The Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship Board has announced that the Apprenticeship Assessment Plan for England has been agreed and published by the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA).
The Assessment Plan was submitted and approved by the IfA in March 2017, with conditions, which the Board worked through until early November.
The Assessment Plan provides a prospectus for apprentices, employers and assessing organisations, detailing what is involved in the Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship. “Apprentices will undertake a structured programme of study whilst in employment and complete training and assessment both in and out of the workplace. Successful completion of the Apprenticeship will result in the award of the Level 3 Plumbing and Domestic Heating Qualification along with completion of the Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship, graded at Pass, Merit or Distinction,” commented Board Chairperson Jeffrey Lee, National Apprentices Manager at Mitie Technical Facilities Management.
For companies that are members of a competent person scheme and the Gas Safe Register, the Apprenticeship Qualification will deliver individuals who meet the competence requirements to be able to work through a competent person scheme for oil and solid fuel and the Gas Safe Register for gas.
The overriding goal of the Apprenticeship Qualification is to deliver an appropriately skilled plumbing and heating workforce in England, able to work at a world-class standard.
Graeme Dryden, Technical Services Manager at APHC, who has been involved in developing the Apprenticeship Standard since the project’s inception in 2014, commented: “The development process has been challenging to get to this stage. Those involved in this project should be congratulated for giving up their time to review documentation, attend meetings and provide their valued opinions. Their only motivation has been to increase the quality of apprenticeships and skills delivery in the plumbing and heating industry.”
Board member Paul Hull from The Industria Group said: “It has been both enjoyable and interesting looking at and defining the key competences that I and fellow employers laid down. The key vision from employers across industry will be delivered through this apprenticeship, including a rigorous endpoint assessment that tests knowledge and practical skills and performance, albeit within the IfA’s vision for endpoint assessment delivery. Achieving the endpoint assessment will mean the apprentice and their employer can be proud of that achievement.”
The Assessment Plan can be accessed at www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-standard-plumbing-and-domestic-heating-technician
