PLUMBING AND DOMESTIC HEATING TECHNICIAN

Duration: 42 months

Level: Level 3

This Level 3 apprenticeship will see you planning, installing, servicing and maintaining all aspects of plumbing and gas heating systems.

As a competent Plumbing and Heating Technician, you will typically find yourself measuring, marking, cutting, bending and jointing metallic and non-metallic pipework. Appliances and equipment can include gas, oil and solid fuel boilers as well as pumps, heat emitters, bathroom furniture or controls as part of a cold water, hot water, and central heating or above ground drainage and rainwater systems. As a Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician apprentice you are at the forefront of installing new and exciting environmental technologies like heat pumps, solar thermal systems, biomass boilers and water recycling systems.

It is important for a Plumbing and Heating Technician to be able to work independently or as a team and use your knowledge and skills to ensure that both the system and appliances are appropriately selected and correctly installed.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technicians plan, select, install, service, commission and maintain all aspects of plumbing and heating systems. Plumbing and domestic heating technicians can find themselves working inside or outside a property. Customer service skills and being tidy and respectful are important qualities as they can often find themselves working in customers’ homes as well as on building sites.

As a competent Plumbing and Heating Technician, the installation of plumbing and heating systems includes accurate measuring, marking, cutting, bending and jointing metallic and non-metallic pipework. Appliances and equipment can include gas, oil and solid fuel boilers as well as pumps, heat emitters, bathroom furniture or controls as part of a cold water, hot water, and central heating or above ground drainage and rainwater systems. Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technicians are at the forefront of installing new and exciting environmental technologies like heat pumps, solar thermal systems, biomass boilers and water recycling systems. It is important for a plumbing and heating technician to be able to work independently or as a team and use their knowledge and skills to ensure that both the system and appliances are appropriately selected and correctly installed, often without any supervision, and done so in a safe, efficient and economical manner to minimise waste.

HOW WILL I BE TAUGHT?

As an apprentice, you will be taught on a day release delivery model. This means you will be in the workplace 4 days a week, with a day release to college one day a week. This will be taught over a 42 month period.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

On the job training in the workplace
Portfolio building
End Point Assessment

WHAT CAN I DO NEXT?

By the end of this apprenticeship the candidate will have satisfied the requirements for registration as EngTech by the Engineering Council through The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) and or The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).

On completion of the health and safety assessment, as determined, by the assessment plan the candidate will have satisfied the requirements to obtain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Card through the Joint Industry Board for Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering Services (JIB-PMES) at the appropriate grade.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

An apprenticeship in plumbing and gas will require you to have GCSE Maths/English Grade 4/C or above, or be working towards a level 2 in Functional Skills for Maths and English.

Depending on your prior attainment level, you may be required to complete an initial assessment to check suitability for entry onto the programme.