Q&A
WITHOUT THE MANPOWER TO MAINTAIN C.E.D. PLUMBING & HEATING’S OIL HEATING BUSINESS, CO-OWNER EMILY DAVIDSON HAS JOINED THE RISING RANKS OF WOMEN QUALIFYING IN THE TRADE… What does a girl know about a boiler?
Emily Davidson.
engineers on Facebook, and I would also like to thank Neil at EPH Services NI for taking me under his wing. Do you have any plans for future development of the business? I would love to see C.E.D. Plumbing & Heating take on more staff and give back to the community in the future, as we can’t do what we do without our local community. What are your hobbies and interests outside of work? My hobbies are walking, singing and spending time with my family and friends. T: +44 (0)28 4483 2687 E: info@cedplumbingandheating.co.uk www.cedplumbingandheating.co.uk “I felt that we had worked so hard to build both the plumbing and oil heating sides of the business, we couldn’t give it up now.”
C.E.D. Plumbing & Heating is a Downpatrick-based family business
giving up the oil heating side of the business, but I felt that we had worked so hard to build both the plumbing and oil heating sides of the business, we couldn’t give it up now. Looking to see if there were any courses available near me, I found a place in CCTS Belfast. When I paid for the two-week course, I had never worked with an oil boiler before, not even to bleed my own. I passed my OFTEC 101 training and then, with the help of SERC, passed my G3 unvented course, CSR course and am OFTEC registered. I have been down to Grant Engineering in Birr for boiler training, which was amazing, and have also been given help from Firebird. Have you encountered any barriers to working as a heating engineer as a woman? I would say there are more woman now going into plumbing. I have found barriers but not from other heating engineers, it’s from clients who question what a girl knows about this. I love nothing more than to prove them wrong and show them I don’t mind them standing over me to make sure their boiler is in good hands. I have help if I need it through a group for
offering 24-hour emergency plumbing, as well as services in central heating, oil boiler installation and maintenance, plumbing and power flushing. Heating Engineer Emily Davidson, co- owner of the business with her husband Colin, chatted with Ireland’s Plumbing & Heating Magazine about getting into the trade as a female and the challenges of running a family business. When did you decide to go into the plumbing trade? I didn’t know what I wanted to do after leaving school. I have worked in factories, shops and then I was a full-time mummy. Colin, my husband, and I started C.E.D. Plumbing & Heating in 2021, and I was doing all the office side of things, as well as social media to promote the business. C.E.D. stands for Colin Emily Davidson or, if you ask my daughter, it’s Colin Emily Daughter… How did you become a heating engineer? We ended up with Colin being flat out, but without enough money to have someone working for us. Colin was thinking about
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