Plumbing Connection 2-2015

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9 6 PLUMBING CONNECTION WINTER 2015
attributes, as mentioned above, and
discussed them in more detail below.
The good news for us, as plumbers,
is that for the medium to long term,
the demand for plumbers in Australia
will continue to outgrow supply, with
unemployment consistently sitting
below unemployment figures across
all trade occupations. With that in
mind – as a career choice – plumbing
doesn’t get more secure. This is
great news, especially at a time when
Australia has too many IT experts,
qualified teachers on waitlists
and far too many lawyers. It is
also considered to be a 100%
‘realistic’ career, meaning it is
hands on and practical.
The bad news or the
‘misconception’ out there is
that plumbing is something
you choose to do, if you don’t
like studying. The reality is, the
coursework for plumbing takes
at least three years full-time,
which is the equivalent to doing
a university degree. The
Australian government
refers to this, as a ‘long
lead time’ profession,
where entry into plumbing
requires a substantial commitment.
More than 67.3% of apprentices take
more than three years to complete
their qualifications because they
need to combine earning a salary with
studying. So, to be a plumber is not
a short-cut career choice for people
who can’t commit to study. My first
apprentice started eight years ago,
and proudly got his plumbing licence
issued last month. He worked really
hard that whole time to balance work
and study in order to achieve this goal.
When I looked at the importance
given to different skills (on the above-
mentioned website) it pointed out
some things that probably should
have been obvious to me: customer
service, active listening, complex
problem solving, communication
and the ability to teach all ranked as
important (more than 60% and higher).
What does that mean for me? I have
to like helping people, teaching staff
and solving ‘complex’ problems. Wow,
and I thought those were all traits
that only nurses and doctors required.
Upon reflection though, of course it’s
true for plumbers. For me, next time
I interview people, I will be looking far
more closely at how they communicate
and interact with other people. I might
even throw a complex problem in there
to see how well they approach the
task.
In terms of required knowledge
areas, mechanical, building and
construction knowledge score
very high in terms of importance
(more than 85%), which isn’t too
surprising but when combined with
a high importance for knowledge of
mathematics and physics (use of
chemicals etc.), plumbing really starts
to become a career choice, based on
exacting science. Better to understand
this reality earlier rather than later.
When it comes to key abilities, there
are the obvious such as arm-hand
steadiness and control precision but
the website also includes two highly
ranked abilities that when thought
about in detail are necessities when
looking to employ new staff. One is
‘problem sensitivity’ which is the
ability to tell when something is wrong
or is likely to go wrong and the other
is ‘visualisation’ which is the ability
to imagine how something will look
after it is moved around or when its
parts are moved or rearranged. They
both rank higher than 65% in terms of
relative importance.
There are plenty of other categories
that are analysed on the website, but
I wanted to finish with the relative
importance of daily work activities for
plumbers. Receiving information (i.e.
listening, comprehending, responding
appropriately etc.), handling and
moving objects, making decisions,
problem solving, performing
physical work and keeping up to
date with relevant knowledge
all score very highly in terms of
relevance, as opposed to other
‘office based’ professions, where
activities such as writing score
very high. Really, what the high
importance attributed to these
activities confirms is this: if you
don’t like to solve problems, don’t
want to talk to clients and staff on
a daily basis, and don’t commit
to maintain a good level of
health and fitness, then
plumbing is never going to
work for you long-term.
So, do yourself a favour and whether
it’s to get a better understanding
of why you’ve chosen to become a
plumber, are looking to employ an
apprentice, or you’re asked to give
career advice on life as a plumber;
use your own experiences first and
foremost but also take a look at all
the information now readily available
online, to ensure that whatever the
scenario, you make better decisions. I
know I will be from now on.
Please visit: http://joboutlook.
aspx?search=alpha&code=3341
Contact:
Brad Fallon is the Director of Ivy
St Plumbing – specialists in the
strata management trade: www.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BRAD FALLON