CIPHE and Ideal Standard “Support for Apprenticeships and for CIPHE Members“ Event

ideal standard, BMA, Fiesta logos

04/02/21

In Apprenticeships

With so much uncertainty surrounding us and, as we find ourselves in the middle of a global pandemic, Ideal Standard (UK) Ltd is delighted to work on a project dedicated to providing great opportunities for young aspiring plumbers within its local communities.

Ideal Standard, in partnership with the BMA, CIPHE and FIESTA is dedicating a proportion of their Apprenticeship Levy fund, which is in place to pay for apprenticeship training and upskilling of their own workforce to gift small plumbing UK businesses with financial support to sponsor their own accredited Plumbing Apprenticeships.

As recent statistics tell us that 1 in 10 young people have lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic there has never been a more critical time for the industry to come together and offer meaningful assistance. This approach gives SME’s the support to provide the educational requirements of the scheme and create roles that they may have otherwise not been able to consider.

David Barber, Managing Director of Ideal Standard (UK) Ltd said, “This project is the first of its nature within the industry. It’s a really exciting opportunity to lead the way on investing in young talent as they begin their career in the Plumbing and Heating industry. I hope that other organisations will see the benefit of investing some of their levy fund in this manner and get involved in supporting the journey of what will be our future talent.”

Kevin Wellman, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering added, “This initiative comes at a time when there is evidently a skills shortage within the industry and when it will have a critical role to play in the future wellbeing of the nation. Members of the CIPHE are in prime position to provide the necessary opportunities for new Apprentices and, in turn, benefit from a level of support from the CIPHE and a major industry manufacturer that they could only usually dream of. “

In the first instance there will be the scope to provide three aspiring tradespeople with fully funded qualifications. The training will be carried out by some of the top learning providers in the UK, carefully selected from the CIPHE Approved Training Centre network.

We are now looking for businesses within the CIPHE network to support and benefit from this scheme by providing work placements for these aspiring tradesmen to enable them to gain the knowledge, skills and experience required to successfully complete the funded apprenticeships that Ideal Standard will be gifting.

See further details of how this works below:

What’s in it for me?

  • An opportunity to expand your business and create a pipeline of future talent.
  • Financial support for training costs.
  • The opportunity to adapt their training to your business needs.
  • Full administrative and management support of the apprentice.
  • 76% of employers report that apprenticeships have helped improve the quality of their service.

What’s in it for the apprentice?

  • A career and trade.
  • An accredited Apprenticeship Qualification from a leading training provider.
  • A wage as they learn.
  • No student debt.
  • Paid and protected study time.
  • A support network and the opportunity of peer-to-peer learning.

What to do next?