Tradespersons who have gained their approved plumbing qualifications are extremely important and perform highly skilled work, a company boss has stated.
Writing to the Financial Times, Charlie Mullins, managing director of Pimlico Plumbers, challenged recent comments made by BAE's Dick Olver.
Mr Olver suggested that university-educated engineers should not be described in the same way as workers such as repairmen, gas fitters and plumbers with technical qualifications.
However, Mr Mullins said of the 133 employees that are with his company: "They often have people's lives in their hands - dealing with boilers and gas is a dangerous job. Why should they stop calling themselves engineers? This is just downgrading their highly skilled jobs."
He added that workers should not have to work in a manufacturing plant to gain the title of engineer.
Pimlico Plumbers is based in London and its services are enlisted on close to 1,200 jobs every week.
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