Work dries up for 26,000 new plumbers
The era of the £100,000-a-year plumber is at an end with the trade predicting a fall in prices and a rise in shoddy work as thousands of newly qualified trainees start up in business.
New research has found that a record 26,000 people are training to become plumbers, encouraged by reports of easy money and plentiful business.
But Clive Dickin, the chief executive of the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors, said that while there had been a 45,000 shortfall in 2001, it would be made up this year.
"It looks like we are now going to fill that and even exceed that," he said. "The law of supply and demand - the more plumbers that are out there - means that prices will start to reduce. I anticipate that we will start to see them fall by the end of the year."
The association estimates that only 1,500 trainees will find employment this year. The remainder will be forced to sell their services without any formal qualifications, which require on-the-job experience to complete.
"We are getting reports of people saying: 'We have done the training, where are all the jobs people are talking about? There aren't any'," said Mr Dickin.
The Government-backed SummitSkills is preparing a report on the problem. Its chief executive, Keith Marshall, said a balance needed to be struck between the numbers entering the industry and the jobs available.
Mr Dickin said: "We are concerned that significant numbers are leaving education and entering an employment market that is already saturated.''
The association believes that training courses that run for only two weeks are "seriously flawed".
The era of the £100,000-a-year plumber is at an end with the trade predicting a fall in prices and a rise in shoddy work as thousands of newly qualified trainees start up in business.
New research has found that a record 26,000 people are training to become plumbers, encouraged by reports of easy money and plentiful business.
But Clive Dickin, the chief executive of the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors, said that while there had been a 45,000 shortfall in 2001, it would be made up this year.
"It looks like we are now going to fill that and even exceed that," he said. "The law of supply and demand - the more plumbers that are out there - means that prices will start to reduce. I anticipate that we will start to see them fall by the end of the year."
The association estimates that only 1,500 trainees will find employment this year. The remainder will be forced to sell their services without any formal qualifications, which require on-the-job experience to complete.
"We are getting reports of people saying: 'We have done the training, where are all the jobs people are talking about? There aren't any'," said Mr Dickin.
The Government-backed SummitSkills is preparing a report on the problem. Its chief executive, Keith Marshall, said a balance needed to be struck between the numbers entering the industry and the jobs available.
Mr Dickin said: "We are concerned that significant numbers are leaving education and entering an employment market that is already saturated.''
The association believes that training courses that run for only two weeks are "seriously flawed".
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