Who is a plumber?
A plumber is an artisan or a worker skilled in plumbing or closely related field. Plumbing is a system or a network of pipes that allows water or fluids to flow from point one point to the other. To create a plumbing system, various materials are used. Some of these include; pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks among other apparatuses used to convey fluids.

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Plumbers install and repair pipes and other systems that carry fluids or gases within homes, businesses and factories among many other places.

Other closely related title(s)

1. Plumbing artisan
2. Pipefitter
3. Steamfitter

What is the work environment?
Plumbers work in homes, businesses and factories among other places where there are fluid pipes or sewerage network.

Some important skills to have
To work effectively, plumbers need to have some important skills and qualities such as;

1. Communication skills
2. Mechanical skills
3. Physical strength/ stamina
4. Problem solving skills
5. Accuracy & precision
6. Creativity skills
7. Among others

What are some career opportunities?
Plumbers can find work in various places such as; construction companies, building maintenance contractors, plumbing contractors, manufacturing companies, building construction hardware’s, businesses and government departments among other areas.

Plumbers can also use their creativity and start their own gainful ventures (self-employment).

Becoming a plumber

Admission requirements
To pursue a career as a plumber right from high school, a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), mean grade E is required.

Training & Study options
With a KCSE mean grade E, you can proceed to a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college and enroll for an appropriate artisan course. Artisan courses are also offered within Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) within your region.

So what  course(s) can you pursue in TVET colleges?

1. Artisan in plumbing
2. Artisan in plumbing works
3. NVCET in plumbing
4. Grade Test in plumbing
5. Or other similar/ related courses

Education Progression
After a successful completion of an artisan course, you can advance your education upward (in a relevant field) up to university level if that’s your goal. How is this possible?

1. Get an artisan certificate
2. Advance to craft certificate, (in a relevant field)
3. Advance to diploma certificate, (in a relevant field)
4. Advance to degree certificate, (in a relevant field)

How to Join TVET College.
There are two ways you can follow to join training institution(s) in pursuit of your career of choice. The majority way is applying through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps). This is a state owned agency that admits/ places government sponsored students to TVET colleges and universities. One of the advantages of applying through Kuccps is that, upon successful placement, you will pay subsidized fee as a government sponsored student.

To be placed through Kuccps you must have attained a certain pass mark required for various education levels such as degrees, diplomas, certificates and artisan courses. For an artisan course, you need a KCSE mean grade E. For more details on placement criteria, visit Kuccps website. The second approach is applying directly to training institution of your choice. Students who opt to apply this way do not get government fee subsidy and are therefore self-sponsored.

How to fund your post-secondary education.
If you are a needy student, upon application, you can get education loan from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), a state owned institution that gives education loans to students joining technical colleges and universities. You can also access education bursaries from your local Member of Parliament (MP) or the County Government among other sources.

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