been a huge supporter of the College, not only employing former students but sponsoring the Construction, Technical and Professional category at the Exeter College Apprentice and Employer Awards 2026. We know how committed they are to nurturing future talent, and it’s great to see they are putting ambitious young individuals at the heart of their expansion plans.”
Over the last year, SunGift Solar has completed a series of notable solar array installations including a ground-mounted installation of 2,672 solar panels for Numatic International in Chard, Somerset. Capable of meeting 20% of its annual on-site manufacturing energy needs, Numatic is now able to produce over 500,000 Henry vacuums a year purely from the power of the sun.
The project is one of hundreds completed by SunGift Solar across homes and businesses so far this year, including roof mounted, ground mounted, and solar carport systems.
For more information visit www.sungiftsolar.co.uk
