I would be very worried if he hadnt done it in training at least Im positive there is a unit stard that covers both sections. I remember haveing to head out the back of the polytech to preslab assesment back in the day.
I think alot of the problem is you get theses guys who are doing there apprenticeships who have only ever worked on a big commercial site or have only ever done maintenance which although they do there paperwork and pass there exams they have absolutly no practical knowledge of half the trade.

Yeah I think the training is some what adequate, however in light of the issues with the board etc, apprentice's should be willing and take part in an exchange where they are required to do set hours on preslab's, gasfitting, commercial work and so on in order to fully obtain their licenses come rego time. I'm sure a few companys would be willing to do this exchange about the place, business is about people guys, we need to help the young fulla's out, its not rocket science and would prevent the majority of these issues.

im so glad now that i trained under a new housing/reno craftsman cus i have seen what happens to some who work for the larger companies who spend most of there days drilling in munsen rings and doing maintance when we came to the assement at tech they didnt have a clue about running stack work...the traning at tech on stack work is dismal at the best just breased over no real traning given so no real understanding gained by the paying students!...learning unit standards by paperwork is not and should never be a substitute for hands on traning....you should do your paper work at home and go to tech and have the tutors help to reinforce what you have learnt on paper by guiding you though a build phase not just leave you to your own devices and then come back and do an assement of your work and poke holes in it!. This is an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff approach to teaching...you know there is an actual reason why there given the title TUTOR and not ACESSOR!

I agree, I know a guy in wellington who was only ever travelled with his boss everday in his van, he became licenced and had to ring his boss coz he didnt know what to do when the vent on a hwc was overflowing, he found out after a while he just had to replace the washer on the prv valve, but his boss was a dick though, not enough training by the boss in this case,

As far as polytec goes, when I was there,  in the workshop it was one tutor to 12-13 young guys,

so one guy would hook up a hwc for the tutor, then the tutor would look at it from a distance and say "ok, very good, now take it apart", and he would then instruct the next guy to do the same, then the tutor would walk away to see another guy who needed help, while the guy who just finished the cylinder would just walk away to do another task and the second guy would slightly change the pipework so that the tutor wouldnt notice, and call the tutor over and get it signed off,

and no this wasnt me!!!!

so not only were the young guys cheating slightly the tutor didnt even notice!!.

I have taken part in a large number of discussions recently on apprenticeships - how could they be improved, what is missing, what is good, what is not.  One of the things that has become apparent is that over the years - plumbing firms have changed and become a bit more specialised.  Sure your rural or small town plumber probably is a jack of all trades - and his apprentice will possibly be more broadly trained than his counterpart in a large firm.  However the large firm apprentice may understand other things better.  Some firms specialise in gasfitting, others in maintenance.  This is the problem - how do you become all things to all men?  The key has to be the polytech who should provide broad brush stroke teaching so that all subjects are covered (but we have to understand this will not be in depth).  You will continue to learn through your plumbing career and add to your knowledge - you do not need to know everything at registration -but you probably do need to know where to look to find out what you don't know.  The idea fo moving back to 1st qual, 2nd qual and 3rd qual is appealing to tradesmen who train and also apprentices - it means you stop and repeat what you don't know before progressing on, rather than finishing a four year apprenticeship and failing your registration exam.  What ever is decided, it must be agreed on by the PGDB otherwise National Certificate will never = registration - and this is what we are aiming for so that we can get rid of the exams at the completion of your National Certificate, and perhaps have staged exams throughout.  I agree the training as it stands is not sufficient - and this includes the on job and off job training - there needs to be more checks and balances, and more effort put in by the ITO, the employer and the apprentice. 

there needs to be more checks and balances, and more effort put in by the ITO, the employer and the apprentice. 

Can you please explain why we need a middle man like the ITO. As  I see it all they are is a bunch of leaches sucking more money out of apprentices and not providing anywhere near the service they claim to. A good hard look at the Aussie system needs to take place> Under that system the training agreement is between the employer the training provider and the apprentice = cheaper cost and better training.

Just my thoughts on the matter what does everyone else think?
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I agree - the whole bloody industry needs to take a leaf or three out of their book

we're effectively the 7th state anyway using same codes etc so why not just adopt same industry standards? at ALL levels?

the insistent re-inventing of the wheel in this country is rediculous...