Students being robbed by bogus schools

You’ve heard of rogue traders, well now there are rogue trainers.

The Plumbing and Heating Industry Alliance (PHIA) is calling for an end to anyone being able to set himself or herself up as training school and supposedly teach someone to be a fully qualified plumber in four weeks.

The industry’s recognised qualification is a National or Scottish Vocational Qualification at level 3. Done properly this should take three to four years of on the job training coupled with academic study at a reputable technical college or college of further education.

Unfettered trainers are charging students a fortune, in some cases up to £5,000, for training that is ultimately worthless. Unsurprisingly these so called schools are turning out cowboy plumbers with no thought to the potential health and safety risks.

Also an unqualified plumber is unlikely to have adequate liability insurance cover if any at all. So the potential for themselves to get into severe financial difficulties should a claim against them arise is monumental.

Therefore the PHIA is appealing to all forms of the media to refuse to advertise such “schools” in a bid to cut the number of people taken in by them. They are willing to offer advice and guidance to any publications having trouble identifying such scams.

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10/03/2008 09:03:19