Case study - Liam
An Inverness teenager is helping to create a more environmentally-friendly Scotland.
Liam Sherif is an apprentice plumber in his second year of training with Corrie Plumbing and Heating. He is part of a team which installs items like solar panels and ground source heat pumps in new homes to help them produce renewable energy.
Liam and his team are never short of work, as the government has recently promised that all new houses built in the UK will need to be carbon neutral by 2016.
This means that, although new houses will continue to use some fossil fuels like oil, they will also have new technologies to make them more energy efficient and to help generate solar, wind or geothermal power.
Liam left Culloden Academy in 2006 after sitting his Standard Grades and worked in Inverness as a labourer for six months before starting his apprenticeship with the Corrie Group.
His work days are spent closely following plumbers and heating engineers and learning from their years of experience. He also attends a local college as part of his apprenticeship, where he studies for a plumbing qualification.
Liam (18) says: "It had always been my ambition to learn a trade, and I’m really enjoying my apprenticeship. I’ve developed a good understanding of the basics, and it’s exciting to be working in an expanding field like renewables.
"There aren’t a lot of plumbers who are fully trained to install the specialist equipment houses will need to be more eco-friendly in the future. This means we get to travel about Scotland to places like Glasgow and the Borders – anywhere we’re needed.
"It feels good to be working on something which has real benefit to people. Carbon neutral houses will be less expensive to run and will help to cut down on the country’s energy use.
"It’s also great to know that the skills I’m learning are guaranteed to be in demand for years to come."