Have your say in shaping the future of Plumbing and Heating Apprenticeships

In an important and exciting move, Plumbing and Heating Apprenticeships are now joining Phase 3 of the Trailblazer project and employers in the industry are being invited to participate in an important electronic survey the results of which will help greatly in altering the format of Apprenticeships for the better.

Following a government review of Apprenticeships by Doug Richard the ‘Richard Review of Apprenticeships’, Apprenticeships are currently undergoing a revolutionary reform, with Apprenticeships being redesigned by groups of experienced employers under the label ‘Trailblazers’.

The Trailblazers are made up of leading small and large employers and professional bodies in a wide range of industries. The employers have been collaborating to design Apprenticeships for occupations within their industry with the aim of making them world-class. The standards that they design will be the basis for the new Apprenticeships.

A critical element of the Apprenticeship development process is that employers have a key role in both leading the process and providing their input concerning content and delivery of the Apprenticeships, based on their knowledge and experience.

The decision making process on the reform of Plumbing & Heating Industry Apprenticeships will be carried out by an Employer Group of leading Plumbing and Heating companies. SummitSkills will be secretariat with APHC providing development consultative services.

The Plumbing and Heating Trailblazer Employer Group consists of ten dedicated employers representing the Plumbing and Domestic Heating Industry. The group includes Robert Moss of Seddon Construction Ltd. who, as Chair of the employer group, submitted the initial application for Plumbing and Heating Apprenticeships to be included in the reform.

“The Employer Group has created a short survey”, said Robert Moss. “The survey is part one of a two stage qualitative research phase and we urge employers in the industry to complete this as it is your opportunity to have a say regarding the future content of Plumbing and Heating Apprenticeships.

“The survey questionnaire has been designed to be used by all types of plumbing and heating companies, including sole traders and is designed to be completed by plumbing business proprietors or business managers. Even if you do not have any employees, the detail which you can provide on the work you carry out will prove invaluable in determining industry qualification requirements.

“The intention of the survey is to ensure industry wide comments are received and that the new Apprenticeship going forward is properly validated.

“Take the time now to voice your input on the future of plumbing and heating apprenticeships.”

The survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/plumbingtrailblazers1 and results must be in by November 14.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “I congratulate the Plumbing and Heating Trailblazer Employer Group for the key role it is playing in developing new top-quality apprenticeships. Through the trailblazers initiative, employer groups, in collaboration with their industry partners, will give people the skills they need to thrive and our businesses need to compete.”

For more information, please go to www.apprenticeships.org.uk which will take you to the Standards in Development page.