Rothwell based domestic plumbing and heating engineers, HRH Gas Services, is giving back to BTC Training Centre and investing its time, skills and knowledge into helping new gas engineers qualify and enter the sector.
Owners Matthew and Lisa Hopkins both learnt their trades and qualified as gas engineers with BTC Training Centre. Having both left demanding public servant careers, Lisa’s dream was to get into a sector that not many women are employed in and Matthew had always wanted to learn a trade in wet plumbing, which developed into gas.
Matthew Hopkins says: “Switching careers is always a risk but we haven’t looked back, and thanks to the good training provided by BTC Training we now have our own business and are able to support this path for many others coming through the training system.”
Lisa Hopkins adds: “When we were training the guaranteed work experience offered by BTC Training was invaluable, this was the part of the training that ensured we had a completed a portfolio of work – evidence that is an essential requirement of passing an ACS assessment and becoming a qualified Gas Engineer. When we were able we jumped at the chance to extend that opportunity to BTC trainees.”
Mentoring gas engineer trainees through BTC’s guaranteed Work Placement Scheme has enabled HRH Gas Services to develop its own business by hiring talent it has already worked with once they are qualified. To date, three BTC trainees have been mentored and are now qualified gas engineers, working as self-employed contractors with HRH.
James McConnell, Director at BTC Training Centre, comments: “Many of our students benefit from full-time work opportunities because of our relationships with companies like HRH Gas Services. The dedication of people like Matthew and Lisa ensures our trainees receive not only the best training but the best mentoring in the sector, and for that we are very grateful.”
