Rising training costs, financial risks and lack of government support threaten the next generation of Scottish plumbing and heating apprenticeships
According to a new SNIPEF report, plumbing and heating businesses are reconsidering whether they can afford to train the next generation of skilled professionals because of these barriers.
Fiona Hodgson, chief executive of SNIPEF, stated: “Scotland cannot afford to take its future skilled workforce for granted. Apprenticeships provide a vital route into employment, but without employers willing and able to create those opportunities, there are no apprenticeships.
“Our research shows that employers remain committed to training the next generation. What is changing is their ability to afford that commitment. They pay wages, provide supervision, absorb lost productivity, and carry the financial risk over four years, yet receive too little direct support for those costs.”
Only 53% of plumbing and heating businesses expect to recruit in the next three years
The report, which has involved or secured the backing of more than 350 plumbing and heating businesses across Scotland, warns that declining employer participation could weaken the skilled plumbing and heating workforce needed to protect public health, maintain safe homes, build housing and deliver low-carbon heating.
The research reveals a concerning gap between past recruitment and future intentions. While 84% of surveyed employers had recruited plumbing and heating apprentices in the previous five years, only 53% of those expressing a definite view expected to recruit over the next three years.
What is causing a lack of recruitment?
Rising wage costs, more than 1,000 hours of mandatory college attendance, substantial supervision requirements and limited productivity during the early years of training are placing increasing financial pressure on employers and discouraging apprenticeship recruitment.
These challenges are compounded by the risk of losing newly qualified apprentices after businesses have invested significant time, money and resources in their development, often with little opportunity to recover that investment.
The financial commitment is substantial. Based on nationally agreed apprentice wage rates and a 40-hour working week, SNIPEF estimates that employing one plumbing and heating apprentice costs approximately £82,500 in wages over four years.
Brian Warrender, managing director of B&B Warrender Limited in Fordoun, Aberdeenshire, explained: “We believe strongly in apprenticeships and see training young people as an investment in our future. But taking someone on is a major four-year financial commitment.
“We pay wages during college attendance, provide experienced staff to supervise apprentices and accept that they cannot be fully productive initially. Even after that investment, we can’t guarantee they will stay with us once qualified. We want to keep training, but without practical support, the costs and risks are becoming increasingly difficult to justify.”
Employers still believe in the value of apprenticeships
Some 78% of respondents rated Scottish Government apprenticeship support as inadequate or poor, while 93% identified increased funding as an incentive to recruit. Almost two-thirds believed employers and the government should share training costs equally.
However, employers have not lost faith in apprenticeships. More than four in five support the established four-year training model, recognising its importance in developing the competence and judgement needed to work safely.
“The four-year apprenticeship has served our profession well for generations. Plumbing and heating is skilled, safety-critical work, and it takes time, experience and proper supervision to develop someone who can work competently and independently,” said Ross Butter, of Jim Butter Plumbing and Heating in Dundee and vice president of the SNIPEF Dundee & District Association.
“We cannot afford to see that standard weakened or the number of employers willing to train reduced. If businesses stop taking on apprentices today, the consequences will be felt for years to come. Scotland needs skilled professionals to maintain essential services, keep homes safe and install the heating systems of the future.”
Recommendations to help take on more heating and plumbing apprentices
The report makes four recommendations to overcome these challenges:
- Targeted financial assistance towards wages during mandatory college attendance and early supervision costs
- Recognition of nationally agreed apprentice wage rates in public grants and employer support schemes
- Ensure that public contracts requiring businesses to recruit or train apprentices as part of tender conditions explicitly recognise, cost and fund those commitments.
- The plumbing and heating profession to examine flexible, accredited routes for people with relevant skills and experience while maintaining established competence and safety standards.
Hodgson concluded: “We are not asking for standards to be weakened or employers to be relieved of their responsibilities. We want a fairer, more sustainable partnership.
“Scotland’s housing, infrastructure and low-carbon ambitions depend on skilled people, and those skills depend on employers prepared to train them. The time to act is now, before declining confidence becomes a lasting loss of apprenticeship opportunities.”
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