Installers are focused on upselling, upskilling and recruiting, according to the latest insight from Glow-worm.

Keen to grow their business, 39% of the 500 installers surveyed wish they had more work, a third (34%) want to get to grips with renewables, a further third want to make more effort to upsell on installations and a quarter (26%) wish they were better at following up on previous installations.

As part of business expansion plans, overall 35% of installers want to increase the number of people they employ through apprentices. This sentiment was strongest felt by 25-34 year olds, 37% of whom said they would be looking to employ an apprentice compared to just 8% for 35-44 year olds.

Lack of work (36%), knowledge (38%), and time to think about business planning (30%) were the most common reasons installers gave for being unable to grow their business.

Respondents were also divided on their views on their work/life balance, with 39% saying they wished they had more work, and 33% saying they wish they had more free time. Only one in five were happy with how their time is divided, with 25-34 year olds around twice as likely to be happy as 35-44 year olds (29% vs 15%), and 35-44 year olds tending to want more free time (39% vs 22%).

Neil Bunning, commercial director for Glow-worm, said: "This report has helped us to gain a clear picture of the landscape for installers and highlighted just how ambitious installers are, albeit many feel they are unable to follow through with their aspirations. We have been listening to installers and want to help them address these issues."

The research was carried out by Atomik Research, on behalf of Glow-worm, in May 2015.