Following the Government’s confirmation of timescales on the incoming Future Homes standard (FHS), Kevin Wellman, CEO at the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) said:
“We welcome the clarity that the latest government announcement gives our industry after many months of uncertainty about when these changes will come into practice. The Future Homes Standard legislation marks a crucial step towards a lower-carbon future, however, with this progress comes a real challenge.
“The sector must urgently address the shortfall in skilled professionals able to install heat pumps. Recent estimates suggest that 73 700 new plumbers are needed by 2032, yet almost half of all construction apprenticeships currently don’t reach completion. This must change, and fast.
“We’re leading the introduction of a new generation of plumbing and heating engineers with new Level 2 and Level 3 plumbing apprenticeship standards (the levels in the UK are different to these in SA). These new qualifications will play a key role in attracting and retaining new talent to the sector but are not a silver bullet. We are working closely with the plumbing industry affiliated bodies including, colleges, independent training centres, manufacturers, merchants, industry representative organisations, government departments, and other industry bodies to bring about the required change.
“All stakeholders of the built environment must come together to deliver on the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes and help the UK meet its broader sustainability goals.
“We have a collective responsibility to ensure we have the workforce needed to build the low-carbon homes of tomorrow and support the future of the sector for years to come.”
Plumbing Africa and our industry knows only too well that we have a shortage of qualified plumbers serving plumbing, solar, heat pumps and general maintenance. Our country is over-run by those claiming to do plumbing work, and when it all goes wrong, these people are nowhere to be found!
A survey conducted some years ago showed that around 120 000 people are doing plumbing but are not qualified. Guestimates from this is that we have up to 10 000 qualified plumbers in SA. This needs to change.
Source: Supplied by CIPHE – Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering
