Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering President’s Dinner, current president, Ben Bradshaw, reported that the newly introduced Register of Registered Heating Professionals has been well received.
This year’s event was hosted by Lord Whitty at the House of Lords and attended by stakeholders from industry including manufacturers, merchants, government departments, other professional bodies and representatives from the CIPHE membership.
The Lord Whitty welcomed guests to the House of Lords and spoke about environmental issues affecting the plumbing and heating engineering industry.
After thanking Lord Whitty, Ben Bradshaw spoke about the achievements of the CIPHE during the past twelve months and outlined its objectives for the coming year.
In his speech Mr Bradshaw said: “One of our major responsibilities under the Charter is act as guardians of the Registers for both heating and plumbing professionals under the Register of Plumbers. We launched the Register of Registered Heating Professionals at the start of this year to provide a voluntary registration scheme for qualified heating engineers working will all fuels.
“OFTEC, HETAS or Gas Safe doesn’t mean plumb safe, and we are continually hearing about incidents where heating installers without the necessary plumbing qualifications have botched water connections.
“The new register is searchable by members of the public by postcode on our website and I am pleased to say that interest in the register from heating professionals and consumers is very encouraging.”
Mr Bradshaw also underlined the CIPHE’s determination to drive cowboy trainers out of business: “It is still possible for anyone to set up as a plumber without any qualifications whatsoever. One of our main aims will be to continue campaigning against those who entice the uninformed or desperate into quick fix training solutions that promise fortune and potential infamy and by doing so drag down the reputation of our industry and put people’s lives at risk.”
Continuing the theme of training, guests at the dinner contributed generously to a £100,000 appeal set up by the Worshipful Company of Plumbers to commission and erect a statue called The London Apprentice in Cannon Street Station next year. The iconic statue will commemorate the Company’s 400th anniversary and underlines the importance of apprenticeships. “A good apprenticeship is an essential part of training and I think it is a great idea to have a statue honouring apprenticeships in such a busy public place,” said Ben.