IPHE is now CIPHE - Chartered Insititute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering
It is supposed to be the professional body for plumbing, but hardly anyone knows it exists.
I have been pondering my own membership each year in these difficult times. For me it gives a few letters after my name, which satisfies my ego, but if no one has heard of it, then its a bit of waste of time.
However, if I were a new-comer to the industry, I strongly advise membership. They have student memberships, and a bi-monthly journal.
The 'professional' issue is a bit of laugh really, it still means you have to do meaningless gas safe courses, and be a member of cps schemes at additional expense.
If you are a teacher, then have a look at your 'strategic assessment document' which lists memebership of such bodies as CIPHE as part of the centre validity for assessment.
Thus, CIPHE plays a ceromonial role for teachers, and professionals (working at management level), but there are few user benefits at installer level.
If I were to suggest one advantage at installer level, it would be 'branch training'. Each branch of CIPHE, organise lectures virtually every month, where continued professional development certificates are issued by manufacturers for training on their products.
Again, its not all CIPHE's fault that it is not so popular - it is a 'professional body' in a labour market that have been brainwashed into thinking they are professional because they are gas safe registered.
I think something is required to represent plumbers, but CIPHE isn't it.
