Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship (AFCON)

Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technicians plan, select, install, service, commission and maintain all aspects of plumbing and heating systems. Plumbing and domestic heating technicians can find themselves working inside or outside a property. Customer service skills and being tidy and respectful are important qualities as they can often find themselves working in customers’ homes as well as on building sites.

As a competent Plumbing and Heating Technician, the installation of plumbing and heating systems includes accurate measuring, marking, cutting, bending and jointing metallic and non-metallic pipework. Appliances and equipment can include gas, oil and solid fuel boilers as well as pumps, heat emitters, bathroom furniture or controls as part of a cold water, hot water, and central heating or above ground drainage and rainwater systems. Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technicians are at the forefront of installing new and exciting environmental technologies like heat pumps, solar thermal systems, biomass boilers and water recycling systems. It is important for a plumbing and heating technician to be able to work independently or as a team and use their knowledge and skills to ensure that both the system and appliances are appropriately selected and correctly installed, often without any supervision, and done so in a safe, efficient and economical manner to minimise waste.

You will study units from the list below which relate to your job role. You will also study:

Units

• Installing systems for hot and cold water, heating sanitation and waste disposal
  
• Fitting pipe-work to baths, sinks, central heating boilers and water pumps
• Emergency repair work
• Gas unvented hot water
• Hot water regulations

You will be assessed by your assessor using a portfolio of evidence, practical demonstrations and assignments. You will be assessed both in College and in your place of work.

Entry requirements will be determined by individual employers. Typically, apprentices will have English and Mathematics at level 2 on entry, and all will have achieved that level prior to taking their end-point assessment. It will be a requirement that the newly developed Level 3 Plumbing and Domestic Heating Qualification is achieved prior to taking the end-point Assessment.

You will need to find an employer to employ you as an apprentice.

By the end of this apprenticeship the candidate will have satisfied the requirements for registration as EngTech by the Engineering Council through The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) and or The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).

On completion of the health and safety assessment, as determined, by the assessment plan the candidate will have satisfied the requirements to obtain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Card through the Joint Industry Board for Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering Services (JIB-PMES) at the appropriate grade.