Plumbing lecturer Jamie Cousins was recognised as a Master Plumber at a special awards ceremony at Carpenter’s Hall, in London last week in acknowledgment of his outstanding expertise in his field.
The Master Plumber Certificate, which is endorsed by The Worshipful Company of Plumbers, City & Guilds, The Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering and the World Plumbing Council, was presented to Jamie by the Lord Mayor of London, Peter Estlin and former Lord Mayor Dame Fiona Woolf.
Jamie ran his own plumbing business for 20 years before crossing over into education which is now his full-time career at Bucks College Group. Jamie co-runs the Level 2 and 3 plumbing courses at the Wycombe campus which also includes teaching apprentices. His commitment to teaching is reflected in his results and the extra-curricular activities he undertakes with students, such as entering them for national plumbing competitons and taking them to exhibitions in order to broaden their knowledge and experience.
Level 2 Plumbing apprentice Thomas Smith, 17, from Loudwater, is just one example of how Jamie’s approach to working beyond the classroom has helped his studies. “Jamie entered me for the HIP magazine heating and plumbing awards competition which took place at another local college recently,” said Thomas. “We had to plumb in a boiler whilst following detailed plans. There was a lot of pipe bending and soldering and I gained lots more knowledge about different techniques which has really helped me in the workplace.” Thomas was commended for his work by HIP magazine and hopes to enter the competition again next year. As a measure of Thomas’s plumbing skills, he was Worcester Bosch Apprentice of the Year in 2017-18, one of 30 finalists from an initial entry of 4000 students.
