Manufacturer, Ideal Boilers, is to sponsor a specialised training facility for female installers. The Pink Training Academy will welcome VIPs and visitors to its launch on July 29.
The idea came from Philippa Cunningham who launched her female-only plumbing company, Pink Plumbing, in 2008, following a successful 20-year career as a teacher.Now she’s set her sights on improving access to training for women who wish to pursue a career in plumbing.
Philippa said:
“Ideal has been alongside me from the start of this project, helping with funding for the building, supplying boilers for the trainees to work on and providing invaluable support, advice and encouragement.
“I want to help women develop their careers by building their own businesses and part of this is helping women access training through our academy.
“The support I’m already receiving from the industry is fantastic, for instance from Saniflo which is donating product and sponsoring one of our training booths and ADEY, which is supplying free product for students to train with.”
Carrie Young, Ideal’s head of marketing, said:
“It’s great to see Philippa’s passion and to work alongside someone who has such ambition to encourage more women into our industry. We must pull together to ensure the long-term career prospects of high quality female would-be plumbing and heating engineers.”
Ann Boardman, Saniflo customer services and marketing manager said:
“Saniflo has a strong tradition of encouraging and supporting ongoing training for installers. We are pleased to be part of this fantastic project for women would-be plumbers and we have been impressed with the enthusiasm and energy that Philippa is putting into the project.”
Sian Edwards, area sales manager for ADEY, said:
“Philippa is an incredibly passionate businesswoman with an idea that will hopefully provide better access to the industry for women. Her drive to educate and support those who want to pursue a career in plumbing and heating is a really positive step and The Pink Training Academy will be a great place to help her achieve this.”