PHAM NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2025 Training Update 17 Promoting professionalism
The recently developed Polypipe Professional Development centre is now up and running, offering hands-on courses for installers and online CPDs for specifiers and architects. We spoke with Dean Asher, Polypipe’s head of technical sales, to find out more about what the facility has to offer.
B
ased in Doncaster, the Polypipe Professional Development Centre is geared to meeting the diverse training needs
of the construction industry, whether it’s installers looking to gain practical experience or industry professionals who want to earn CPD hours. As well as BPEC– accredited courses, the company also provides free training on Polypipe products, a course which highlights some of the benefits of plastic plumbing and includes a behind-the-scenes factory tour.
How many people are you looking to attend a typical BPEC course? We can usually cater for 10 trainees per session, but any more than that and it could get quite difficult to manage. However, with the free courses we can be much more flexible. We’ve actually got an auditorium which can house a 100 people, but we’d generally be looking to restrict the free courses
to no more than 15 or 20. Any more than that and it becomes difficult to host the factory tour.
Do you require any deposit for those free courses? Yes, there’s a £15 deposit with the free courses, per delegate, but they get that back as soon as they arrive. As part of those days, we’re also looking to offer some kind of goodie bag which will contain free fittings and other promotional materials.
Do you require prior experience or qualifications for those who sign up to the BPEC courses? On some of the courses there are some pre-requisites for some courses. For example, on the Water Regulations course, it’s obviously advisable to have an NVQ Level 2 or 3 in plumbing or certainly plenty of experience before attending that course. The website clearly details what qualifications are needed to
undertake the different courses, but there are no pre-requisites on some courses, such as the introduction to environmental technologies.
If a candidate isn’t quite up to the mark, would they get an opportunity to be re-assessed without incurring further cost? Yes, we can usually re-assess on the day, but if they still don’t then we’d look at re-assessment at another time. I don’t envisage it happening very often, but if anyone did fail flat-out then they obviously would get another chance to be re-assessed, which we’d either do for free or offer at a heavily discounted rate.
For courses aimed at installers, would you say that there’s no substitute for face-to-face practical training? I think the ability to offer hands-on experience certainly makes the courses much more attractive
to our installer customers. We’ve currently got the facility in Doncaster, but we’re in discussions with some other sites and training providers and looking to expand that to different centres around the UK.
Have you got any thoughts on other courses that might be made available in the future? Yes, there’s lots of different courses that we’re planning to run. We’re adding CPDs all the time. For example, we’ve got a CPD coming up called ‘challenging tradition’ which is about plastic systems versus traditional systems – copper versus plastic, underfloor systems versus radiators – and we’re also looking at some technical training
on pre-insulated pipe, something which is commonly used in heat network systems and when heat pumps are located away from a property. In time, we’ll also be offering other BPEC courses such as low temperature heating design and unvented cylinders.
What’s the first step for those who want to sign up to a course? They are available to book on our website (
polypipetraining.co.uk). Available dates are highlighted and there’s a couple of tabs – a meet the trainers section which is myself and my colleague, Joe Thompson, which tells a little bit about our experience in the industry, and a section on CPDs and forthcoming courses. ◼
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with the Robokit Extra® Smart system solutions
Expansion vessel Wall mounting bracket Quattro 4-way connector Filling loop
Safety relief valve with pressure gauge
T: 07185 218200 E:
sales@altecnic.co.uk
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