Choices, choices

For young people considering their career options, the longevity of the plumbing industry provides a measure of security, as Tracy Pleasants of Foleys explains.

We live in a world where there is a lot of choice and this choice extends to career options, both for school leavers and adults. For one of the directors of our company, becoming a plumber was pretty much a given from birth. His father was a plumber, as well as his grandfather, and the natural assumption was that he would follow in their footsteps—and he did.

For our other director, also with a plumber father, after being unsuccessful with landing an electrical apprenticeship and not wanting to be a builder, he fell into plumbing as he wanted to get a trade behind him. With a combined experience of over 70 years, and although no longer ‘on the tools’, their careers have progressed from being young Foleys’ apprentices to owners, directors and managers within Foleys.

As a company, nearly a quarter of our employees are completing apprenticeships (in plumbing, drainlaying, gasfitting, electrical and mechanical services). Because the company extends across 11 locations, we can offer them flexibility and career progression, which for many people coming into trades is an attractive bonus.

All this aside, we are competing for good-quality apprentices, not only alongside other trade companies but across a multitude of different career options. When our two directors joined Foleys in the 1980s, there were no IT job options; people weren’t making a career out of compliance or health and safety, or building websites, to name but a few.

It is estimated that 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet! Luckily, when we are selling the plumbing career dream to prospective apprentices, we’ve got longevity going back to Roman times to provide some degree of security.

Foleys employ over 220 staff, of which nearly a quarter are completing apprenticeships. About the author: Tracy Pleasants is the Marketing Manager for Foleys based in Dunedin. Foleys is a plumbing, drainlaying, gasfitting, electrical and mechanical company with 11 branches across the South Island and Palmerston North.

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