How does Stopcocks create the next generation of plumbers?
Lets face it, the jobs just aren’t out there. It’s difficult enough for male students to get a job, and in this current climate where no one is hiring it’s even harder to get a ‘job’ as a women in this industry.
Last month, I had a meeting with Summit Skills. They are the organization that decides what the qualification is made up of. They are the body that decides you need to be in employment before you can get your NVQ’s signed off.
Some History
Apprenticeships have been around since the 12th Century. A system whereby a youngster is taken in by a master craftsman and taught all the skills needed to become a master themselves. It was usually craftsmen that had apprentices. (stone masons, ironmongers, carpenters and roofers). This was long before plumbing even existed in households. At that time, parents would pay the master to take their child in for 5 or 7 years. The apprentice wasn’t paid, but was given food and board and trained. Apprentices were mainly boys, but some girls were taken in by seamstresses and housekeepers.
In 1964 Industry Training Boards were formed to standardize learning. For construction this is the CITB to create a syllabus of learning. Also around this time awarding bodies like City and Guilds were formed. Apprenticeships changed and declined until the late 1970s where the lowest numbers were recorded.
NVQ’s were introduced in the 80s to try to re energize certain sectors of industry. As the name implies they are qualifications that are assessed from being in work. This is the problem you are facing. You want to be fully qualified before you go out and work in customers houses, and according to everything you have been told, you must work with a firm.
This is a grey area. The truth is; you can set yourself up in business as a plumber with no qualification at all. There is at present no regulation about this. When we questioned the Summit Skill chap about this his words were ‘This is a grey area”.
Our Solution
We do not suggest for a minute that you go into the world without being qualified to do so. Stopcocks has a 20 year reputation to uphold. In May 2011 we launched the Friends of Stopcocks. This is how we intend to help you get your NVQ’s signed off.
How does this help? When you become a Stopcocks intern we ask you to provide us with the contact details for the features editor of your local newspaper. We then send them a press release. A press release is not an advert. It is a short piece of news, that attracts the reporter to want to know more. As a female plumber you are very newsworthy. We have used this technique to help plumbers on our business scheme to get started. The purpose of the press release is to get a feature written about our new and innovative approach to the skills gap that exists today.
As well as this we expect you as the intern to publicize the fact that you are a plumber to attract work. You will also need to ensure you have adequate public liability insurance. (Prices start from £40). Two bathroom installations with photographic evidence will usually cover all the work based elements required to get signed off. Your objective is to find those two jobs (with our help). The installation will be completed by a qualified and experienced plumber who will supervise and oversee any work you carry out. This will satisfy the assessor, then you can get on with your plumbing career knowing that you have met the NVQ criteria.
