SNIPEF - Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation
Director's Blog
March 2010
Celebrate Plumbing on World Plumbing Day
There are days to commemorate or highlight all sorts of events or issues. 11 March 2010 will see the creation of another day on the calendar of world events- the first ever World Plumbing Day.
An initiative of the World Plumbing Council, World Plumbing Day seeks to raise world awareness of the significant contribution which the plumbing industry makes to health and the environment.
Writing in the late 1800s, Scottish inventor of the Buchan trap, William Paton Buchan, wrote about a good plumber being “a benefactor of humanity” and predicted that in time plumbers would be seen as being important as medical doctors. Is that the comparison which many people in the UK would make today? Probably not- but the truth remains that without good plumbing, public health in this country would be seriously worse than it currently is. In developing countries, the situation is even worse with millions of people dying each year simply because they do not have access to safe water and sanitation (the bread and butter of the plumbing industry).
With the whole world focussing on climate change and the depletion of natural resources, it is again the plumbing industry which is playing a major role in the design, installation and maintenance of energy and water efficiency products and increasingly renewable technologies like solar, ground and air source heating and biomass boilers.
Working with the theme, “Plumbing-Vital to Global Health”, it is hoped that on this first World Plumbing Day many people in many countries will have their attention drawn to the fact that plumbing is important.
I will be in Beijing, China on World Plumbing Day 2010 holding a press conference and speaking at a special Technical Forum which has been arranged for the Day. Here in Scotland there will be events in the Scottish Parliament (where a motion has already been lodged marking the Day) and in Buchanan Street, Glasgow. Curious about that one? If you can, go to Buchanan Street between 1100 and 1300 on 11 March and find out! There will also be events in places including USA, Australia and India as plumbing organisations seek to use the Day to tell people about our industry.
Join with us in celebrating World Plumbing Day on 11 March 2010 and get the message across about plumbing!
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February 2010
The boiler scrappage scheme saga
The early December 2009 announcement of a Boiler Scrappage Scheme caused great excitement in industry. consumer and environmental circles. Following the UK Government’s scheme to encourage the replacement of old cars (a welcome boost to an ailing car industry) an incentive to encourage the replacement of old, expensive to run and environmentally unfriendly central heating boilers is a great idea. It can benefit consumers, the environment and an industry which has suffered badly in the recession.
However, things were not as straightforward as they looked. It became apparent after a few days that the announcement by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer only applied in England. The reaction from the UK’s other three countries was predictably loud and sustained.
SNIPEF was at the forefront of the Scottish and Northern Irish cries and letters and emails were sent to a range of Ministers and officials. The responses were disappointing in that no one seemed willing to make a quick decision. At the same time, public awareness became enormous across the entire UK. During one week the most accessed story on AOL was about “boiler scrappage scheme”. How unusual for a plumbing industry story to nudge Brad, Angelina, Jordan and Co. out of the limelight!
The Scottish Parliament operates a Public Petitions system where anyone can raise an issue with the Parliament. This has previously resulted in changes in the law. For example, the requirement to fit thermostatic mixing valves came from a Public Petition. Part of the process can include a facility under which the Parliament website hosts an e-petition allowing people to express their support for the issue. SNIPEF decided to follow this route as a way of showing our politicians that this would be a popular measure and we prepared a petition to go on the e-petition site. Although it took 3 weeks from submission to appearing on the site, within minutes of it being posted there, the signatures began to be added with some 300 people supporting the idea within the first few days.
Politics can be unpredictable. (Is that a gross understatement?). It came as a (pleasant) surprise to wake up on the morning of the Scottish Budget debate (3 February 2010) to learn that the Finance Minister had, overnight, added £2m for a Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme to his package of proposals. Although this was by no means the most important issue in the package, it did feature in the Parliament debate and we were pleased, just after 5pm, to see the Budget being passed which means that there will be a Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme.
As is often said, the devil will be in the detail. £2m is a very small amount of funding (proportionately much less than being spent in England) and will have to be spent wisely. SNIPEF has offered advice and assistance to officials as the scheme is developed and we hope to see our suggestions being taken on board.
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January 2010
A chilly start to 2010 - will things warm up?
Plumbers were in high demand in many parts of the country in the first weeks of this New Year dealing with the aftermath of the worst winter weather which we have seen in 30 years. Media attention was high and a number of SNIPEF members were interviewed on national television either giving advice to customers or explaining just how busy they had been over the Festive Season. One member in Kingussie had only managed a couple of hours away from work over a whole week to have his Christmas Dinner.
While some people might see repairing frost bursts as “manna from heaven” for the plumbing industry, I am sure that most plumbers would prefer not to have these short bursts of pressurized activity- often working in difficult conditions at unsocial hours (and during holidays) for unknown customers (which can lead to payment problems). For that reason, SNIPEF’s focus before and during periods of exceptionally cold weather is as much about giving preventative advice as about encouraging customers who experience problems to ensure that they engage a SNIPEF Licensed Plumbing Business.
Another downside of the cold snap was the transport difficulties which always arise when we have even a smattering of snow or ice. SNIPEF received calls from members who had employees unable to get to work as their roads had not been gritted and public transport was either cancelled or sporadic. I know that colleagues in countries with much more severe winters don’t seem to have these problems.
After the thaw, a couple of published reports painted a pretty gloomy picture of recent and future construction industry activity. On the one hand, the Bank of England described construction as having been worse affected than any other sector of the UK economy in late 2009 “by some margin”. Not just a little bit worse then. Secondly, projections produced by the Construction Products Association are a mixed bag with many aspects of construction predicting that 2010 will not see a dramatic increase in workload. SNIPEF members still report difficulties in getting any support from their banks so even where work is available, it is not always possible to finance it. That is a tragedy which will inevitably lead to problems in the months ahead.
In many years, Scotland and Northern Ireland don’t experience bad winter weather until February. Is it too soon to think that we have seen the worst? Let us hope that better conditions are not far away- both in weather and workload terms.
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December 2009
An early Christmas present
The letter from the Scottish Government’s Directorate for the Built Environment starts: “I am pleased to inform you that the Scottish Ministers have approved……”
While it is always encouraging to get official recognition for an activity or scheme developed by SNIPEF on behalf of its members, this approval is particularly welcome. It indicates that the considerable effort which has been put into preparing an Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme for Drainage, Heating and Plumbing has paid off. The Scheme has met the stringent requirements laid down by Government.
When the Scheme is formally launched in early 2010, SNIPEF members and others who meet the requirements to become an Approved Certifier will be able to self-certify that work carried out by them has met the requirements of Scottish Building Standards. Unlike other approval schemes, self-certification under this scheme will remove the requirement for any external (i.e. building standards) inspection.
The Approved Certifier Scheme builds on the existing approval schemes developed by SNIPEF including the Plumbing Industry Licensing Scheme and the Water Byelaws Approved Contractor Scheme. It will enable those firms which wish to become involved to have yet another weapon in their armoury against the less qualified firms which continue to work in our industry.
We can now look forward to the formal launch of this new arrangement in 2010.
Will it be a Happy New Year for plumbing?
Firms whose businesses have been badly affected by the severe credit crunch and recession will be hoping that we will turn a corner with a new year. While there may be some encouraging signs, no one is brave enough to predict with any certainty that 2010 will be dramatically better. Work might be slightly more plentiful but it appears already that there is downward pressure on prices which is not encouraging.
Let us all hope that the role and value of the true professional and competent plumbing business will be respected by clients and customers of all sizes in the year ahead.
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November 2009
Chirpy chirpy TWEET TWEET
I am all for simplicity and prefer one sentence instead of three or one side of paper instead of half a forest- provided the message gets across. That’s one reason why I am pleased that I have just been educated in the wonders of social networking tool Twitter. The limit on messages which can be posted there is 140 characters and that really does concentrate the mind.
I am not in the first flush of youth and my IT skills are miles behind those of my teenage son and daughter. However, there are times when you just know that you should be doing something. I was in South Africa last week chairing the annual meeting of the World Plumbing Council. (Great place, great weather and great meeting). During the meeting, one of my Board colleagues (a bit younger than I am) explained his success in using Twitter to promote his organisation’s message. On my return to Edinburgh I had received a message from the company which designed and maintains SNIPEF’s website suggesting that an obvious extension to this Blog would be to start Tweeting on Twitter. This was too much of a coincidence for me to ignore.
I like a challenge and I have to say that it only took minutes for me to sign up and post my first Tweet. Every day so far (and this is only day 5) I have posted at least one and sometimes several messages.
Tweeting is all about getting people to be interested in and read your Tweets and so far I have gathered a mere 8 followers. However, I am sure that this will increase over time although it is unlikely that I will gain the 100,000+ followers that some stars seem to have.
Unlike other Twitter users, I don’t plan to Tweet about the weather, what I am eating or other such fascinating trivia. My messages will be limited to plumbing issues such as news about SNIPEF, the World Plumbing Council, Plumbing Pensions (UK) Ltd or other initiatives in which I am involved.
Readers of this Blog who would like to follow my plumbing news on a more regular basis are encouraged to sign up for Twitter (www.twitter.com) where you will find me under the user name Robert_Burgon ( very original I know!).
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October 2009
The future is green(er)
Recent SNIPEF seminars in various parts of Scotland have shown the height of interest in the installation of renewable technologies. Many plumbing businesses have realised (or are beginning to realise) that it is important to be involved in this work.
While there is nothing particularly new about solar water heating or heat pumps, there is a growing awareness that these and other technologies will move from being specialist installations to part of the mainstream of a plumber’s work. Virtually every day we are told in newspapers about climate change, environmental targets and the like. The plumbing industry is (and will be) one of the most significant players in the design, installation and maintenance of the technologies which will help to meet the targets set by our legislators.
One of the biggest frustrations faced by forward-thinking installers is the bureaucracy which hinders their progress to becoming “approved” to install these technologies. The schemes which have grown in recent times are expensive and rely too much on paper-based systems. They should focus more on the competence of installers to install professionally. SNIPEF, working with a wide range of other organisations involved in this field, plans to launch an alternative scheme soon (with the support of the Scottish Government) which will hopefully address the concerns of installers and provide an effective system for allowing clients to identify the right kind of installer for the job.
There is much talk about “zero-carbon” buildings. Interestingly a recent Government consultation avoided defining what this actually means! However, if this is the general direction we are moving in, it is likely that the typical workload of the plumbing contractor in 2019 will be quite different from that of today’s installer. Challenging but exciting times ahead!
It could be argued that the plumber has always contributed to environmental issues. Much of what a plumber does is about appropriate use of natural resources and the safe disposal of products which could harm the environment. What is obvious is that this aspect is growing quickly and tomorrow’s plumber will make an even bigger contribution to the greenness of our country than ever before.
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September 2009
Fast track training- the problems continue.
The taxi driver didn’t take long to ask the question when he picked me up at Walker Street to take me to a meeting near the Scottish Parliament. (I know- what was wrong with walking? The truth was I hadn’t allowed enough time and the weather was a little wet).
“Work for SNIPEF do you?” My hesitant reply confirmed that this was the case. “What can you tell me about these quick plumbing courses you see advertised?” Well, I don’t need too many invitations like this to explain the dangers of so many of the courses which are promoted widely these days promising to transfer a non-plumber into an expert in as little as a few weeks or months (for several thousand pounds of course).
Coincidentally, that morning (and the reason that I was running a little late) I had been discussing and agreeing the final text of a SNIPEF Paper on this very issue! (See News section on this website).
I have mentioned this topic in a previous Blog and set out the reasons why one simply cannot become a plumber after a few weeks in a training centre. Sadly (and in some cases tragically- I know of a case where someone committed suicide not long after completing such a course and discovering how meaningless it was), people are still being conned into parting with their money only to find that the “qualifications” they receive are not what the industry requires.
The taxi journey was soon over. My driver told me that he had thought about this course of action a few years ago but had (wisely) decided that there was something too good to be true about what was being offered.
Chatted to the air hostess (or are they cabin crew these days?) the next morning on my way to London. I was in an emergency exit seat with oodles of leg room and she was in the jump seat opposite for take-off and landing. “What do you do?” she enquired. “I’m involved in plumbing” is my usual response to such questions. “That’s strange” she replied. “Just last night I was chatting with colleagues about what we would do if we were not flying back and forward and plumbing was one of the jobs mentioned!”. She was lucky that I only had a few minutes to give my potted version of the “fast track” warning before she was released from her seat to do the breakfast service.
They say things come in threes and these two encounters were followed just a week later with a telephone call from Canada. Someone working for a government organisation responsible for assessing whether people from other countries had the necessary skills to be called plumbers there wanted to know about the UK training programme and the qualifications required. Worryingly, some of the “qualifications” he was being shown by applicants were the very pieces of paper which we keep telling people are meaningless here. The “fast track” movement is obviously on the move.
One week and three short opportunities to correct misunderstandings. If only those opportunities were more frequent then the message might at last get through to all those tempted by these courses.
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August 2009
Plumbing the internet
The internet is a powerful tool for disseminating and accessing information. It is also a dangerous tool as there is no effective way of knowing if what you read on a website is actually true. In this sense it is probably not too different from other published media. However, it is so easy to use and subject to such little control that the internet is probably the place where you are most likely to find questionable information dressed up as fact.
A Google search on the word plumbing today resulted in almost 50 million separate entries. How many of them, however, contained truth? My email inbox is set to receive alerts any time a story appears about plumbing anywhere in the world. The frequency of such stories is surprisingly high and I can receive alerts about dozens of separate stories each and every day of the year. It doesn’t take long to separate the wheat from the chaff. Once I remove the alerts which use the word plumbing in another sense (“Plumbing the depths” seems to be a favourite headline), the remaining stories usually separate into a number of categories.
There are the human interest stories about people or businesses in the industry. These range from plumbers who are doing excellent work in the community or for charity to celebrations of a business’s anniversary and the obituaries of plumbers who have passed away. In their own way these stories are interesting and useful but probably only to the local community in whose newspaper the story first appeared.
There are the purely commercial items where people use the media as a way of promoting their services- again usually more of a local rather than national or international interest. Many firms quite correctly have identified the advertising power of the web.
Occasionally, there are quotations from published articles which highlight the importance of our industry and the risks associated with poor plumbing. For example, it was fascinating to read recently that researchers at a South African university found that almost 50% of plumbing fittings installed in that country do not meet the standards set in national regulations. I hear many stories today about sub-standard fittings in the UK and can’t help wondering whether the percentage of non-compliant parts here might be just as bad.
The most frequent stories, however, by a mile, are those which relate to quick ways to become a plumber. Included within this category are those about people who have done or are thinking about doing a quick and expensive plumbing training course and are looking for help. I could scream at my screen when I see these as they are so full of misinformation and untruths. In reality people who think they can become skilled professional plumbers in a few weeks or months are sadly mistaken. They will never receive industry recognition (although no doubt they will find some work and contribute to the industry’s already poor image).
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone could invent a “lie detector” warning system for items on the internet so that the innocent and naive could be protected from the kind of rubbish which is there? Impossible I know....or is it?
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July 2009
small businesses, bank loans and bankers’ bonuses
I attended a breakfast briefing given by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England this morning (14 July)- “breakfast” referring both to the time of day (0800am) and the fact that breakfast food was served. Although the session operated under Chatham House Rules (effectively meaning that nothing which was said within the meeting can be reported outside of it), I know that I am not breaching any confidentiality rules if I refer to one statistic which shocked me.
In a presentation about the policy of quantitative easing, reference was made to the typical interest rates currently being charged by businesses looking for bank loans. Apparently, in March 2009 about 25% of the variable rate loans and overdrafts approved for businesses with a turnover of under £1m (which are many of the firms working in the plumbing industry) were at rates more than 9% above the Bank of England’s policy rate. Given that the policy rate is currently 0.5%, the only word which I can think of for a charge of 9.5% or more is obscene. Presumably banks would justify the interest rate on the level of risk which they are taking but one cannot help but wonder whether there is any chance of small businesses ever recovering and expanding when they face such costs for bank loans (assuming of course they can find a bank willing to lend to them).
I am clearly not the only person in the room who is staggered by this figure judging by the comments which follow the presentation.
The following day’s newspapers are dominated by stories about one bank’s bonuses to its employees when figures many times more than the annual salary of most people seem to be the order of the day. I had hoped that the days of these impossible to justify bonuses were over. Obviously not! I can’t help think that there is a link between excessive interest charges applied to small businesses and sky high salaries for the bankers providing the loans.
When will we get to a situation when Government becomes brave and says enough is enough? Probably never- but that shouldn’t stop us trying to highlight what is plainly wrong.
Postscript:
Does Alistair Darling read the SNIPEF Director's Blog?
Chancellor Alistair Darling met Britain’s banking bosses on 27 July 2009 and expressed his concern that they may be charging firms too much for loans. He expects to see an increase in the level of loans given and a justification for the rates charged. Is it possible that he read the above entry some 13 days ago? Probably not- but at least it is good to see the issue being raised at high levels.
It’s official! Plumbers provide best customer service.
Summer has arrived. Although this week (1st July) Edinburgh has retained its shroud of east coast haar while the south of England has baked, one extremely hot piece of news arrived in my email inbox yesterday.
In a story which is bound to catch the attention of the press in what is usually the “silly season”, the Institute of Customer Service (yes, there is such a body) has announced that local plumbers are the nation’s favourite small businesses. Move over hairdressers, travel agents and cobblers (runners-up in the Institute’s survey of 25,000 consumers).
Plumbing so often attracts negative publicity. It is an industry which is easy to knock. We therefore welcome any story which shows the industry in a favourable light.
Can YOU identify with the survey’s findings? Does this reflect the service which you give as a plumbing business or receive as a customer? SNIPEF often hears when things don’t go as well as customers expected. It would be refreshing to hear from firms and customers when things have gone really well- this would help to confirm that plumbers really are the best. Thank you ICS for helping to promote that plumbing is good!
Apprentice training in difficult times
Apprentice training is an important building block for the plumbing industry. Even when trading is sticky (as is the case for many firms at the moment), it is important to train to meet future needs. In reality, however, the actual numbers which can be trained during a recession will be lower than during more positive times. Apprentice training requires significant work experience. It is not as easy to provide this experience when workloads are reduced.
Politicians struggle to balance what is known as the “social agenda” with the needs of industry. The social agenda is about reducing unemployment figures and ensuring that young people, in particular, have something meaningful to do after full-time education. Last week’s announcement that the Northern Ireland Assembly would be introducing college-based apprenticeships in September was clearly a social agenda response to the current recession. Colleges can take large numbers of young people 4 days a week and arrange work experience for the other day over two years or longer. Unfortunately, such a scheme, won’t serve the needs of every industry and it will most certainly not help plumbing.
Plumbing in Northern Ireland doesn’t need hundreds of partly trained and qualified young people now. Nor will it need such quantities in the years to come. What it does need is the correct number of well trained and appropriately qualified people to meet future workload requirements. The industry has set high training requirements which this scheme cannot meet. Our principal concern is that overtraining to meet the social agenda will inevitably have future negative economic consequences. The biggest gainer will be the black economy as these people will work even if they are not recognised by the industry.
It is never easy balancing social and industry needs. What we have to hope is that we can convince Northern Ireland politicians that their college-based approach will simply not serve the needs of every sector.
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June 2009
Time for decisive action on public spending
As our politicians bounce from scandal to scandal, construction industry firms in Scotland and Northern Ireland (where there has been less emphasis so far on the expenses of elected representatives) must be wondering when decisions will be taken which will unlock the log jam of the long promised public expenditure on capital construction projects.
Whether it is the proposed Scottish Futures Trust or the massive amount of planned projects under the Northern Ireland Assembly, it seems that there is an inability to make decisions and to make them quickly. At the same time, plumbing firms, along with others in the wider construction industry are left wondering what to do with their (already reduced) workforce. It is widely accepted that Governments can lead the way out of recession and that public expenditure is one way of doing this. However, until decisions are taken and commitments made, the situation for many firms in the industry will only get worse.
While the spotlight is on expenses and the outcome of the 2010 (or earlier) UK General Election, real issues such as construction expenditure are being overshadowed and we must all hope for positive and decisive action before our politicians disappear for their extended summer breaks.
2011- A Plumbing “Homecoming”
The 9th World Plumbing Conference is to take place in Edinburgh from 7-11 September 2011 when a large number of home and overseas delegates and partner are expected to descend on the capital for the World Plumbing Council’s premier event. SNIPEF has been well represented at each of the previous 8 World Plumbing Conferences and it is hoped that the large number of expected overseas visitors (many of whom will have Scottish or Irish ancestry) will be welcomed by an equally large home delegation.
These dates should be in diaries NOW for everyone with an interest in today’s plumbing industry.
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May 2009
Outstanding customer care should be the norm
I recently overheard a customer praising the professional approach to customer care demonstrated by their local plumbing business- a SNIPEF member. This firm had turned up when they had indicated, had explained exactly what the problem was and had maintained regular updating contact as new parts were procured to resolve the problem. The customer was delighted with the approach taken by the firm and had no hesitation in recommending this firm to the group of people listening to the story. The reaction of all concerned was that this experience was rather unusual. Others in the group had had good work done but often felt that “customer care” was lacking.
While positive stories about customer care are encouraging, they are sadly not the usual types of reports which one hears about any type of tradespeople (and not just plumbers). Lateness (or failing to turn up at all), poor communication and abruptness are all attributes which seem to be applied to tradespeople. It may be that it is easier to criticise than praise and in reality many businesses provide good customer care which is just not commented on. However, it is certainly true that good tradespeople are not always good at providing really good customer care.
SNIPEF stands for excellence in every aspect of the work of the plumbing and heating industry. Its members have to employ appropriately qualified plumbers, they must hold liability insurance cover and their work must be open to inspection. Above all, in the event of work not being carried out satisfactorily, SNIPEF provides a guarantee to domestic customers that the work will be rectified at no additional cost. While it might be difficult to lay down and measure criteria for acceptable levels of customer care, SNIPEF expects that all of its members recognise that this is one of the major attributes on which businesses will be judged and that the best way of guaranteeing future work and recommendations to friends and family is to go that extra mile in ensuring that customers feel happy- perhaps even delighted- with the service which they receive.
I look forward to the day when outstanding levels of customer are the norm for all customers of all trades- but particularly plumbing!
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April 2009
Gas Safety- A new start
1 April 2009 was a particularly significant day for firms working with gas as this was the day the long-established CORGI gas registration scheme was replaced by Gas Safe Register (at least in Great Britain). This change followed a comprehensive review of the previous registration scheme and a competitive tendering process in which Capita (the operators of the new brand) was successful.
SNIPEF welcomes the change as members had expressed concerns over many years about the way in which CORGI had expanded beyond its original remit and failed to take account of the views of the industry (including organisations like SNIPEF).
One of the biggest challenges facing Gas Safe Register will be raising levels of public awareness of the new brand. There is no doubt that the CORGI brand is widely recognised although it is also the case that it was not well understood with many consumers assuming that the statutory scheme covered more than gas safety. Massive promotion of the new brand is required and it was good to see prominent billboard posters as I went through Luton Airport Parkway railway station this week promoting the message that CORGI has been replaced by Gas Safe Register. I hope that many of the thousands of passengers who use this station every day will have noticed the advertising. Gas Safe Register contractors must also play their part in promoting the new brand and encouraging customers to understand that CORGI is no longer relevant.
Fast Track Training- the tragedy continues
For several years, SNIPEF has tried to get Government to act against the appalling behaviour of a group of training organisations which con people into parting with large sums of money on the promise that after a few weeks of training they will become fully qualified plumbers. The reaction of Ministers has been that as the activity of plumbing in the UK is not regulated by law, there is effectively nothing which it can do to stop this practice.
Even in these times of recession when fully qualified plumbers are being made redundant, there is still massive promotion by these outfits grossly exaggerating the demand for and earnings of plumbers. One website claims that after 12 weeks an individual with no previous background in the industry will become fully qualified as a “General Domestic Plumber”. There is no such title recognised within the UK plumbing industry and it is totally impossible for anyone to achieve an industry-recognised qualification in such a short period of time. The qualification which these people get is intended to be part of the industry requirements but not a full qualification in itself.
The SNIPEF office regularly receives contact from people who have parted with large sums of money only to find that their dreams are dashed. The only people who seem to benefit are the training organisations themselves who earn vast sums for delivering meaningless “qualifications”. SNIPEF will continue to pursue this until these appalling practices cease.
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March 2009
Recession hits some plumbing firms badly
A response of over 10% to any postal survey is supposed to be good so the response to SNIPEF’s recent questionnaire about the impact of the credit crunch and recession of over 20% is outstanding. Although care needs to be taken in jumping to conclusions from a survey of this nature, it is clear that for some firms, at least, current trading conditions are among the worst experienced by many plumbing companies.
Some of the “lowlights” of this survey are the fact that apprentices have been made redundant (usually a last-resort decision), some firms don’t know where they will be working next week (or even tomorrow) and some firms expect the situation to get worse. In response to the section of the survey where members were invited to comment on the situation, one member simply said “HELP!”
Inevitably, the situation is patchy and there are some firms who report having seen no downturn in work nor do they anticipate any. Such firms will no doubt be the envy of firms which specialised in new housing work only to find that market collapse early last year. Encouragingly, significant numbers of businesses have adapted their areas of work in order to compensate for the reduction in their traditional workload, with micro-generation being one of the newer areas of activity being reported.
Although this survey may not have revealed too many surprises, it has shown that for some firms at least today’s conditions are creating challenges never before experienced.
More Scottish Apprentices- Good News or a Political Gesture?
Among the deals which the SNP Scottish Government had to do to secure agreement on its budget was to agree to fund more apprenticeships. Many people would have seen this as a positive step as apprenticeships are increasingly being seen as providing valuable skills to young people which will lead to secure employment.
However, proper apprenticeships need employers and unless employers have work (and can predict that such work will continue into the future), they are unlikely to enter into a commitment to train an apprentice over a three or four year period. Governments cannot force employers (apart from those in the public sector) to train apprentices so it is difficult to see how extending the number of apprenticeship places to be funded will actually do much to create employment or provide meaningful training.
Elsewhere in the UK, there have been attempts to create apprenticeships which are entirely based in the college environment. In our view, work experience is as important (or even more important) than the classroom element and every effort must be made to avoid this approach being taken in Scotland. It will not benefit the young people enrolled on such courses although it would, of course, ensure that the Government’s numbers target is met.
SNIPEF will take every opportunity to make our politicians aware of the true meaning of an apprenticeship and we all hope that trading conditions improve so that the new higher targets are met within employment.
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January 2009
For some years, excerpts from my diary have been published in Plumb Heat showing SNIPEF members and other readers some of the diverse activities in which the national trade association for the plumbing and heating industry in Scotland and Northern Ireland is involved. However, Plumb Heat is published quarterly and there can be a significant time-lag between the activity and the item appearing in print. This "blog" has therefore been created to provide those who use the internet with a quicker indication of some of the issues being tackled by SNIPEF.
What will 2009 bring?
For some plumbing and heating firms, Monday 5 January 2009 saw a return to business as usual with reasonably healthy order books and customers requiring work to be done sooner than these order books would allow. For others, notably those who have specialised in new housing work, there would have been a hope that this year would be much better than 2008 which will go down as one of the worst years on record. The almost overnight closure of some housing sites early in the year led to significant redundancies (including apprentices) with no real signs that things would get better any time soon. Some of these firms have adjusted their businesses to enter other areas of work- which action might in itself have a negative impact on firms already working in these areas. We must all hope that the "green shoots of recovery" spotted by some of our politicians become more evident to our industry this year.
Gas safety in Northern Ireland
The plumbing and heating industry in Great Britain is looking forward to the new gas safety regime (Gas Safe Register) which will operate from 1 April 2009. Since the time it became apparent that this new scheme would only apply in Great Britain (and not in Northern Ireland), SNIPEF and other industry bodies have been lobbying the Northern Ireland Assembly and officials in an attempt to ensure that there continues to be a single approach to gas safety across the whole of the United Kingdom.
It was therefore disappointing to receive (on 21 January 2009) a formal consultation paper on this subject from the Health and Safety Executive in Northern Ireland (HSENI) which requests comments by 30 April 2009 (one month after the GB scheme becomes effective) and mentions that no changes are proposed until 1 April 2010.
SNIPEF believes strongly that gas installers in Northern Ireland should be given early access to the more proportionate and more appropriate approach to gas safety which has been agreed for the other countries of the UK and that firms in Northern Ireland could be at a significant disadvantage if change is not made soon. There will also be scope for considerable customer confusion if there are two separate registration schemes for gas in the UK.
As a result of quick contact with other representative bodies in our industry, a letter has been sent to the Minister concerned seeking an early meeting to discuss our concerns.
Plumbing can be good news
Every day, somewhere in the world, stories appear about plumbing. This is confirmed to me through the regular daily emails I receive from Google (which I have set to alert me to such stories). The stories can be as diverse as the horrific impact of what someone has called "No-Plumbing Disease" in places like Zimbabwe or the fact that a plumbing company in a small town in the USA was celebrating its centenary. Recent reports include many about "Joe-the (so-called) Plumber" who, having made a name for himself during the USA election campaign, now pops up reporting from Gaza!
One story would, I am sure, have struck a chord with many plumbers- numerous newspapers carried the story of the plumber who rescued a $70,000 ring from a trap in an American restaurant. I am sure that this story could be repeated dozens of times with slight variations- the only difference being that on this occasion a journalist somewhere got hold of the story and made sure that the whole world knew!