i just had a chat today with a person from the pgdb and my enquiry was that i had finished my study to gain my license and now wanted to do further study to enable me to gain my certifying license...i was kindly told that there was no further formal study required no more credits to gain just refresher courses offred by some training institutes as study refresher....my question is why the hell do we not have any more formal study/credits to gain to acheive the certifying status...i mean surley i havent learnt all there is to learn credit wise to gain a higher qual...this seems stupid to me that in 4 years i have in there eyes(CPD pending) done enough to just bide my time sit the exam and then whamo im certifying status??....I much would have prefered to do 5-6 years of study always expanding on my knowledge and then come straight out with a certifying status cus in reality a std plumbing license DONT MEAN JACK...i dont have anymore power to do plumbing than an apprentise...i still have to work under a certifying plumber so i think this stage is a complete waste of time and money...cus right now i am by law fully trained to certifying status as no more formal traning is required....to my logical mind this is just FUBAR!.


I realise i have to practise for two years as a licensed plumber before gaining certifying status but hell people i wont be flying to the moon or anything i will just be doing the same old same old (same as i have being doing for the last FOUR years and if you cant get your s**t right in 4 years then the extra two aint going to do squat to your skills) running water and running waste!...FUBAR!!!

Linkback: https://www.plumbers.nz/rant-or-rave/5/confusing/949/

thanks for the heads up jaxcat i will follow up on this...

I am still dissapointed with the quality of my traning recieved during my apprentiship from the traning providers...for example i know very little about solar systems and i see my boss turn down jobs with solar in them because he doesnt know about them...this is something that im fizzing at the bung to learn about as i see it will play a large part in the future of plumbing as the technology of the future will allow for cheeper more effective solar systems...I mean they taught me all the crap of the past like how to boss a led corrner and lead bossed rolls but they failed to future proof me as a plumber lol.
Ooh well its friday time to wind down have a nice weekend all and cheers for the info jaxcat.

the national certificate in solar water heating has been available for a number of years - but is however been discontinued as of april this year due to lack of numbers/support

I understand it that certain relevant unit standards will be absorbed into the nz cert of plumbing

other "courses" are available as well - ie the master plumbers eco plumb module "soar hot water"

all information is available for those that look hard enough

Information and training is also available through certain "credible" solar manufacturers

There is a wealth of info on the net - forget about discussing it with the pgdb, its not their job - the ito is a joke - look to europe and the america's

America/Australia Greenplumbers is where the master plumbers EcoPlumb initiative came from, America/Australia have had this for 10+ yrs

Become a MP member and ask for course info - there is 5 core modules then you get to use Ecoplumb branding for marketing purposes - additional modules on various topics are available after that

one of the positives of the MP's and their upskilling courses in particular is that they are actually quite well put together and informative


I think the most important thing I have learnt over the last decade or so is that it PAYS not to rely on ANYBODY to further ones self - if you rely on others to provide info for you/to you then you will be forever waiting and ultimately disapointed - you have to have the motivation to get out there and do it for yourself - gather as much info as possible and make an informed decision for yourself....

technically no qualification is required for the installation of solar hot water systems - you do however require certifying status for connection to potable water and in order to gain eeca grant/rebates unit std 24305 is a pre-requisite for eeca registration

there are seminars/forums held in various parts of america and europe every year solely and purely dedicated to sustainable and renewable energy sources, including plumbing & hot water - what germany is doing with this is quite frankly amazing - I am hoping to attend one mid yr

Hope this info helps - any further q's or info just ask...

cheers, Integrated

Hi Thunder

1) I keep saying this go to Aussie 4-5 year apprenticeship, sit exam, = fully qualified then if you want to take a drop in pay you can always come back to N.Z with a certificate of reciprocity and get your certifing status.

2) If your at your licenced stage this is still a option as you will need to complete your training in Aussie approx 12-18 months and exams. Then you have the same options as above stay or come home.

Foggy you have a good point and I was asking the same questions of myself