🗣️ Meet the speakers 🗣️ With our first TechTalk of the year just around the corner, we are happy to announce our first speaker, Garry Cowan from the Electric Heating Company Electric Heating Company, for our event in Kirkcaldy on Thursday, 6 March. Garry will be providing his expert insight on installation and retrofitting – exploring best practice advice for professionals that are looking to adapt traditional methods to meet modern needs. His talk will investigate different pipework considerations, including how to approach working with older systems and advice on what to do with different pipe sizes. Garry will also be looking into whether traditional radiators are compatible with electric boilers and what adjustments need to be made to account for heat-up times and water temperature. Check back here for more speaker announcements soon 🔜 To register for our upcoming TechTalk, or see our full schedule for 2025, click here👇

Calling all Edinburgh SNIPEF members! Have you been looking for a way to digitally upskill yourself or your employees? If so, Elevator, in collaboration with Business Gateway Edinburgh, is running a fully-funded course for locally based businesses looking to maximise their online success. Empower Digital starts on 27 February, and will explore ways businesses can: 💻 Improve their digital skills to enable them to make smarter business decisions 👷‍♂️Empower their employees by equipping them with future-proofed skills across a range of topics ℹ️ Give them access to expert guidance on digital data, social media, online trends and more. To register, or find more information, click here 👇

Our partner TradePoint is offering SNIPEF members an additional 15% off purchases over £75 from Friday, 7 February until Tuesday, 11 February 🔧

Schedule your SNIPEF Member Review today! From February, connect with your Business Development Officer for a personalised one-on-one session to maximise the benefits of your SNIPEF membership. Your feedback matters and we are here to help. For more information and how to contact your BDO, click here 👇

We headed down to Stevenston yesterday to visit our member @JamesFrewLtd and hear about the work they have been doing in upskilling their operatives with @aalbertsipsuk Iain Morrison from Aalberts/Pegler gave operatives valuable training on best practice for their range of Xpress (heat free pipe jointing) products. The session saw Iain offering demonstrations and answering questions on how to install the systems correctly and avoid any pitfalls that may crop up on the job. Following the session we caught up with Iain and Nairn Gray from James Frew to talk about how these collaborative training days benefit both supplier and employer – and how other SNIPEF members can benefit from similar sessions. Keep your eyes peeled for the full interview in our Spring edition of PlumbHeat in March!

Government funding for hybrid heat pumps to end ℹ️ The Scottish Government has announced that from Tuesday, 4 March 2025, new applications for hybrid heat pumps will no longer be accepted under either the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme or the Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme. For more information, click here ⬇

SNIPEF is back on the road this year to bring an exciting schedule of TechTalks to Scotland and Northern Ireland🧳 Join us in Fife, Inverness, Dumfries, Glasgow or Belfast as we look to build on the successes of last year’s TechTalks by bringing them to new audiences in 2025 💬 This year’s theme aims to refocus on the core areas of the plumbing and heating profession, while addressing the current issues facing our members 🔧 The discussions will offer practical and expert insights into improving system efficiency, managing water quality, and adapting traditional methods to meet modern needs – exploring a mix of traditional topics and evolving solutions 🗣️ The events are open to both SNIPEF and non-SNIPEF members. To sign up to a TechTalk near you, click the link below and register your interest 👇

Do you want to be able to self-certify work that is subject to a Building Warrant? If so, join us for our online Building Standards Course for the Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme. 📅 Tuesday, 25 February, 9am to 5pm Email schemes@snipef.org to book your place. For more information visit here👇

SNIPEF representatives on the Scottish & Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board (SNIJIB) have negotiated and secured a one-year wage agreement with Unite the Union. For more details click here👇

Do you want to become an Approved Certifier of Construction? By joining our Approved Certifiers of Construction Scheme (ACCS) you will be able to “self-certify” drainage, plumbing and heating work in Scotland which is subject to a Building Warrant💧 This means that you can bypass local authority building standards inspectors, while also providing your customers with assurance that works are being carried out by fully trained and competent professionals that comply with current Scottish building regulations🔧 The scheme is open to SNIPEF and non-SNIPEF members. For more details about the scheme and how to register for a course click here👇

STORM ÉOWYN – advice for members A red weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for strong winds across Northern Ireland and the central belt of Scotland for tomorrow, Friday, 24 January. Amber warnings are also in place for the rest of Scotland, with a chance of snowfall as the storm makes landfall. In cases where abnormal weather conditions interrupt work, members may make suitable and appropriate arrangements in order to be able to provide employees with work. In severe weather conditions, it may be that you are unable to send your employee to the area where work was to be undertaken due to health and safety reasons. In these circumstances, if the employee reported for work that day, you should pay the employee the normal wage for the hours of work that you were unable to provide. For more information, we advise members to read the ‘SNIPEF Employer Guide: Adverse Weather’ here👇

There's just over 6 weeks until our first TechTalk of 2025 comes to Fife!📣 Join experts as they return to the core of the plumbing and heating industry, adapting traditional methods to meet modern needs🔧 Our speakers will provide insight into practical approaches to improve the efficiency of domestic heating systems, the modern challenges facing water quality management and discuss the training and support available to Fife businesses🗣 Open to SNIPEF members + non-members. Click to register for TeckTalk Fife here 👇 📅Date: 6 March 2025 🕰Time: 8am-11am 📍Location: Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6HF

RT @SNIPEFtraining: We're thrilled to celebrate your incredible achievement of winning 1st prize at the Construction and Built Environment…

Sign up for our ACCS Building Standards course this month 🏦 Do you want to be able to self-certify work that is subject to a Building Warrant? If so, SNIPEF is running an online Building Standards Course for the Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme on Wednesday, 29 January, 9am-5pm 📖 Contact schemes@snipef.org to book your place.

SNIPEF Partner, @WatersafeUK, is calling on all plumbers and installers to protect drinking water by only using lead-free solder The organisation is funded by the water industry to protect public health through quality plumbing. It is urging plumbers and installers to sign its pledge to only carry lead-free solder in their toolkit and only use lead-free solder💧 SNIPEF members who are eligible to join the WaterSafe Approved Plumber Scheme can do so at no extra cost. Eligible members must opt to sign up for WaterSafe – you will not be automatically registered 👷 To find out more about WaterSafe membership or to opt-in, contact the Schemes department on 031 556 06066 (option 4) or email schemes@snipef.org 📧 To sign the pledge, visit 👇

Did you see our article recognising the winners of last year's Best Plumbing Apprentice Awards? Each year we invite our network of colleges and training centres to nominate their very best SNIPEF registered apprentices👷 To celebrate its 34th edition, we featured the winners from up and down the country, learning about what makes them the very best plumbing and heating professionals of the future🔧 The full article can be read in our winter edition of PlumbHeat❄️ Check it out here👇

As the Self-Assessment tax return deadline approaches on 31 January, we have shared a handy guide from HMRC for members to explore⏱ SNIPEF members can access the information, which includes details on how complete your tax return, potential penalties, and other helpful links, by clicking below 👇

#ICYMI Our winter edition of PlumbHeat is out now❄️ In this edition, we met the winners of last year's Best Plumbing Apprentice Awards, explored the results of our latest member survey and looked into the scheme that is putting new heat pump tech in the hands of installers. Read the issue here 👇