(Plumbing apprentice Owen Whelan)
A third generation tradie from a family of electricians, Owen says his day-to-day work in plumbing includes maintenance work from fixing burst pipes to blockages.
“I did work experience in all different trades and decided that plumbing was what I liked most,” Owen said.
“I’ve been doing it for about a year now. Hard work, but it’s fulfilling. I see myself doing it for the rest of my life.”
A plumbing family business in operation for over 40 years in Glenroy, Plumb-it Services has had a long history of servicing customers across the northern suburbs, with owner Anthony Prout thrilled that his apprentices can now train locally.
“Kangan now having a trade school for plumbing has made a significant difference for our apprentices being based in the northern suburbs,” Anthony said.
“The standard of training and facilities is excellent. I am regularly informed with updates of progress in training. I know personally the facility is first class.
“Having a quality training facility and program is essential to the future of plumbing; Kangan will play a significant role with plumbing training into the future.”
Developed with the support of the Victorian Government, the $6.8 million Trades + Skills Centre currently trains approximately 1,200 students across trades like plumbing, carpentry, electrical and engineering.
The centre features a ‘plumbing tower’, that simulates plumbing and sewer systems to give students of different disciplines the chance to apply their skills in a real-life situation, and a supersized sandpit for domestic and commercial drainage and pipework training.
It also sports pneumatics and hydraulics facilities, a specialist gas equipment fitting training room and various workshop and learning spaces.