Quality Plumber Week Coming This Fall!

 

The Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors have organised a 'Quality Plumber Week' (QPW) for this October 1st to the 7th. This years hot topic of whether or not to License the industry will be given huge awareness during such week as discussions will be well under way.

The week attempts to raise awareness for current Plumbing and Heating Engineers who continuously do a good job in not only offering an outstanding service for the public, but also in safeguarding them from any faulty work.

Now we did mention the discussion of licensing the industry so that not just anyone can pick up a set of tools and call themselves a Plumber - Something that occurs regularly and leads to more and more rogue traders.

How would it help the industry?

 

The APHC has given the discussion serious thought and have presented a few arguments as to why such licensing scheme would help benefit the industry:

1. Protect public health from dangerous and non-compliant plumbing and heating work.

2. Assist the UK in reducing its carbon emissions through work which is compliant with regulation and best practice.

3. Provide more of a ‘level playing field’ for the bonafide plumbing and heating installer when quoting and tendering for work.

Here's what the CEO of APHC had to say on the matter:

“This is a very important topic which I believe we need to debate collectively as an industry and I am urging the industry to come together and share individual points of view and I believe Quality Plumber Week will provide a good opportunity to host a constructive debate.

“We want to discuss the rights and wrongs of such a scheme, how it could fit within the current framework of legislation and existing competence schemes, how it could be enforced, funded and promoted, what could the membership criteria look like, how would competence be measured, how could it work for new entrants, existing installers and those installers with many years’ worth of experience but who don’t hold an official qualification – just to mention a handful of discussion points.”

What else does the week promise?

 

The licensing scheme appears to hold similar value to that of the Gas Safe Register for Qualified Gas Engineers and we do agree that maybe it is time to discuss the importance of introducing such scheme for Plumbers. The Quality Plumber Week aims to not only address this situation, but to also:

2. Promote the work of professional plumbers and heating engineers
3. Highlight the importance of using professionals
4. Inform consumers of how to source a professional and avoid a rogue trader

This could be the start of such scheme and it's important to address the issue and inform you guys of the latest news! We're sure that many of you who have taken the correct path in seeking Plumbing Courses and gaining the correct qualifications, do not want to see your jobs land in the hands of the incompetent and not qualified.

Make sure you safe guard yourself and protect your career investment! Be sure to look out for Quality Plumber Week - just a couple of months away!