Trust apprenticeship opens door to a plumb career

Plumbing apprentice Ford Burgess. Photo / Supplied

The Apprenticeship Training Trust is a group training organisation that employs around 300 apprentices. The apprentices are seconded to local host employers with whom they gain practical skills and work experience.

As well as being assessed on-the-job, apprentices do block courses and correspondence at polytechnics. However, from September, new apprentices will be trained through the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Industry Training Organisation (PGDRITO), thus standardising ATT training.

The apprentice, trust and employer sign a fixed-term individual employment agreement before training begins. While based with a host employer, apprentices can be moved to other tradespeople if they need to gain experience in an area not covered by their usual employer.

Applicants need a written reference from a plumber that proves they've done a week's work experience. They also need a restricted driver's licence - preferably for a manual vehicle.

However, not all plumbing apprentices enter trust apprenticeship agreements and employers can still employ apprentices themselves.

APPRENTICE

Ford Burgess, 33
Plumber at Tauranga Hardware & Plumbing
Qualified in November 2008

I previously worked as a qualified butcher for 10 years and a Navy chef for three years. I was working as a butcher when I decided I wanted to push my boundaries, so I put an ad in the paper asking for an adult apprenticeship. Tauranga Hardware were also advertising for an apprentice and I applied.

I became employed by the Apprenticeship Training Trust. Tauranga Hardware & Plumbing was my host employer and I did off-job training through Unitec.

The apprenticeship takes 8000 hours - about four years - and covers plumbing and gas fitting. Gasfitting is more technical than plumbing and involves codes, regulations, testing methods and technical operations of appliances.

Plumbing is more hands-on and you use skills such as soldering and braising. You learn how to interpret plans and create products out of specific materials.

There are 21 correspondence modules, each with six assessments. Topics include roofing, sheet metal development, foul water, heated water systems and domestic and industrial gas supplies. I also learned the relevant trade science needed for every day tasks in the work place.