Polypipe is removing the annual registration fee for its Registered Heating Engineer Network (RHEN) to provide small heating engineer and plumbing businesses with better access to training courses and events. All fees paid in will also be returned in full to the existing members of the Network as a thank you for their support in previous years.
Polypipe launched the RHEN in 2016, then known as the Registered Installer Network, offering heating and plumbing specialists the chance to work with Polypipe to identify new business opportunities in their locality, attend accredited training courses hosted by the company, and receive a range of business support tools. Polypipe has been reviewing the feedback from those who signed up, as well as conducting insight research with the wider plumbing and heating engineer sector, and has decided to make key changes to better serve the industry.
The first change is to remove the initial £350 registration fee, to encourage more small businesses and start-ups to consider registering and working with Polypipe. Existing members should contact their Area Heating Manager to arrange and confirm return of fees.
The criteria for joining the RHEN will continue to be merit-based, focusing on the experience, qualifications and accreditations of the individual heating engineer. There are now no extra fees required to register.
The second change is in response to research that shows the majority (66%) of individuals working in the sector considered themselves to be Heating Engineers or Plumbers rather than Installers. And so, for 2018 Polypipe will rebrand their network as the Registered Heating Engineers Network, in order to better represent the skills of the existing members, and to attract a wider range of more experienced and qualified professionals.