Havering College plumbing students rise to National Apprenticeship Week challenge

The competition gave students the opportunity to meet and gain advice from visiting industry representatives and the chance to secure an apprenticeship.

Based at Quarles campus in Harold Hill, the trainee plumbers worked in pairs and were assisted by an apprentice engineer. They were set an all-day task to construct an internal cast iron soil pipe system used in commercial high rise buildings, such as The Shard in London.

Their work was inspected and judged by Jonathan Gaunt, Acting Chairman of SoPHE (Society of Public Health Engineers) and Steve Vaughan, Regional Director of AECOM, who told the students that they were very encouraged by what they had seen. Individual winners and students awarded apprenticeships will be announced at a special presentation on World Plumbing Day – 11th March.

The challenge was jointly organised through the college and Sanjay Modasia, Operations Manager at JA Brooks Mechanical Services, with the help of Mark from Kylemore Services Ltd.

Sanjay gave out participating certificates and told the students: “It was great to see the passion in the room today. If there were problems, you retraced steps and sorted them out – nobody gave up. You all have a lot to be proud of with what you have achieved.”

Programme Manager for Plumbing at the college, Rennie Llewellyn, said: “I want to thank all the visitors here today – the manufacturers and suppliers – who have given up their time and who have provided materials to make this day possible. Thank you also to the students who have been focussed and have worked hard.”

The college, which is the only college in the UK to have been awarded a centre of excellence accreditation by SoPHE, is grateful for all the support given by industry: JA Brooks, Kylemore, AECOM, Hargreaves Foundry Drainage, Blucher, Saint-Gobain, Pegler, Geberit, Tilgear, British Gypsum and CIPHE (Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering)