Premier John Brumby today officially opened a new $9 million training centre which will help grow the Victorian green plumbing sector, create jobs and economic opportunities for Victorian businesses.
Mr Brumby said the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre in Brunswick would provide plumbing training to practising plumbers with a focus on sustainability, energy saving, waste reduction and water conservation.
“Green plumbing is the number one skills issue for Victorian plumbers, with a recent report estimating that no more than 10 per cent of Victoria’s 20,000 plumbers have sufficient green skills to meet the growing demand for environmentally sustainable plumbing,” Mr Brumby said.“This will play a leading role delivering sustainability skills for the Victorian plumbing industry and will be critical for driving growth in the Victorian green plumbing sector and creating jobs.”
“To date, just 3000 Victorian plumbers have attended Green Plumbers courses and this number will grow considerably as the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre rolls out its programs to the broader plumbing workforce.
“This will play a leading role delivering sustainability skills for the Victorian plumbing industry and will be critical for driving growth in the Victorian green plumbing sector and creating jobs.”
Mr Brumby said the training centre itself is a 5 Star Green Star rated building that would trial and promote new technologies – a working example of innovative design and sustainable plumbing.
“Buildings produce about 40 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre offers innovative ways to deal with this economically and efficiently,” he said.
The Victorian Government is contributing $2.1 million to the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre which will be used for IT and office systems and training equipment, including hydraulic testing simulators, and solar hot water and photovoltaic systems.
The Plumbing Industry Commission, the Building Commission and the Combined Electrical and Plumbing Union are providing $7 million to the initiative.
Skills and Workforce Participation Minister Jacinta Allan said until today, there was no practical training centre in Australia for the plumbing industry that offers integrated education and training programs to cut greenhouse emissions, save water and generally address key issues around climate change and the sustainability of our buildings.
“This new centre positions Victoria as an Australian leader in green skills and will also deliver training to interstate and overseas students,” Ms Allan said.
“The training delivered by the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre will complement existing TAFE plumbing courses.
“This is another example of the Victorian training system meeting the needs of industry to drive economic growth, create jobs and help the environment.”