Plumbers Course: Opening Options in Tarin Kowt
Wednesday - 22 August 2007 - CPA 266/07


The Afghanistan-based Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) has completed its first basic plumbing course today, opening further employment opportunities to the Tarin Kowt community.

The four-week basic plumbing course - the latest offered at the RTF’s Trade Training School - concentrates on water storage and reticulation methods.

Senior Instructor, Warrant Officer Class Two Shane Johnsson, said these are the skills which will contribute to a more healthy community.

“By teaching the methods for storing a safe and sustainable water source using the equipment available here in Oruzgan Province, we are directly attacking one of the major causes of health problems,” said Warrant Officer Johnsson.

The RTF is improving the province’s health infrastructure by addressing both treatment and prevention systems. Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jarvie said, “a multi-pronged approach is required to really ensure you have a chance at success.

“In addition to the basic plumbing course, we plan, in time, to install a number of windmills across the region. These will service centrally located mass-storage tanks which can be tapped to provide clean water to households, mosques and other community centres.

“We are also nearing completion of the Tarin Kowt Hospital redevelopment; a project which will deliver better healthcare services than the province has ever experienced,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jarvie.

Students receive a daily wage while they are in training and a greatly improved chance at employment on completion of the course.

Plumbing instructor, Sapper Nathan Beatson, says the students are enthusiastic and keen to learn.

“They’re mostly young blokes who have recently completed our construction workers course, so they know what we offer and importantly have come back for more,” Sapper Beatson said.

The course starts with very basic pipe joining techniques and builds from there through a series of practical applications to teach them more complicated reticulation methods.

“I start by explaining how pipes work and how they join to each other. The material here doesn’t come pre-threaded, so we teach them threading as well. We then move to basic plumbing theory, install pipes in the ground and eventually put it all together to produce a water source from tank to home,” said Sapper Beatson.

The basic plumbing course is the fifth course to be offered by the Trade Training School. Other courses include the basic, intermediate and advanced construction workers course and the generator maintenance course. In the coming weeks the RTF will also commence an allied trades course, which concentrates on finishing trades such as painting, tiling and concreting.

Around 100 students have been trained at the Trade Training School since it began in October 2006.