ASSOCIATIONS 11
Probationary membership
By
Rory Macnamara
Another important action to come out of the Strategy 2025 exercise is the still to be finalised Probationary member concept .
IOPSA , recognising the need to absorb the new and emerging plumbing companies , has created the ‘ probationary membership ’ category . A pilot project will be run in the next few months to iron out any teething problems and then will be open for applications .
The idea is that the company must be registered as a business / sole proprietor and employ at least one qualified plumber . Each company will be allocated to a mentor and will develop a 3-to-5- year plan toward obtaining full IOPSA membership . This will be planned together , drawing on the experience of an established business , as well as the emerging company being an integral part of the plan and take ownership of the plan .
There will be annual goals set so there is a shortterm objective and providing these are achieved will develop over the period with the mentor role being the listener and guide as opposed to the initial phase where the emerging business person will do more listening .
Naturally , the recommendation of the mentor will be a primary factor in the process and final acceptance .
The Probationary member will accept and adhere to the IOPSA Code of Conduct and constitution . There will be no voting rights but to draw them in at a reasonably early stage will be able to stand as a committee member but not an office bearer . Being involved at committee level is an excellent part of the training as it provides a wider insight as to the ins and outs of the plumber scene and shows the need to give back to the industry as these will be the people taking IOPSA and the plumbing industry into the future .
It is reasonable that limited access is provided to some of the full member benefits such as , not being listed on the IOPSA ‘ Find a Plumber ’ search engine but will have access to all training activities .
Credit to those that will mentor as mentoring is time consuming and usually done out of office hours .
The membership fee for this category is still to be decided but will be considerably lower than full membership .
A superb way of bringing in willing persons who want to grow and be part of an essential services industry . PA
Azka Rayhansyah | Unsplash
“ Credit to those that will mentor as mentoring is time consuming and usually done out of office hours .”
July 2021 Volume 27 I Number 5 www . plumbingafrica . co . za