hi guys, an offer by Mico Wakefield AKA Fletchers, free upskilling for 16 points, apparently the Master Plumbers called them and complained about it but it is still on. If you are able to attend give them a call, unfortunately i will be in Aussie on holiday otherwise i would not miss it, cheers

Linkback: http://www.plumbers.co.nz/forum/licensing-and-up-skilling/45/upskilling/846/

Are you sure you have that right Robbo?  Why would anyone complain about upskilling, let alone free upskilling worth 16 points?  Sometimes the old tom tom drums can distort the message.   Seems a great opportunity to me - and good to see it in Christchurch where you guys have had enought grief on your plates to date, and at least you can save a few dollars.

I am speechless then.

apparently the Master Plumbers called them and complained about it but it is still on.

LMAO - different story when the shoes on the other foot hey?!?

Master plumbers have paved the way for this corporate barrow pushing crap, maybe a few more of these to take the coin of MP will finally set them straight - yeah right!  sounds like one of those tui billboards, we can only but live in hope!

I would also not hesitate to speculate that in doing this "FREE" upskill course that there will be some form of remuneration to Mico's and/or whatever "SPONSOR" it is based around...


anymore details on the course content thunderhead?

Free courses are bloody great. I like to upskill but I'll never pay a cent to master plumbers for what should be free.

Any supplier offering free courses at the moment is doing industry a bit of a favour.  The whole regime will be up for debate in the next few weeks when the PGDB's consultation document comes out.  This is the time to have your say about what you think.  In the meantime we have to play the game and collect points.  Merchants will always try to assist their customers - and in this way they are assisting themselves - I have no problem
with that - it's business plain and simple.  The problem is that the current system is a debacle and is making practitioners "points whores" - heads are swayed by points rather than the quest for knowledge - sort of backfiring on what the entire idea was really.  A number of the "courses" are sales pitches - no more, no less - and they have been approved by the PGDB.  They are the gate keepers in all of this and we the mere puppets. 

jax I dont buy into this mind-set - I hear where ya coming from but the industry should never have reached this stage in the first place

for a supplier to have any form of control or influence over the licensing of practitioners is both immoral and unethical - and in my humble opinion bordering criminal -

for the record I have nothing against upskilling - I just believe that it should NOT be in the hands of people that are no more than sales reps

give them an inch - they WILL take a mile

how far do we open the gate??

I dont know of any suppliers who are charging for courses. The only ones charging for courses are the Master Baters. Its just a money making scheme for them. How dare they try and stop Micos from running free courses! Just shows they dont really give a stuff about plumbers out there, they only care about their bank accounts.
As I said in an earlier thread, the Master Plumbers stopped me from going to a seminar they organised where a council inspector was giving a speech on how they interpret the building code last year. You'd think the Master Baters would welcome qualified tradesmen into these seminars to show them what they have to offer and try and upskill the whole trade, but no. Its all about money.
This whole thing has made me so determined to never pay for CPD!

The way i look at it is the only people that should be able to hold up skilling courses are the training instutions and the only bloody thing you should be upskilled on is the bloody codes! and anmendents to the current codes...no body should have product upskilling courses as these are a have and are not real courses...if i want to use a new product then i ring the company selling it and arrange a meeting with the rep to give me the low down on the product...otherwise i read the bloody instaliation details....the ONLY thing that they lawfully could say we need up skilling in is the codes and codes only!


"anymore details on the course content thunderhead?"

Not to sure will ask boss tomorrow but he said it was easy as pie with stuff lined up on a wall and you go along and fill in the blank spaces sort of thing...but one thing he noted was that the pancones they had wernt sealing correctly and rearly only suited a "s" hook up otherwise to strip the pancone and silicone seal the horn rubber in and out to stop leaking when hooked up in a "p" style...otherwise he didnt learn anything new but got free points which is what he was after.....