A new National President was inaugurated at the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering - CIPHE - Annual General Meeting on Friday 21 June. Held at United Insurance Brokers Limited in London, Tracey Richardson EngTech LCGI MCIPHE RP handed over the presidential baton to EurIng Christopher Northey CEng FCGI FCIPHE RP. Mel Gumbs Eng Tech MCIPHE RP was elected as Vice President.
Since 1886 the Register of Plumbers has been helping to protect the public from poor plumbing work. Now it has reached a very special milestone with the 70,000th Registered Plumber (RP), Sam Demeza, from Newmarket, welcomed into its revered ranks.
Members of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering (CIPHE) are being urged to book their place without delay for the 2019 Annual General Meeting.
Taking place on Friday 21st June, at United Insurance Brokers Ltd, 69 Mansell Street, London E1 8AN, the 2019 AGM is the most important date in the CIPHE’s calendar.
Kevin Wellman, CEO said, “The next 12 months is going to be incredibly important for the CIPHE. We are liaising with Government on Building Regulations and safety campaigns around scalding incidents, along with engaging the industry on issues such as education, technological change, the global water crisis, energy efficiency and raising standards.”
As the news breaks that apprenticeship starts are down by 26% - following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 - its clear that currently, the Government is falling a long way short of its target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020.
On paper, the Levy delivers good value. All businesses with a payroll over £3m per annum have to pay 0.5% of their wage bill towards funding apprenticeships, (employers get a £15,000 fixed annual allowance to offset against the levy payment). Once employers have registered for an apprenticeship service account, they can use that money, plus a 10% government contribution, on apprenticeships within their own organisation.
Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of underfloor heating systems, has officially launched a £250,000 training facility to inspire the next generation of budding heating professionals.
The Doncaster-based firm held the official opening of the state-of-the-art Polypipe Professional Development Centre (PDC) at Kirk Sandall in the town.
The facility features specially-designed training spaces to give trainee and experienced plumbing professionals the opportunity to improve their practical skills. It is set to become one of the UK’s leading training centres for professional heating engineers, installers, plumbers and merchants.
Global water treatment and filter manufacturer Fernox has been rewarded with CIPHE approved training centre status by the CIPHE President, Paul Williams. This follows a £1.5 million investment in its new training and technical and research facility, with three state-of-the-art product specific and demonstration laboratories.