Introduction
CIPHE is delighted to announce the Apprentice Awards 2016. The specification for the
Apprentice Competition is as follows:
Members
Workmanship
Exams
Customer
Feedback
Phot
o ographic
Evidence (set criteria)
NVQ Levels 2 / 3 plus
Teestimonialls
Adjudicator Training
Committee
Awards:
- Heating (HHIC)
- Plumbing (BMA)
- Start Date 2016
The CIPHE Awards are intended to complement the other industry awards and recognises
those participating in plumbing and heating skills competitions.
With regards to the three criteria against which the apprentices will be judged the following
will be considered:
1
Exams
Unlike the previous City and Guilds Craft and Advanced Craft qualifications, modern NVQs
and SVQs are competency based qualifications and do not have end assessments/exams
(although from 2017 the Trailblazer NVQ will), therefore a student has either passed or not
yet passed the qualification. They are assessed against various criteria (knowledge, skills,
understanding, etc), and they develop a portfolio of evidence which is assessed in addition
to their Technical Certificate to form the NVQ/SVQ. Therefore, as there are no exams as such
to ‘judge’, CIPHE will consider a written statement commenting on an individuals portfolio in
support of his or her submission.
Photographic evidence
This will be developed as part of the NVQ/SVQ, so extracts can be used and submitted for
the awards, however, they will need a disclaimer to certify that the work is their own which
should be countersigned by their employer.
Customer testimonials
It is anticipated that apprentices won’t have their own clientele, although through their
employers they should have had face to face contact with customers. Some apprentices will
work for an employer in people’s homes and therefore indirectly there will be customers who
will be able to submit a reference/testimonial, with contact details for verification purposes.
Consideration will be given to those apprentices who only undertake ‘site’ work and have no
interaction with customers. In such cases testimonials/references from contractors, site
managers, etc, will be permissible.
Criteria
The Awards are not exclusive to apprentices that are members of the CIPHE and
consequently Trainee (student) membership will not be part of the criteria for submissions.
It is important to note that to be eligible for consideration for the CIPHE Apprentice Awards,
an apprentice must be working with an employer whilst studying on a bona fide qualification
that will lead to an NVQ/SVQ in Plumbing/Heating Engineering, (not just working towards
a Technical Certificate without an employer). There is no age barrier or any other such
restrictions.
Categories
There are three categories that apprentices can enter:
• Heating (sponsored by HHIC)
• Plumbing (sponsored be BMA)
• Vulnerability (sponsored by CIPHE)
In the case of the Vulnerability category, applicants need to explain how the work they carried
out was of value to an elderly or vulnerable person (i.e. adaptions to a bathroom).
2
Application Process (year 1)
Applicants are requested to submit the following:
Completed application form to include:
• Personal contact details.
• CIPHE student membership number (optional).
• Employer contact details.
• Details of qualification studying towards and any completed (i.e. NVQ level 2 if studying
towards NVQ level 3).
• Details of college and contact details for lecturer.
• A tick box (compliant with Data Protection) to say ‘tick here to receive further information
from CIPHE’.
The applicant should then submit the following:
• Written summary as to why they are applying for the Award and in their own words why
they feel they should be considered for the Award.
• Details of attendance at college/training centre to be provided by lecturer along with a
reference relating to the performance of the apprentice.
• Reference from their employer as to why they feel their apprentice deserves the Award.
• Photographs of two projects in which they were involved, to be clearly annotated along
with a disclaimer stating that the work is their own.
• Testimonial/reference from a customer, site manager, contractor or other person other than
employer for whom the apprentice has worked. This must include a disclaimer stating that
the person is not related to the apprentice.
The above will be classed as a completed application which will then need to be considered
by the CIPHE and a panel should be appointed to consider the applications.
The panel should then shortlist THREE applicants for each category (plumbing and heating
engineering) and these should be invited for an interview with the panel where they will be
asked questions in relation to their application, along with their ideas about their future career
and involvement in the Industry. The panel will then pick a winner for each category.
Prize
The winners of this exciting new scheme, which is being generously supported by the
Institute’s Industrial Associates, will receive £500 each plus a trophy.
Winners will be invited to a special Awards Luncheon at the House of Commons on 17
November, where they will be presented with their prizes.
Timeline
•
•
•
•
Launch – May 2016
Deadline for submissions 14th October 2016
Panel interviews – October 2016
Awards – November 17th 2016
3