May is HEAT’s annual Apprentice Month. Each year, we devise a number of learning experiences over the month that will augment and complement the knowledge our Apprentice Team is gaining.

This year, we wanted to set the team a project that would test their plumbing skills but one that would have a community focus.

Quite by chance, one of our managers learnt that we were looking for such a project and identified a pre school group in his home town of Drumaness, Co. Down that needed a helping hand with an out of date heating system.

This playgroup is cross community and voluntarily run; it depends on the active campaigning of its leader, the redoubtable Michelle McClenaghan to keep its doors open and the funds coming in, so that it can continue to offer its care and services to 24 local children.

HEAT manager Terry Doyle knew that the existing heating system was unreliable and costly to bring back to life after one of its many frequent break downs. Improving the system was vital to the school being able to stay open.

Where better to deploy 14 eager apprentices to install a new system and carry out a few other odd jobs while they were at it?

Friday May 12 th was the date agreed. The HEAT team assembled by 8.30AM and the day’s work began. The playgroup children were ‘decanted’ into HEAT’s mobile training unit where Gareth Belshaw, a member of the local fire brigade gave them a presentation on fire safety.

The apprentices completed what turned out to be a lengthy install in the day and also found time to repaint the exterior of the building, clean gutters and strim and weed the outside pathways.

The playgroup staff were very happy with the results.