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What’s he up to now? HIP Magazine catches up with a successful HIP UK Heating Apprentice of the Year Winner

Alex South

Kristian Poyner has gone from strength to strength since winning the 2011 HIP UK Heating Apprentice of the Year Competition Final and he is now working for EZsolar in Shropshire, specialising in renewables, at the age of 27. But we expected nothing less from one of our HIP UK Heating Apprentice of the Year winners! He took a tea break to tell us just how he did it…

Where did you go to college and when did you graduate?

I went to Warrington Collegiate College and I graduated in 2011.

What was the best thing about winning?

The feeling of satisfaction. And I had people coming up to me and saying ‘well done’ in the street because I had been in the local paper. I was a local celebrity for a couple of weeks!

What was the highlight of the competition for you? Other than winning of course!

Doing the two-day competition in Swindon. We were all in the same hotel when we stayed over, which had a pub attached. In the evening after the first day all of us – teachers and students – were sat in the pub having a really good laugh. It wasn’t competitive; it was just a really friendly atmosphere, chatting about what we went through that day.

What did you do after you graduated?

I carried on at Penketh Plumbing and Bathrooms where I did my apprenticeship for six more months, installing bathrooms and heating systems mostly. I then went on to be self-employed for a couple of years and after that I went on to work at United Utilities as a water meter engineer for twelve months. I recently moved to Shropshire so I now work for EZsolar. The field I’m in is fascinating and I’ve now been doing it for 18 months. I find the latest technologies really interesting, and there wasn’t a lot of call for LPG and oil, so it’s hard to find someone to give you experience with OFTEC.

What’s your favourite thing about being a plumber?

I think my favourite thing is meeting different people from different walks of life and seeing the different houses people live in.

What are your views on apprenticeships? Would you encourage other people to do them?

I don’t think you can beat an apprenticeship in a manual, skilled trade.  It’s very different in a house to a workshop – things are made easier when they’re set up in college. You need onsite experience, which you only get with an apprenticeship, that’s critical.

The 2017 competition opens soon so keep an eye on our website, Facebook and Twitter for details on how to enter. Could you be the next HIP UK Heating Apprentice of the Year? There’s only one way to find out!

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