Warm.co.uk, the heating and boiler specialist has recently issued a warning about the devastating consequences of a Skills crisis in the Plumbing industry. The company has said that plumbing is a profession that is being neglected when action is taken to attract more people to the construction industry. With low numbers of people coming through training and pursuing a career in plumbing, a crisis could be incredibly damaging for both homes and businesses.
The company have suggested a range of solutions that could be implemented in order to encourage more young people to pursue a career in plumbing. These solutions include offering incentives to school leavers in order to persuade them to go straight into apprenticeships and training for the professions. This means that they will be able to get to work soon after their training and help to east the skills deficit seen in the industry.
Some plumbing businesses at the minute work across an incredibly large area, and if this was to continue it has been estimated that, in more built up areas, emergency call outs could take as long as three weeks to be dealt with, having a really damaging effect on flooded businesses and having an impact on health.
A plumbing crisis could also have a knock on effect on other projects such as the number of houses being built, preventing the Government from reaching their ambitious target. It is thought that any solution would be most successful if it was government led.
Another reason that it is vital for the industry to act sooner is, with the demand for plumbers and the lack of professionals, the cost of work is skyrocketing. This is disastrous for someone needing an emergency call out that can’t afford the charge. This means that not only is it imperative to reduce the skills shortage to help people quicker, it is vital to train more plumbers to lower the cost of repairs and emergency call outs.
