Apprentices awarded equipment bursaries to kick-start their career
The Worshipful Company of Plumbers (WCoP) has announced six recipients of its bursary to help kick-start their careers in the plumbing industry.
The new GROHE training centre at Colchester Institute is the first of its kind in the UK. It includes a fully functional display rig, featuring leak detection systems, self-flushing toilets and concealed smart control systems, as well as 18 bathroom suites.
Colchester Institute is already a stop-off location for GROHE’s XXL Experience Truck, a mobile classroom that gives students hands-on taster sessions on its leading products.
Last week saw the opening of a new @grohe training facility for plumbing students at @ColchesterInst
GROHE’s Chris Penney tells us how the project came abouthttps://t.co/VX3dUGmtQA pic.twitter.com/xRI8JaxcMF
— HIP Magazine (@HIPMagazine) November 13, 2019
As well as the donation of equipment, GROHE’s partnership with the college will also see its UK Training Manager Chris Penney deliver guest lectures on installing GROHE products.
Chris said: “We believe strongly in investing in the future and working with the next generation of plumbers to ensure they are suitably equipped for working in the field as it continues to change.
“Not only will Colchester Institute students learn about a whole spectrum of GROHE products, they will also benefit from studying in a fit-for-purpose environment where they can experience ‘live’ installations as they would in the real working world.”
At the official opening of the new facility last week, Colchester Institute’s Principal Alison Andreas said the “fantastic” training rig would be used by nearly 200 full-time plumbing students, more than 220 apprentices and “scores of adult learners who come to either upskill or re-skill a little bit later in life”.
“This helps our students to be ready to become members of the workforce of the future,” she said. “Colchester is one of the 10 fastest growing towns in the UK so any plumber trained with these fantastic facilities should never, ever be out of work.”
GROHE has installed similar training facilities across Europe and is planning to open more throughout the UK over the next couple of years.
Images courtesy of Alex Dean, Colchester Institute.