TECHNICAL 41 on why you ’ re there and you will achieve . The way I learnt , I ’ m now passing that on to them , saying “ I ’ ve done it , through all the ups and downs ,” and I think that apprentices today have a better opportunity than what I had . It is my hope that in the next few years I will see some of my hard work coming out in good plumbers .
David : I ’ m sure you will ; and this is important because I think that something which is a hot topic at the moment in South Africa is the issue of skills transfer .
Aubrey : Yes , I listen to the news to stay up to date with what the government is doing and I don ’ t think they know how critical it is to invest in the young population as far as skills and training are concerned . You ’ ve got certain plumbers now , I myself am a great example , who are at retirement age now , and for the past few years I haven ’ t seen many new plumbers coming into the industry and you can ’ t train a plumber in three months – it ’ s got to be done like it was for us , we did four years of training and we went down to Olifantsfontein to do our apprenticeships and trade tests . At the time there was even an Apprentice Board , which today does not seem to exist anymore . We were all registered and recorded and at the time the board could tell you where any apprentice was working . You were also contracted to a specific company and remained with them until your apprenticeship was complete . I see now companies have stepped away from this because too many apprentices stepped away from them after they were finished and went to go start their own little plumbing companies . I think those companies felt like they had invested time in those apprentices for no reason and this led to them later rejecting taking on apprentices .
The company that I ’ m with now , Bluelever is going about it the right way and doing the right thing for the industry and this is why I ’ m hoping that I can assist them as much as possible . I ’ ve also held a meeting with CETA to assist with allocating funding to train more apprentices , hopefully something good will come out of it . I think the key thing is that the focus must be on training and skills development . At the same time , we need to place youngsters into jobs . Otherwise they perform all this training and just sit at home .
David : Especially with the massive unemployment rate being as high as it is .
Aubrey : It ’ s a big gap , we ’ ve got thousands of these youngsters roaming the streets and I ’ d like to see a good number of them employed in the plumbing sector with some good training . I always maintain that the best plumber is the one you have trained yourself . That ’ s the best employee in your company , the one whom you ’ ve trained and now they know how things work and they ’ ve learned from you on the job – nine times out of ten you ’ ll find that they ’ re with you for years .
David : What are some of the things you enjoy about plumbing ?
Aubrey : You know , for me I would say it ’ s all the different facets . You ’ re not always doing the same thing every day , you could be laying drains , fitting sanitaryware , working with sewers or encountering new materials . You are never 100 % qualified Aubrey Keble of Keble Plumbing . as a plumber in a sense because you ’ ve always got new products on the market . It ’ s a trade where you ’ re learning every day but if you ’ ve got the basics behind you then you ’ re okay , and this is what the apprentices need to learn . Just learn the basics and the rest you will learn as you encounter it on the job . I remember when we were still installing stainless steel waterpipes with conex fittings in Durban , you don ’ t get stainless steel pipes anymore as it ’ s too expensive . We used it back then though ; we also used class 1 copper with ‘ benders ’, not fittings , we used to have to bend the pipe . The materials have changed drastically since then .
David : Do you work with HDPE ?
Aubrey : Yes , I was one of the first to meet up with Erwin Kaelin of Geberit when they came back into the country . They weren ’ t available for a while but as soon as they came back we resumed using HDPE pipe . That ’ s also why it ’ s important to stay up to date with all the new materials coming into the market .
David : I guess even after 50 years one can still be surprised and discover new things even in a field they know well .
Aubrey : Quite right . If you know the basics you catch on pretty easily but with all these new materials available you ’ re learning something new practically every day .
David : One could almost compare it with the medical profession , you learn the basics and then you need to stay updated with the newest innovations and developments for your whole career .
Aubrey : That ’ s why they used to say that the plumbers are second only to doctors with regards to public health , we have to ensure that people are getting clean hygienic water to drink . This is why I was speaking earlier about the importance of having youngsters interested in learning plumbing , it ’ s an essential trade across Africa and indeed , the world . PA
BluLever
It ’ s like I always say to the apprentices , “ you ’ ve two families , one at home and the other one on site here . And if you work together in both places and then there ’ s only one way you can go and that ’ s to the top .” It ’ s a great trade and I encourage any youngster that enjoys working with their hands to consider it as a career path .
“ focus on why you ’ re there and you will achieve .”
October 2022 Volume 28 I Number 8 www . plumbingafrica . co . za