Plumbing & Gas Solutions Ltd apprenticeship | Archie Goodman

Plumbing and engineering is an industry which for years has relied on apprentices to provide the next generation coming through, but it isn’t just about being handy with a tool box. Modern plumbing and heating businesses are also looking for good communicators who can discuss complex problems and solutions with clients and then get on with the job of repairing it.

A chance meeting for 19 year old Archie Goodman with the team at Plumbing & Gas Solutions Ltd led to him being approached regarding an apprenticeship opportunity.

Archie’s personality, articulacy and ambition stood out and Chris Brightman, Operations Manager, was confident they had found the right person for their business and their clients, who they could teach along with the formal two-year apprenticeship training.

Archie’s route into an apprenticeship followed A Levels at Northampton School for Boys and a spell working for a family scrap metal business. Ultimately Archie really wanted the opportunity to learn a trade and progress into an industry, so the apprenticeship was an obvious step.

Starting his apprenticeship in September 2021 during a global pandemic was naturally daunting, but Plumbing & Gas Solutions and their safe way of working gave Archie the ability to work safely alongside colleagues and learn from them on the job.

Archie is always buddied with someone in the firm and then attends college weekly, working towards his Level 2 City and Guilds Building Services Engineering qualification.

Archie initially wasn’t confident in his own hands-on abilities, but he knew he had other strengths which would help him to learn quickly and progress. He enjoys working alongside fellow engineers and finds the ability to watch and learn as well as benefiting from their years of experience, hints, and tips, vital, something which can only happen whilst out on the job.

The range of services and clients which Plumbing & Gas Solutions has in Milton Keynes and the surrounding counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire means there is always an interesting and new daily challenge for Archie. That could be working with large commercial or smaller residential clients and their boilers, heating, and hot water systems.

It is also an industry which will see many changes in the future, with a drive for more efficient and carbon neutral systems and new technologies evolving.

Archie’s immediate ambition for the future is to continue with his learning and to become a qualified gas engineer with the firm and one day to hopefully train up his own apprentice.