| Potential tradesmen may have to take plumbing | | | | spending cuts were happening now and would |
| courses with training centres after it was | | | | affect people who were looking to enroll on |
| announced that some colleges will be axing | | | | college plumbing courses this September. |
| vocational subjects. | | | | People who are interested in taking plumbing |
| Research by the Association of Colleges (AoC) | | | | courses in order to either improve their skills or |
| revealed that colleges across England face a 200 | | | | become a fully qualified tradesman should |
| million pound cut to funding as adult learner | | | | investigate the services provided by accredited |
| budgets are expected to shrink by around ten to | | | | training centres. |
| 25 per cent in size. | | | | Adult learners who want to become plumbers or |
| Out of 162 colleges surveyed, 43 said that | | | | electricians will benefit from training centres which |
| funding we set to be slashed by a quarter in a | | | | provide the Electrical 2330 NVQ and 2356 NVQ |
| move that will affect vocational courses aimed at | | | | qualifications and the Plumbing 6129 NVQ. |
| the over-19s. | | | | Potential students who might not have the time |
| Subjects that are expected to be affected include | | | | to retrain should research if a training centre |
| plumbing courses, bricklaying courses, plastering | | | | offers courses of different durations, whether it is |
| courses, tiling courses and electrical courses. | | | | from weekend, part-time or fulltime. |
| Chief executive of the AoC Julian Gravatt said: | | | | It is advisable that budding tradesmen look at |
| "We know that the Treasury is under significant | | | | green energy courses as training in emerging |
| pressure to further curtail public spending." | | | | renewables such as Solar PV systems and |
| Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and | | | | Ground Source Heat Pumps is becoming |
| College Union, argued that the spending cuts | | | | increasingly desirable. |
| would hurt those people who are looking to take | | | | The government's UK green initiative for supplying |
| electrical courses at their local college. | | | | clean energy and cutting emissions in domestic |
| She said: "We are talking about adults throughout | | | | households is encouraging more households to |
| their working lives who are needing to retrain and | | | | install energy efficient appliances. |
| reskill." | | | | Tradesmen with the skills to install Solar PV |
| "These are the people who are not going to be | | | | systems and Ground Source Heat Pumps will |
| able to get a place. I'm talking about things like | | | | have a considerable advantage as they will have |
| bricklaying, joinery, electrical installation, catering, | | | | the ability to meet the demand of a growing |
| care work, security." | | | | number of customers. |
| Martin Doel, AoC chief executive, said that the | | | | |