January 1999
IoP Conference '99 Telford 3rd - 6th June
The Institute of Plumbing's 1999 Conference and family weekend will be held in Telford, Shropshire from Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th June. Main features will include technical presentations, industry and Institute news, while delegates' partners and children will also have a full programme. The 1998 event attracted well over 200 people and was voted a huge success. All IoP members are welcome and registration details are available by contacting:Kevin Wellman
The Institute of Plumbing
64 Station Lane
Hornchurch
Essex
RM12 6NB
Fax: 01708 448987
E-mail: kevinw@plumbers.org.uk
Distance Learning Programme - going from strength to strength
The Distance Learning Programme which forms part of the Institute's Continuing Professional Development initiative, is going from strength to strength. And who says so? The plumbers and installers who are investing in the programme, that's who!Recommendations from the Industry
There can be no better recommendation and no better reason to give it a try. With more elements coming into the programme covering a wider range of topics, the Distance Learning Programme continues to provide an opportunity to learn new skills or a 'refresher course' to revisit areas of your work that may not have been part of your business for a while.
Typical of the individuals who have seen the Distance Learning Programme as valuable to them is Gio Strinati, the boss of G V S Heating & Plumbing in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Running a small business, with all the administrative headaches that can bring, meant that the idea of spending time in formal training courses simply wasn't an option. The Distance Learning Programme seemed the ideal way to help, without having to commit a particular time each week to attend a venue perhaps many miles away from base. Gio invested in the whole programme and so far has worked through five of the elements; those five which were an everyday part of his business.
"It's been a long time since I was in an academic environment and whilst I was keen to brush up on the training I had undertaken over the years, there simply weren't enough hours in the day," he says. "The Distance Learning Programme has been ideal for me and worth every penny. It allows me to work through relevant elements of the programme in the evenings or at weekends if I find myself with some spare time. It's been great as a refresher course and I'd recommend it to anyone in our sector, because however confident you are that you know something, you always learn more when you're working your way through these elements."
What is the Distance Learning Programme?
The Distance Learning initiative was launched in December 1996 to help plumbers and heating installers and members of trade and professional bodies in the industry to learn new skills, broaden their product knowledge and keep up to date with new developments. This would allow them to improve the levels of competence that they were able to offer to their customers.
The training initiative currently consists of 16 different elements, written by experts in major companies that supply products to the industry. The partners are Caradon Plumbing Solutions, Comap UK, Fernox, Fry Technology, Grundfos Pumps, Hepworth Building Products, IBP Conex, Ideal Standard, Selkirk, Siebe Climate Controls, Warmafloor and Worcester Heat Systems.
The programme is a course supporting the Continuing Professional Development Programme of the IoP and each element includes a written test section which, on completion, can be assessed by Sandwell College. If the work satisfies the assessment criteria, the college will award a certificate that can be used as supplementary evidence towards an NVQ in Plumbing levels 1 and 2 or APL (Accreditation of Prior Learning) qualification.
Growing interest
Since its launch, the programme has attracted growing interest with many of the initial print runs of materials proving inadequate. Reprints have been undertaken to meet the demand.
New elements are being prepared and by the year 2000 it may well be that the programme will have between 25 and 30 elements available, covering not just job skills for the plumber and heating installer, but wider skills covering business, selling, marketing and the duty of care in estimating.
We have undertaken research and this has revealed that the vast majority of people investing in the programme are glad they did.
More than 75% of purchasers of the programme rated the package as good or excellent value. Nearly 65% of purchasers have said they will invest in the new elements, as they become available. 87% of purchasers rated the content as good or excellent and 90% rated the quality of the material good or excellent. Training is vital to our industry and we suspect it is an area that has received a lot of promotion, but hasn't been matched by actual training hours. It's possible that this programme may have doubled the amount of training taking place in our industry sector!
What now?
Well, the programme will continue to expand. The organisations involved are committed to its future. There is no argument with the need to radically improve the levels of competency of many of those currently working in the plumbing and heating sector.
But don't listen to us. Listen to your colleagues who are already finding the Distance Learning Programme valuable and essential to their businesses. The elements are well written, easy to follow and informative. The cost is minimal - you can't fail but to see a positive return for your investment.
Details of the Distance Learning Programme can be obtained by contacting Market Link on 01905 726575.
ENDS