A young Ashburton plumber said it was a “bit of a surprise,” when he placed second at the regional plumber of the year competition.

Paul Summerfield Plumbing apprentice Oliver Davidson made the finals at Canterbury West Coast Young Plumber of the Year, held in the Christchurch town hall last week.

The 22 year old beat out six other competitors for second place in a range of challenges over the event.

“There were speed challenges, pulling apart things and putting them back together.”

He said the practical challenges made up 80% of the competition, followed by a 20% practical test.

“I quite enjoyed the theory, it challenged your knowledge, got you thinking about stuff you wouldn’t usually think about while you’re at work.”

Davidson has been an apprentice with Paul Summerfield Plumbing since August 2020.

“I wanted to leave school, and an opportunity arose with Summerfield to take an apprenticeship, so I thought I might as well take it.”

“And that’s where I’ve been for the last four years.”

In January, Davidson was awarded the Ashburton Jaycees Industry Training scholarship by the Advance Ashburton Community Foundation.

“[The] scholarships are given to apprentices and people who are doing training on the job,” said Executive officer Carolyn Clough.

“It enables them to purchase tools, or to be able to fund travel to training.”

Clough said the scholarship enabled Oliver to purchase some plumbing tools of his own.

The foundation puts out a wealth of scholarships for “tertiary study, for industry training, and for leadership and personal development.”

She said the bulk of those will open on October 1 and close after a month.

While Davidson isn’t guaranteed a spot in the national final, the competition’s ‘wild card’ entries are a glimmer of hope.

“There are six or seven regions, and the two ‘wild cards’ are the next best scores overall.”

“I think I had a pretty good score, because I came second by just two points.”

Until then, he’ll keep busy at work.

Davidson said plumbing is a more diverse job than most people would expect.

“There’s a lot of problem solving – there’s a lot more involved than people think than just running water pipes.”

“It’s a good trade, huge variation in work, just about every day is different.”

Davidson hopes to finish his training courses and complete his apprenticeship by the end of this year.

By Anisha Satya