What does her plumbing course involve?
The course is a mixture of theory and practical and lasts 66 weeks. In that time Laura will be expected to complete 60 plumbing tasks to the required standards and pass a competency test for each one. When people ask me why Im coming to college and I say plumbing, they only look at one aspect of it toilets. They say, Ugh, youll be putting your hand up a toilet, but its much more than that. The course includes all aspects of plumbing, such as fitting kitchens and bathrooms, drainage, pipe fitting, soldering, lead bossing on chimneys and fixing gutters. There are no work placements and the practical work is all done in college. Laura feels she gets lots of support from the tutors. There are 17 students on the course and Laura and her sister are the only girls. The boys accept Laura and often ask her for help, which boosts her confidence. On completing the course, Laura will be able to apply for a job and complete a further year under supervision on apprenticeship wages before being fully
