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WELLINGTON - Too many apprentice plumbers are failing to get registered because of their 'atrocious literacy and numeracy skills', National says.
The same goes for apprentice gasfitters and drainlayers, National MP Colin King said today.
Only 35 percent of plumbing apprentices passed their registration exams last year, while almost half the drainlaying apprentices failed theirs, he said.
Chief examiner Roye Daniel said the lack of basic mathematical skills disadvantaged many candidates.
"In any industry where most pipes, tanks and vessels are round, too many cannot calculate the area of a circle and thus the volume of circular objects."
Mr Daniel had said many people entering the industries could benefit in additional tuition in comprehension, linguistic and numeracy skills.
Mr King said it was an indictment on the Labour-led Government and was why National was committed to setting national standards in reading, writing and numeracy.
- NZPA