Every time you have a shower or take a drink of fresh water from your kitchen tap, you have a plumber to thank. These skilled trades women and men are the ones who install, repair and maintain the pipes, fixtures and other plumbing equipment that we depend on every day. That’s why today people across the world are celebrating plumbers everywhere by recognizing March 11 as World Plumbing Day.

In British Columbia, plumbing is an in-demand skilled trade and great career option. This is great news for young plumbers, as over the next decade, there will be more than one million job openings in B.C. - two-thirds of them driven by retirements and 44% of them are expected in the trades or technical occupations.

The B.C. government is working to help people find their fit in a diverse, strong, and growing economy. Building and expanding a skilled workforce to meet this demand is a key commitment of the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint. This is our plan to make sure that British Columbians have a seamless path that takes them from high school through post-secondary education and right into the workforce.

It’s also why government invests more than $94 million annually in skills training through the Industry Training Authority, the agency that leads and co-ordinates British Columbia’s skilled trades system by working with employers, employees, industry, labour, training providers and government to issue credentials, manage apprenticeships, set program standards and increase opportunities in the trades.

Quotes:

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour - 

“With B.C’s diverse, strong, and growing economy there has never been a better time for young people to consider a career in plumbing. We are facing incredible economic opportunities and preparing for unprecedented demand for skilled labour over the next decade.”

Gary Herman, chief executive officer, Industry Training Authority -

“By helping to ensure there are the right workers, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time, B.C.’s industry training system is playing a critical part in achieving the workforce goals outlined in the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training. Plumbers will play a key role in the workforce and we encourage prospective trades people to take a good look at plumbing.”

Quick Facts:

• Plumbers are eligible for Interprovincial Standard Endorsement (Red Seal) qualification through the Industry Training Authority, which allows holders to work in any province or territory.
• The average salary for plumbers in B.C. is between $53,000 and $66,000 a year.
• ITA provides more than 100 apprenticeship training programs in B.C., including almost 50 Red Seal trades.
• There are currently almost 38,000 registered apprentices in the industry training system (including youth) - more than double the number of apprentices registered when ITA was created in 2004.

Learn More:

Work BC - Plumbing Career Profile: https://www.workbc.ca/Job-Seekers/Career-Profiles/7251

Industry Training Authority: http://www.itabc.ca/youth/trades/plumber

Work BC Job Search - open plumbing listings: https://www.workbc.ca/JobSeekers/SearchResults.aspx?runsearch=1&searchNOC=7251

World Plumbing Day: http://www.worldplumbingday.org/

Media Contacts:

Media Relations
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour
250 387-2799