Plumbers Get Certified

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Business News

Saturday, 17 November 2012 02:30

By Carol Williams

Antigua St. John’s - The Plumbing Association this week achieved a major milestone, issuing Certificates of Proficiency to 11 members for the first time in its 16-year history.

“It is a lifting of standards,” said Association President Donald Hill, during the graduation ceremony at the City View Hotel on Thursday.

The graduates are Dwayne Hill, Changa Nefta, Anthony Anderson, Michael Jeremiah, Desmond DeGallerie, Hausa Inkosi, Andy Williams, Joseph Callender,  Jacqueline Moore, Alexander Thomas and Marvin Stephenson.

The approved syllabi covered areas like Basic English, Mathematics for Plumbers, Pipe Fitting, Water, Physical and Basic Electricity.

“Our programme is designed to provide the theoretical knowledge in all aspects of plumbing, in conjunction with the practical experience already obtained,” Hill said.

“The Association is presently exploring the possibility of linkages to Associations and Colleges overseas to further enhance our knowledge.”

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The Association leader said consideration is being given to the establishment of a mechanism to provide professional qualifications such as Diploma and Bachelor of Technology Degree Programmes through source markets like the Trinidad & Tobago Institute of Technology and the Conestoga Institute of Canada.

Chairman of the National Training Agency, Edgar Davis, congratulated the Association on the step taken, noting that training and certification are key to greater production.

He said this will also serve as a unifying strategy to help protect and safeguard workers.

“This is by no means a veiled attempt to marginalise some and leave them out in the cold or to grab a large chunk of the pie for a select few, as some have already been heard to grumble,” he said.

“…It is a fact that more and more employers are asking for certification before hiring persons to do a job. At present, not many in the trades and vocations are in possess of such certification.”

During the ceremony awards were handed out to the first advisor to the Association, Winston Downes; finance minister Harold Lovell, an attorney, who provided legal advice to the Association during its formation; and businessman George Ryan.

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