October 2004
Women's Conference success
“Breaking down barriers – exploring opportunites” was the theme of the Women in Plumbing Group’s (WPG) one-day Conference held at The Royal Institute of British Architects, London W1 on Wednesday 27th October. It was a resounding success with the Wren Room packed to capacity.
Caroline Slocock, Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission, gave an update on Phase 1 of the ‘Gender Segregation’ investigation into the current barriers that women are facing in the workplace. Following on, Chartered Building Surveyor Patricia Turrell explained the role of the JIVE partnerships and the work that is taking place within the industry to encourage change in stereotypical attitudes.
Alan Stevenson, Brand Manager for Plumb Center, principal sponsor of the Conference, arranged a lively interactive session for delegates that generated animated discussion. Delegates filled out questionnaires that will be analysed to find out what the main barriers are for women thinking about coming into the industry.
IPHE Registered Plumber Jo Thornley gave an encouraging talk on how she changed her career from teaching French to disinterested pupils to becoming a plumber. Although not an easy transition she had benefited from the help and advice of her tutor and members of the IPHE and now enjoys a successful and satisfying career.
‘Personal Safety at Work’ was the theme of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Oliver’s talk and she gave simple but sound advice on being aware of potential risks when working alone in domestic premises. Ron Berry, Managing Director, Courtprice Insurance Brokers tackled another area of ‘risk’ in respect of liability insurance. His colleague, Financial Advisor Keith Laurent, gave interesting advice concerning the correct cover for working plumbers.
The last speaker of the day was Keith Marshall, Chief Executive of SummitSkills. He explained the role of this employer-led organisation with regard to the plumbing industry and explained that Industry Interest Groups had been set up to address concerns in specific industry sectors.
Janice Grande, WPG co-ordinator remarked: “It’s been fantastic. Everyone was so enthusiastic and friendly, besides being an informative day it has brought people together.” Tony Brunton, IPHE Vice-President, agreed. “I have personally found this to be a very interesting day and fully support the work the group is doing.”
The Women in Plumbing Group would like to thank Plumb Center for its continued support along with Birchcroft plc, Grundfos, HVP magazine and SummitSkills for helping to sponsor the event.
ENDS (394 WORDS)OCTOBER 2004
Top C & G honour for IPHE member
Geoff Marsh MBE, Director Industry Liaison for the IPHE, has received a Fellowship from the City and Guilds of London Institute. This is the highest award that can be conferred by the Council of City & Guilds.
It is awarded for outstanding personal and professional development. It denotes the ability to manage people, information and operations in complex professional or technical situations and to formulate and implement strategies at the highest levels of responsibility.
The first award of Fellowship was approved by Council in December 1892. Since then, 527 awards of Fellowship have been made (as at September 2004). Andy Watts, Chief Executive of the IPHE said: “This is very appropriate recognition of Geoff’s remarkable contribution spanning over 50 years. Although now in his 70s his incisive brain is just as lively as ever – in fact I don’t see any evidence of him ever slowing down or indeed giving up! The IPHE and the plumbing and heating sector generally owe him a debt of gratitude for his unselfish commitment to making things better.”
ENDS (178 WORDS)OCTOBER 2004
Low Heat Project
The Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering, through the help of Pera Innovation, has recently obtained European funding to undertake a three-year project designed to develop technology to recover up to 40% of the low grade heat from waste water and use it to reduce energy consumption in domestic dwellings and commercial installations.
The opportunity to recover heat energy from waste water will provide the plumbing sector with a new technology and a value added product that will create new and additional market both in installation and maintenance across Europe. With support from a number of partners in Europe it is proposed to develop a low cost, low grade heat exchanger to recover heat from domestic and commercial waste water.
Project partners from Poland, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Spain the UK took part in the first group meeting at the IPHE on 29th September. Kevin Wellman, Operations Director, made the following comment: “Everyone is so enthusiastic about working together on this very exciting and important project. I think we all have a lot of expertise to offer and feel confident that we will succeed.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Low Heat Project or might wish to be involved in some way please email Kevin Wellman.
ENDS (211 WORDS)OCTOBER 2004
An arresting conference...
Detective Chief Inspector Jane Oliver will be among the enthusiastic line-up of speakers addressing delegates at the Women in Plumbing Group’s One-Day Conference, “Breaking Down Barriers, Exploring Opportunities” at the Royal Institute of British Architects on Wednesday 27th October 2004.
The theme of DCI Oliver’s talk will be personal safety at work and will be of especial interest to both men and women who work alone in domestic premises. Caroline Slocock, Chief Executive, Equal Opportunities Commission, will be delivering an update on the Gender Segregation report published earlier this year; whilst Patricia Turrell, a Chartered Building Surveyor, will address the subject of training in connection with her work in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). Keith Marshall, Chief Executive of SummitSkills, will give delegates an insight into the organisation’s role within the industry as a whole and the Diversity Groups which have been set up.
Jo Thornley AIPHE RP will also be speaking on her experiences retraining from French language teacher to plumber. Ron Berry, Managing Director of Courtprice Insurance Brokers will give a talk along with Financial Advisor, Keith Layrent. This year we will be having an interactive session, courtesy of Plumb Center to find out what delegates think about the industry, its image, the opportunities and the challenges.
The event, which is sponsored by Plumb Center, part of Wolseley UK, is open to men and women but places for this event are limited so early booking is strongly advised. The event starts at 9.30am and will finish at 3pm, a buffet lunch will be included. Places are free for IPHE members and a £5 contribution is requested from non-members.
If you haven’t yet discovered the Women in Plumbing Group now is the time to act. To ensure your place at the Conference please contact the Women in Plumbing Group Secretary, Carol Cannavan on 01708 463114 or email carolc@iphe.org.uk for a booking form.
ENDS (316 WORDS)OCTOBER 2004