The business was established by Mark over 30 years ago and Ross admits that when he was growing up, he loved ‘hanging around’ the workshop and doing odd jobs.
Since he was always interested to learn more about the family business, when he left school, Ross had no hesitation about what his next step should be. He enrolled at the College’s Newtownabbey campus to do a Level 2 Plumbing Apprenticeship and then progressed to successfully complete his Level 3 Apprenticeship.
As an apprentice plumber with Huston Heating, he spent four days each week working in the family business and one day attending class in the College to complete his Level 2 and 3 City and Guilds apprenticeship in plumbing and heating (6189 NVQ).
Ross said the balance of being employed in the family business and going to Northern Regional College worked well for him:
“There were so many different learning opportunities and chances to get additional qualifications at the College.
“We had guest speakers come into the College to speak to us, for example
OFTEC for oil regulation advice and training. Salamander for pump training, Danfoss and JP Speedfit for product awareness training. We also completed Heat Pump training which was delivered by Grant Engineering at Plumbmasters renewable centre in Newry.
We visited Warmflow’s Factory in Lisburn to see how oil-fired boilers are produced. We also achieved OFTEC and Unvented industry accredited training at Nutt’s Corner. This accredited training allows plumbers to work on oil fired appliances and the Unvented G3 training, which was delivered in partnership with SERC, allows plumbers to work on unvented cylinders. It’s great to have these additional accredited qualifications as it means I will be able to work in all aspects of the family business.”
Ross said he would encourage anyone interested in working in the plumbing and heating industry to consider doing down the apprenticeship route.
“It gives a good balance of real-work experiences and academic and technical skills to improve your career prospects and people are always looking for plumbers so there is no shortage of work.”
He added: As an apprentice plumber at Northern Regional College, you will get the opportunity to experience many different things. The tutors are friendly and approachable and are always there to help.
Now that he has completed his apprenticeship, Ross will be taking on a new role as a company direct or Huston Heating and will be oversee all the installation work.
Congratulating Ross on completing his apprenticeship, plumbing lecturer Peter Lynch said that both Ross and Jessica had been exemplary students and he was delighted to see them do so well.