NIALL McILROY (The West Australian New Homes liftout Saturday 17th November 2007).

WA plumbers and apprentices can get the latest information and up-to-date training on environmentally sustainable technologies and installation methods through the Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association (MPGA) and MPA Skills.

Touted as WA’s first industry-based training centre, MPA Skills works with and for the building and construction industry and services both the plumbing and painting industries.

More than 600 plumbing and painting apprentices have been through MPA Skills’ Maylands facility and training centres in Bayswater and Bunbury. The Maylands centre has a sandpit area where apprentices can work with piping and grey water systems and where they can carry out tasks that simulate situations they would face on the job. The students can take different appliances apart to get a working knowledge of each mechanism. There is also a group training scheme that allows apprentices to get hands-on training with participating employers.

MPGA and MPA Skills executive officer Murray Thomas said the peak body played an important part in supplying enough high-quality plumbers.“We probably train about 60 per cent of plumbing apprentices in WA and about 40 per cent of painting apprentices,” he said.

“Group training gives apprentices a range of experience of the different aspects of plumbing. They might have six months in commercial plumbing, six months in domestic plumbing and another six months in maintenance.”The MPGA and MPA Skills have devised the Enviro West sustainability in plumbing program which familiarises plumbers with the latest technology, information and skills so they can meet the State Government’s 5 Star Plus sustainability standards for building in WA.

Water and energy efficiency, pipe sizing, grey water reuse and design, and rainwater harvesting and design are topics covered during the one-day Enviro West course. As community awareness of the reuse of grey water has increased, so too have the number of queries plumbers have received from the public about the systems so the Enviro West program has proved popular with plumbers.

“We work with the Department of Housing and Works and the Water Corporation to plan different parts of the course,” Mr Thomas said. “Rainfall patterns for the next 30 years indicate a significant reduction in Perth’s rainfall so we are working on strategies to deal with that.

“In the future, we’d like to look at using more photovoltaic technology to power pumps and solar energy to heat water. The mission is to try and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are caused from heating water.

“We cover the Department of Health code of practice for grey water re-use. It is important we are able to teach plumbers about grey water systems because it is something the public are interested in. Enviro West is a great chance for plumbers to up-skill in advanced technology.”

MPGA and MPA Skills business development manager Mike Wren said the Enviro West course was an advance on the waterwise plumbers program which was developed to train plumbers to retro-fit water efficient products.

“Plumbers that complete the Enviro West course are approved as waterwise plumbers automatically and all waterwise plumbers have to do the Enviro West course,” Mr Wren said. “Enviro West is really setting the benchmark in this State. Consumers will know that if they employ an Enviro West plumber they are employing someone who’s had the training, has the knowledge and can give them the right service.”

The Enviro West program is endorsed by the Water Corporation, Department of Housing and Works, Reece Plumbing Centres, Tradelink, Galvins and the Master Plumbers Association of NSW. The course is available in Perth and routinely visits regional centres.

MPA Skills also offers licence and registration courses and posttrade training programs. A wide range of courses for the painting and decorating industry, including apprenticeships, also are available.

For more information on apprenticeships or the Enviro West course, go to www.mpaskills.com.au or phone (08) 9471 6600. For more information on approved Enviro West plumbers go to www.masterplumbers.asn.au or phone 9272 5244.

Murray Thomas, Mike Wren and apprentices Luke Holyoak, Casey McLeod, Scott McMullan and Craig Beaumont.