The latest Government Apprenticeship statistics for 2024/25 indicate that in England only 540 Plumbing and Domestic Heating Apprenticeships have been completed so far in the current academic year. This continues a worrying downwards trend which has seen the number of Plumbing Apprenticeship completions decrease significantly from 3,350 in 2018/19.
Achievement rates from the last three academic years reflect the lowest number of Plumbing Apprenticeship completions on record and signpost a serious skills shortage.
With the Government being committed to achieving 600,000 new heat pump installations per year by 2028, this raises serious questions over whether there are enough fully qualified and competent plumbers to meet this target. Coupled with issues over domestic water supply and sewage being at the forefront of many household concerns, this represents a full-blown crisis for what is a vital occupational sector.
The Plumbing and Heating sector is taking steps to address the problem, and new Level 2 and Level 3 Apprenticeship Standards have already been developed.
The Joint Industry Board now urges the Government, through Skills England to expedite the introduction of these new Apprenticeships and to ensure that other vehicles such as the Construction Skills Mission Board commit to working to help facilitate their delivery.
It is essential that Government Funding is focused on these industry approved Apprenticeships and their associated qualifications, rather than the myriad full-time courses which are currently fully funded and which do not result in the achievement of industry recognised competence based qualifications.
Speaking on behalf of the Joint Industry Board for Plumbing, Chairman John Allott stated:
“The current Plumbing and Domestic Heating Apprenticeship completion rates are deeply concerning. It is imperative that the Government, acting through its various funding agencies, strongly supports the newly developed Apprenticeship Standards to ensure that funding is channeled to where it is most needed. This means ensuring that funding reaches the employers, including many JIB-PMES participating employers who play their part by directly employing apprentices; and the Training Providers who commit to delivering the new Plumbing and Heating Apprenticeships and their associated qualifications.
As a Board we also believe that more direct employment is needed in the sector to ensure plumbing apprentices can be trained to a good standard.”