Eleven would-be young plumbers from south Hampshire walked away with 6022 and 6032 City & Guilds plumbing certificates having 'graduated' through the first ever 3 week 'Get into Building Services' course initiated by Hedge End based Apprenticeship Training Ltd (ATL) in conjunction with the Princes' Trust.

As well as taking their first steps towards a plumbing qualification, the students were given a complete home study plumbing course, donated by the UK's first 'blended learning' plumbing training provider, Train 4 Trade Skills. The course will train them to be fully qualified plumbers and includes hands on workshop training back at ATL, book based theory and the world’s first virtual reality plumbing training which can be undertaken in a student's own time on a home computer.

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The trainees were part of a new initiative between ATL, Train 4 Trade Skills and the Prince's Trust, who operate a national 'Get into' training programme to provide young people with intensive training of at least a week, in a work environment, in fields such as sport, construction, logistics, cooking and customer services. This is the first time a 'get into Building Services' project has been run.

Apprenticeship Training's MD, Nick Hayward, saw the potential of the national initiative while working with the Prince’s Trust on a number of initiatives and set up the unique three week plumbing taster course, which will be offered at all ATL's centres across the UK. Prince's Trust selected the participants, while ATL gave their tutors' time, premises and materials to enable the scheme to happen and home learning course provider Train 4 Trade Skills supported the initiative with eleven home study courses, worth over £60,000.

Sarah Kidd, Programme Executive for the Prince's Trust, said: "We were overwhelmed by the response from young people wanting to try out the plumbing course when we advertised the local 'Get into plumbing' project. We had to stop interviewing potential trainees when the numbers topped 43."

After receiving their certificates in a graduation ceremony in Hedge End, in the presence of representatives from ATL's board of directors and the Prince's Trust, including Regional Director Simon Fulford, several students came to the podium to thank ATL tutor Luke Ranger.

(CD/JM)