JTL has announced that it will introduce a new four-year Level 3 Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship from September 2019.

The apprenticeship will be available in selected JTL centres and its college partners around England and Wales.

The new standard was produced as a result of the Trailblazer consultations, which saw feedback from across the industry requiring better qualified apprentices with a wider range of skills and deeper knowledge levels, leading to a Level 3 qualification.

According to the company, it was felt that this would be more in line with the requirements of the industry, with four different routes available, that should see more apprentices qualifying in the important gas side of the business than has previously been the case. The current Level 2 and Level 3 plumbing qualifications will continue to be available until July 2020, with many colleges offering all three qualification routes.

JTL’s new apprenticeship reportedly combines a variety of courses that were previously individual QCF/NQF qualifications, including: Plumbing, Domestic Heating Engineer, Domestic Heating Installer, Plumbing and Domestic Heating Installer, and Plumbing and Domestic Heating Engineer.

The new qualification will cover all of these previously separate qualifications in one final qualification achieved at the end of the apprenticeship. The training received will include additional Maths and English and there will be tests at the end of each year of the course to confirm apprentices are making good progress. All apprentices will complete an independent End Point Assessment at the end of their course before the Level 3 apprenticeship can be completed successfully.