Pipe dreams for the practical

Some parts of the country have a severe shortage of plumbers. Now, with government plans to boost vocational training, that could be about to change, says Caroline Haydon

Teaching, cooking, nursing or typing: Ellen Cheesman was offered the then traditional shortlist of careers by her school. When she left she only had the qualifications to try cooking, but she didn't last long doing that. Then, after a succession of office and school assistant jobs she accidentally discovered, while helping her husband, what she was really good at. She's now a plumber. A woman plumber is not quite as rare as might be believed – 88 women applied to register on plumbing courses with City and Guilds, the main awarding body for vocational qualifications, last academic year, 2001-2. They are part of a huge influx into the industry which is helping turn around the "cowboy" image of the trade – overall City and Guilds registration is up by 50 per cent.

Press stories of large pay packets – £30,000 a year for experienced plumbers (not much less than a junior architect), and up to £50,000 for self-employed workers – have pulled in the applicants. And now there is a government campaign to further increase the dwindling supply of skilled labour by upping the profile of vocational courses. In recent months the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, and her counterpart at Education, Charles Clarke, have launched a campaign promising to work to ensure schools turn out the skilled workers the industry and the market need. Turning around the somewhat snobbish attitude Britain seems to have towards vocational skills will help, says the Department of Trade and Industry; this attitude is part of the reason the UK lags so far behind Germany and other countries in intermediate skills – those above secondary school but below degree level.

The cross-departmental government initiative aims to ensure that business and further education colleges work closely together and that there are flexible ways of delivering skills and qualifications. It promises a review of funding, although insists it is still the responsibility of businesses to invest in skills that are vital to their future. Colleges are keen to promote the message that it is not just plumbers that are needed. Other "hidden" industries have suffered a skills shortage. Engineers, for instance, are needed in heating and ventilating, refrigeration and air conditioning, thermal insulation, and energy efficiency – but these areas are often not well known to students and career advisers.

In plumbing, the quality of applicants for courses is higher than it has been for years, says Frank Horan of the College of North West London, one of the largest centres in the country for training in the construction industry, with 5,500 trainees and students.

Talk of huge earnings makes the job attractive, he says, although applicants need to be aware that although money is easily available in boom times, when demand slumps the riches to be earned in craft areas are no longer comparable. None the less, new safety legislation means that for those prepared to put in the time and money to keep up, there will always be a job. "Legislation is impinging on many of these areas", he says. "People sometimes look aghast when I say it takes at least four years to train a plumber properly. But if plumbers, electricians or gas fitters get it wrong they kill people, so it is right that we have protective legislation."

Eighty-five per cent of North West London's students are already employed, and Frank Horan thinks there is more good news for the industry – apprenticeships are back. They are gradually on the increase after years in which the advent of the NVQ and the preponderance of sub-contractors meant a decline in numbers as students went it alone. Now more employers, encouraged by the Government, are introducing or supporting apprenticeships. "We are getting more 16-year-olds coming into further education as apprentices," he says. "Three or four years ago we were struggling to attract them – they were staying on at school and sitting A-levels when some of them were not up to it. Now many of them see the value of further education."

In 2001-2, North West London had 362 students between the ages of 16 and 18; this year it is 536. And construction industry courses are attracting many multi-ethnic students to the college. "People can see these areas are good in career terms now", says Frank Horan. "Once qualified you have a job for life".

Christopher Johnson, manager for building services qualifications at City and Guilds, agrees. "As far as plumbers go, we still have a long way to go in getting rid of the old image but we're working on it. It's encouraging that we're hearing more about the vocational side of study. Now that plumbing has a high profile we need to increase that of all the other jobs in heating, refrigeration and the like. "When people consider them as long-term careers, we can stop the short-termism we suffer from in this country."

It's a message that those who are desperate to find skilled workers, be they employers or householders, will be delighted to hear. And if the industry can attract more women like Ellen, it will only be to the good, she says, because she she fills an important gap in the market. She doesn't do 24-hour call-out because that's not possible to combine with looking after her eight-year-old, but she does have other strengths.

"I've found that a lot of plumbers steer clear of the little jobs. They don't want to go in and change one tap washer. They want to be dealing with hundreds of pounds, so they prefer to do a complete bathroom re-fit, or one of those jobs.

"I'm quite happy to go in and install a washing machine, or a dishwasher, change tap washers, sort out toilets that don't flush or are blocked, and service boilers. Plumbing has always been perceived as a man's job because it is dirty and heavy.

"But nursing is dirty and heavy too. We're getting more male nurses anyway – why not female plumbers?"

Why not indeed? Which is why Ellen's back at college swotting up on NVQ level 3. The business has been such a success, she says, she's even encouraging other women to try it.

education@independent.co.uk