Rob Jacobs, Master Plumber

I like what I do

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I like what I do. I like being busy. The money is good. I make more money than I would as an employee working for somebody else. That's definitely a perk.

"As a business owner and a home owner I get to write off a percentage of my house, a huge percentage of my personal vehicle, (and) all my tools. That's a bonus right there because you're saving yourself a lot of money that, in other cases, you would have to give to the government."

Images from my workplace

Blood, sweat and tears

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"When I first got into the trade I worked for a smaller plumbing outfit. I saw how things were run and how the bidding was done. It was always in the back of my head that that's what I wanted to do one day. I started out at the bottom thinking I was going to be on the top right away, which wasn't the case.

"Here I am today, after blood, sweat and tears and slowly working my way up for different companies, trying to learn every aspect of the trade. I started it and I'm still growing. I'm going to continue to grow for probably a number of years to come yet."

Not just toilets

A lot of people associate plumbing with fixing toilets and dirty work, but most of the work is quite clean, especially in new construction. For the most part, I'm working on plumbing installations and repairs, piping and boiler systems.

I might be replacing sinks or toilets sometimes. A little bit of filth comes along with that, but that's part of any job in the construction trade, whether it's in a residential or a commercial environment.

Residential and commercial

When it comes to residential work, there's a lot of maintenance to do. My business gets many calls for leaks, broken pipes, plugged drains and that sort of thing. We also advertise to do renovations.

We work with a number of different builders who do both commercial and residential work. The commercial contracts mostly involve plumbing work for small office spaces.

Keep the customer happy

It's important to keep your customer happy. I try to introduce myself to the customer before I introduce the customer to the guys. I want the customer to know that things will go smoothly and that they can call me if there are any problems or questions.

When I'm not working on a job, I check in on my employees and talk to the customer just to make sure the guys are not making a mess or that the noise isn't bad and they're being courteous.

Mostly indoor work

Most of the work is indoors but sometimes I work in unheated spaces with no doors, windows or roof. It's also dusty and noisy so I need earplugs, safety shoes, boots and a hard hat. In the wintertime, if I'm working outside, the conditions are not very good, especially if it's - 30.

I also do a lot of work in the office. Sometimes I'm up until midnight doing my books, trying to schedule things and planning for upcoming projects.

Fort Garry childhood

I had a great childhood. I grew up in Fort Garry, Winnipeg and went to General Byng School, which was only a couple of blocks away from where I lived. I had all kinds of friends in my neighbourhood.

There was a community club right across the back lane from where I grew up, so I was constantly playing different sports at the drop-in centre there and playing hockey in the wintertime. After I grew up, I made ice at that community club for about 10 years.

Hardworking family

My dad is a forklift operator for a large food company. He's been there for about 30 years.

My mom stayed home to raise the family. There are eight of us so she didn't really have time for another job. Her work was at home. Taking care of all the family and making sure the housework was done was a big job.

My mom's a real sweetheart. I don't know what we would have done without her. She taught us values and morals, she picked us up and dusted us off. She was and still is there whenever we need her.

My hero, my dad

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"I'd have to say my hero is my dad. He never made a lot of money but he worked as hard as he had to make sure everybody was taken care of.

"We enjoyed life growing up. We weren't able to do all the things that we wanted to do, but if things were falling short, or if we wanted to go on a vacation, he would have to do a lot of extra work here and there, doing other things to make up extra income. I've learned from that.

"He was constantly encouraging me and telling me how well I was doing. He was a mentor in some ways. He gave me my work ethic and for that I'm very grateful."

Finding time to relax

I'm often preoccupied with my job. I'm always thinking about something that's coming up tomorrow, something I did yesterday or about how I can improve my work.

I wish I had a little bit more time to myself, just to relax. My fiancée and I got away to a rented cabin a couple of times in the summer but it's hard to go away for a full week or more. In a few years when my business is bigger, I should be able to do that kind of thing.

Enjoy my bike

I don't have a lot of time off but when I do, I really enjoy riding my motorcycle. It's an escape. I have a Harley Davidson low rider. I bought it when I was in first level apprenticeship. I was flat broke and I used my credit card as a down payment. Somehow I was approved and I've had the same bike ever since.

I love working on it in my spare time. I'm handy when it comes to tinkering and I enjoy being in the garage.

Never the same

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"In this trade, we try to have typical days but it never seems to work out that way. Having an ad in the phone book, you never know if you're going to have a slow morning or a fast morning.

"Sometimes you might approach a week thinking that it's going to be a slow week, but Monday morning comes around, all of the sudden the phone's ringing off the hook. So you've got some little jobs to fix up, little service calls, or maybe a couple of jobs that are bigger that are going to occupy more of your time."

Keeping things flexible

It's often a juggling act to make things work and try to keep everybody happy. I have to really prioritize and take care of the most urgent jobs first.

If I'm working for a homeowner, I have to try to make my schedule work with theirs. The customer often has to go to work and they have different commitments so I have to try to work my time out with them.

Careful planning

As a smaller business we have to make sure there are people available for every job. I'll plan jobs a week or two in advance to make sure we have enough work booked.

A bigger job will leave a bit of flexibility to take care of any smaller calls that may come in. I have to leave a little extra time available as well in case one of the bigger jobs takes longer than anticipated.

Striking a balance

I try not to be too stressed but there is definitely a lot of pressure with this job, especially when I'm trying to meet deadlines.

It's most stressful when things are slow because you need to maintain enough work to pay the bills and have enough money for the bigger projects. I don't get payment in advance, so I have to make sure my bank account can carry me through until I complete the job. With bigger jobs, I need to make sure I have enough for a progress payment.

Who you know

My very first job was with a guy from my mom and dad's church where I attended growing up. He as pretty much in the same boat as I am in now, being new in the business, starting to get busy and taking on larger projects.

Making that contact with a plumber really made a difference. Now I know just about everybody in the Winnipeg plumbing trade, just from going to school and working for different companies.

Problem solving skills

Problem solving is probably the most important skill for this job. I can't walk into someone's home and say 'I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do for you.' Whether it involves opening walls and floors and fixing a leak or blockage, I have to find a way to fix the problem.

Even when things are going well, I may have to deal with something unforeseen. In any case, I have to get the job done.

Thinking creatively

When I start a new construction job on a house, especially with a custom built house, I have to figure out the piping, drainage and venting and make sure it's up to code. When I first walk in I look at the walls to try and figure out where to run the piping and how to conceal that.

It sometimes looks as though a plumber is not working but actually they are thinking hard about where to run the piping so it's not in the way of some ductwork. Plumbers have to have a three dimensional sense.

Important work

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I think plumbing is very important because if you go a day without water, if you don't have a toilet for a day, it's devastating. You realize how much you appreciate these things.

"Everybody likes to be able to get up and have a shower and go to the bathroom. If you don't have that you've got to have somebody and fix it, so I might be making somebody's life easier a little down the line.

"Plumbing is not exactly a glorious trade, but we serve our purpose."

Rewarding career

When I was growing up I wanted to be an NHL star. But I'm no Wayne Gretzky so I did consider the trades. That's where I felt my abilities were. But getting into plumbing wasn't something I woke up one day and decided, 'I wanted to do this.' I found my way into it through a summer job.

I have since recommended plumbing to a lot of people. I tell those who want to get into a construction trade to try out plumbing because it's very rewarding and pays well. In my opinion, it's a good career.

Working with my hands

School wasn't really my thing. I didn't have an interest in long term education, I wanted to go and work with my hands. I always knew I wanted to do something labour intensive rather than sitting behind a desk. That was just the way I learned.

If I had to do high school again, I would definitely pay a lot more attention to math. I use math everyday so it's very important to the job. I've had to use it in all my work in the construction trade.

Discovering my path

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"When I first started out being a plumber's helper, it was actually only supposed to be a summer job, I didn't know where it was going to take me. October came around, I was still working.

"Finally my employer came up to me and he just asked me, 'Are you interested in registering for the apprenticeship program? You're able to be left on your own to take care of certain things.' So I gave it some thought and I figured why not.

"From the day I started plumbing it took me approximately seven years until I got my ticket."

Apprenticeship levels

The apprenticeship program is five years long. Each year you work for ten months and go to school for two months. The first level is mostly all safety and code. The second level is more rural plumbing like septic fields, pumps and so forth. The third level involves natural gas piping, furnaces, boilers, hot water tanks and electrical.

The fourth and fifth levels are review and working additional hours. There's a lot riding on those final years - your apprenticeship, college exam and Red Seal exam.

Note: For more information about the apprenticeship program, see Manitoba Competitiveness, Training and Trade (Trade Programs: Plumber) in USEFUL LINKS.

Process the same now

The plumber apprenticeship process doesn't seem to have changed a lot since went through it

Last year the apprenticeship program randomly called me and a few other journeyman plumbers in to write the Red Seal exam, It was basically a survey. We had a chance to offer our opinions on where they might be able to improve things, or change this or delete that.

Based on that, as far as I can tell, it's close to what I did when I studied to be a plumber.

Expanding the business

I have a home-based business right now. But as it grows and expands I'll need more space. I know my neighbours don't want a fleet of plumbing vans parked in our driveway so I plan to get a building with a place to maintain and dock the vehicles.

I'd also like a storefront office where people can walk in. It would be good to have a receptionist to meet people and answer the phones. That is my goal in the next three to five years.

Living comfortably

My basic goal is to live comfortably. It's not really about being wealthy so much as having a nice home and family life. I plan to have one or two kids and I'd like to pass on the business to my children.

I've come to realize that owning a business is a thrill when you're paying other guys that work for you. You know they may be supporting a family and it's a nice feeling to know that you're giving them that opportunity to work and live their lives.

Upgrading skills

As they come out with more technology and different ways of doing things it will change the way things are done.

For example, it used to be that everything was threaded. Now everything is all plastic and a lot of it is glued together. There are a few different types of this plastic piping and different tools required, different techniques in putting it all together so I definitely need to keep upgrading my skills and staying on top of what's new.

Bright forecast

Right now, there's a boom in the construction trade. I think a lot of the baby boomers are retiring so there are a lot of 55+ condominiums going up.

The next five years are looking good for people in construction. After that it's hard to tell. But everyone has a toilet, everyone has sinks, everyone has water pipes, everyone has plumbing in their homes. Every business and every building has plumbing. There are always going to be repairs and maintenance and renovations. I can't see any shortage of work in this trade.

Stay ahead in school

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Education would be my number one suggestion. Stay up on all your school. Don't let it fall behind. Do the best you can and learn as much as you possibly can. Learning is probably the greatest tool you'll ever have.

"Even when you're done school, try to learn as much as possible. Pick up on little things, because that's how you're going to earn your living. That's how you're going to do what you do. That's going to measure your success, is how much knowledge you have."

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for Rob's occupation is "Plumbers" and its NOC* code is 7251.

Manitoba Job Futures - Plumbers

Employment Prospects - Labour Market Information

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Education

Useful High School subjects

Math
Industrial Arts
Sciences

*Source: JobFutures.ca

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to 4 free courses.

Below are links to various programs and courses that will you on the path to a career as a Plumber:

Manitoba Competitiveness, Training and Trade

Trade Programs: Plumber

Red River College

Apprenticeship Programs
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

Assiniboine Community College

Plumber Apprenticeship Program
Piping Trades Program
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson

All Programs (PDF)
Apprenticeship Training - Page 26
Industrial Trades - page 84
Vocational Trades - page 111
Prior Learning and Assessment - Page 8

Essential Skills

The most important Essential Skills for Plumbers and other related occupations are:

Document Use
Oral Communication
Problem Solving

*For more information on Essential Skills and their importance to this occupation, go to: Essential Skills NOC.

Professional Resources

Manitoba Home Builders (MHB)
The Manitoba Home Builders' Association (MHBA) includes many of Manitoba's finest home builders, developers, renovators and suppliers. All are committed to building quality and affordable housing that complies with all building codes and the principals of sustainable communities.

Plumbers and Steamfitters Union local 254
United Association of Journeyman and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry in Manitoba

CareerTrek
A not-for-profit organization that provides innovative educational programming for young people with perceived barriers to entering post-secondary education

Related Careers

Gas Fitters (NOC 7253)

Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers (NOC 7252)

Supervisors of plumbers (in NOC 7213 Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades)