Who's doing a plumbing and drainlaying apprenticeship out there?

tried that. The dumb chick i spoke to over the phone didnt have a clue and said my company and I need to make an appointment with a skills manager to find out. Oh Well, FML

  Well wombles, I rang the Skills ITO to find out if my query is at all possible as I need to know this BEFORE signing a training agreement with my employer so I could negotiate with him a plumbing and drainlaying apprenticeship instead of only the latter.
I would have thought the dumb chick (or any of her fellow work colleagues) would know this information as she is the enquiries voice of the ''SKILLS ITO APPRENTICESHIP'' 0800 number. Instead she didnt have a clue, which i think is pretty piss poor for a company that deals strictly with apprenticeships. Her answer was for me and my employer to book an appointment with a manager - which is inconvenient for me as I am due to sign a training agreement and begin work with my host employer next week.
You may need to have your eyes or reading skills checked as I never said I was 'trying to get around' any pathways but am only wanting to know if there is a standard pathway or can it be customised - hence my original question.

Michael - Skills deal with a wide range of apprenticeships - not just plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying.  There is an option to have a plumbing and drainlaying apprenticeship as opposed to a plumbing and gasfitting apprenticeship, but they are done side by side if you get my drift.  Perhaps you could try contacting Stephen Bocock - he is very knowledgeable and helpful to apprentices in our particular industries.  Each region has a SKILLS manager to look after apprentices and I am sure if your employer contacted your local representative they would come and meet you at a time that suited.  I note you say "host" employer which leads me to believe you may be employed under a scheme like Masterlink or ATT?  If so then they would certainly be able to fill you in on every bit of information you need. 

I understand your frustration in trying to talk to SKILLS, I've experienced it myself - persistence is the name of the game.  Visit their website and see if you can locate your regional manager.  Don't sign a training agreement until you understand what you are committing to - likewise with your employer.  The training agreements are usually dropped off to the employer - so they would know who the local manager was. 

Just a small observation - you can get more help using sugar rather than vinegar.  If all else fails ask to speak to Paul Hollings the head of specialist trades - and if all else fails there - the big boss is Garry Fissenden, but I think you need to make a list of what you want to know and be clear about what you are wanting to achieve.  If it is to get a drainlaying qual complete before starting the plumbing side, then you want to do a drainlaying apprenticeship only - and then plumbing.  I wouldn't recommend this path - do them both together - it's about 8000 hours in total - and worth the effort.

Let us know how you get on.