Bengaluru, India — The lack of plumbing infrastructure and a trained, certified workforce has long plagued the citizens of India, for whom 7.5 percent of deaths each year can be directly attributed to water and sanitation issues. In response, IAPMO is working with the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) and its training arm, the Indian Institute of Plumbing (IIP), to help the nation make big strides forward in both areas of need.
Having already jointly developed the Uniform Plumbing Code-India (UPC-I), an extensive code of plumbing practice (published in February 2008) that will serve the people of India for years to come, the organizations subsequently turned their focus to education and training. The ambitious Plumbing Education to Employment Program (PEEP) will offer structured courses of study to develop plumbing design engineers, plumbing construction managers/supervisors and plumbing installers/repairers.
No architecture or engineering course of study in India currently offers a diploma or degree in plumbing. An overwhelming percentage of the nation’s plumbers are “casual laborers, who have learned the trade through personal experience or working with experienced plumbers,” according to Sudhakaran Nair, IPA president and Executive Board member of the World Plumbing Council.
PEEP will be implemented in partnership with existing colleges, polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes in India. The program is scheduled to launch in May. In the lead up, expert trainers from IAPMO are conducting “Train the Trainer” programs to educate faculty members at the institutions participating in PEEP.
Graduates of the multi-level education programs created by PEEP will turn out with the following credentials:
• Certified Plumbing Engineer (CPE)
• Certified Plumbing Supervisor (CPS)
• Certified Apprentice Plumber (CAP)
• Certified Master Plumber (CMP)
“The collaboration between IAPMO, the IPA and IIP is an earnest and vitally important attempt to raise plumbing standards on behalf of the people of India,” said GP Russ Chaney, executive director of IAPMO. “We applaud the work of our partners in this effort, as they are on the ground in India making things happen for the good of the entire population.”
A syllabus and training materials for PEEP submitted by IAPMO is ratified by the IPA’s expert committee. Education and training courses will be based on the UPC-I and the IPA, IIP and IAPMO-India will jointly issue all certifications earned through PEEP. IAPMO will support this initiative from its home base in Bengaluru, India.
Last modified: March 2, 2009