Education & Training Matters

INDUSTRY NEWS
CO ALARMS - CHANGE IN LAW
Here’s a round-up of the news items from
the plumbing and heating industry.
Positive outcome
Following the government announcement
that carbon monoxide alarms will be
mandatory in the private rented sector,
Gail van Dijk from
Plumb and Parts
Center, has
issued the
following
comment.
“We’ve been
pressing for the
government to
change Building Regulations through our
campaign ‘Make CO Alarms Law’, which
has attracted thousands of supporters.
“We’re pleased the government has acted
to make it compulsory for private landlords
to install alarms in rental property,
which will help save lives. We would like
to see them go further and make it
mandatory for alarms to be installed when
all carbon-burning appliances are
changed, which is already the case in
Scotland and Northern Ireland. However,
we welcome this move as a first step in
preventing deaths.”
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) says
40 people die every year from accidental
CO poisoning and 4,000 people are
treated at A&E Departments with
symptoms, which can lead to brain
damage and strokes. However, Chief
Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, says
the number of people affected by sublethal
exposure is likely to be even
greater than reported.
www.plumbcenter.co.uk
Apprentice scheme relaunch
Mira Showers is backing the best of new
manufacturing blood with the relaunch of
its long-standing apprenticeship scheme,
starting with the employment of four
hopeful starters in September this year.
Commencing with an open evening
event in Cheltenham last month designed
to attract the best of local talent, the
company decided to relaunch the
apprenticeship scheme at a time when
the manufacturing process is becoming
increasingly automated and now demands
new and different skill sets.
The scheme aims to emulate the high
standard of training offered by the
company in the 1960s and so guarantee
its reputation for engineering excellence
well into the future. The original scheme’s
45th anniversary was celebrated in 2011,
with a reunion party at the town’s local
football club. More than 300 people have
passed through the course over the years
and 58 of them are still with the company,
including the current Operations Director
Tim Birch and Wayne Walker, Director,
Faucet Operations UK, EMEA & India;
currently in the US with parent company
Kohler Co.
www.mirashowers.co.uk
14 Summer 2015 ETM