Young plumbers lead the country

An Auckland plumber has taken the industry's top apprenticeship award.
Ten others from the Auckland area have also been named in the awards.
Rothesay Bay apprentice Joel Eddington, for whom Dan Pollard Plumbing is the host employer, won the Caroma Award for the best academic achievement by a graduate. He receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Australia to tour Caroma's manufacturing operations and suppliers.
Hayden Kumerich of Albany (Mainly Gas & Plumbing) won a Plumbing World Craftsman Examination Scholarship, Paul Grubb of Browns Bay (McMinn Plumbing) won the Stephens Plumbing Trophy for the most inspiring North Island apprentice, and Stephen Deacon, also of Albany, (Blackshaw Plumbing) won the North Island Best All Rounder award for Level 3 apprentices.
Pakuranga apprentice Jared Coghlan has won a Plumbing World Craftsman Exam Scholarship and Paul Davies also of Pakuranga has won the Peter Diver Trophy for the Best Drainlaying Apprentice, and Scott Fergusson of Bucklands Beach has won a Plumbing World Award for Excellence in Plumbing and Gasfitting.
Mt Eden apprentice Tim Boyd has won the Best All Rounder award for Level 2 and the Safety'n' Action workplace safety award. Michael Powell also of Mt Eden has won the Most Improved award for Level 2 apprentices, and Kurt Darlington of Mt Roskill has won the Most Improved award for Level 1.
A scholarship in memory of former Trustee Don Keenan was awarded to Brett Stubbing (Illingworth Plumbing). He will attend a three-week Outward Bound course at Anakiwa in Queen Charlotte Sound.
The Apprenticeship Training Trust held its 2009 graduation and annual awards prizegiving function in Auckland on March 12.
The awards celebrate the success of 48 North Island apprentices who completed apprenticeships through the trust last year and those who won prizes in several categories.
Guest speaker four-time world champion single sculler Mahe Drysdale, MNZM, presented graduates with their Certificates of Completion.
The trust has scheduled a Christchurch ceremony for South Island apprentices in April.
The trust is New Zealand's largest apprentice employer, with almost 800 apprentices graduating over the last 15 years. The trust now has apprentices training at four polytechnics and will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.