14 | Youngest qualified installer
Jack Allen UK's youngest qualified installer Local Plumbers, London
A Q&A with the UK’s youngest ever qualified installer At the age of 16, Jack has been confirmed as the youngest UK gas safe qualified engineer ever – a huge achievement! We caught up with Jack and his (very proud) dad Darren, owner of Local Plumbers in London, to find out more… Q Darren, when did you realise Jack was so talented at engineering? Has it always been of interest to him? Jack just seemed to have a natural engineering mindset from a young age. For example, he used to have a talent for fixing hoovers. Whenever one of our friends had a faulty hoover, he’d go round, take them apart, then fix them up so they were as good as new!
Q How did you make the decision to take him out of school to focus on his passion of engineering? Whenever we went to parents’ days at his school all the teachers would say ‘all he wants to be is a plumber’, every time. When the first lockdown happened I decided to speak to the school and suggest that Jack went into school one day a week to do his Maths and English, then come out with me for the rest of the time.
They agreed and after the lockdown put him forward for training in gas and everything else. The trainer even said that Jack was unbelievable in how advanced he was. So definitely the best decision!
The teachers would say ‘all he wants to be is a plumber’
