If you're not already employed in a PGD business, you'll need to find a licensed plumbing company willing to take you on as an apprentice. Want to give yourself an edge when applying? Our PGD pre-trade courses build foundational skills that help you stand out from other applicants and show employers you're serious about these essential trades.
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Build your PGD career
Ready to learn trades that keep New Zealand running? A PGD apprenticeship covers far more than just fixing leaky taps. You'll master everything from residential gas installations to complex commercial drainage systems and industrial plumbing networks that serve entire cities. Choose to specialise in plumbing, gasfitting, or drainlaying - or train across multiple trades to maximise your career options.
Learn the job while doing the job with Skills Trades Training. Our New Zealand Certificate programmes in Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying (Level 4) get you qualified with skills that employers actually want. From gas heating systems to stormwater drainage and hot water installations, you'll train on the infrastructure that powers everyday life.
How Skills Trades Training supports your apprenticeship
If you're already working as an apprentice at a plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying company, Skills Trades Training can handle all your formal training and block courses while you gain experience on the job.
Getting started without a job
Training requirements and support
All plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying apprentices need formal training to become licensed and get PGDB registration. We cover comprehensive training that meets industry standards - from gas safety requirements to drainage regulations and plumbing installations. You'll learn to work safely on any job, whether it's residential gas heating, commercial drainage systems, or industrial plumbing. We've been training PGD tradies for 30+ years - we know what we're doing and employers trust us.
Your apprenticeship training journey
Your apprenticeship combines hands-on work experience with formal training at Skills Trades Training. You'll attend night classes and block courses at our training centres while gaining real experience on job sites. Our tutors are industry experts who visit you at work to provide on-job support and connect your training with what you're doing every day.
The New Zealand Certificate programmes take around four years to complete, covering everything from plumbing theory and PGDB regulations to practical installation and testing skills. Choose from:
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Plumbing (Level 4)
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Gasfitting (Level 4)
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Drainlaying (Level 4)
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Combined programmes covering multiple trades
We handle all the training agreement paperwork and work with you and your employer to schedule your learning around real work commitments. Our apprentices get the support they need to succeed, which is why employers trust us to deliver qualified tradies who are ready to work.
Where your career can go
Once you're qualified, there's plenty of directions to go. Become a certifying plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer checking other tradies' work, or move into project management running PGD jobs on big construction sites. Some tradies specialise in commercial work, others focus on industrial maintenance or residential service calls.
You could work on hospital plumbing and gas systems, install environmental waste water treatment, or work on major drainage infrastructure projects. Many PGD tradies start their own businesses or become estimators, working out costs for new builds across all three trades. Some get into teaching, training new apprentices.
If you're into tech, smart building systems and automated controls are growing fast across plumbing, gas and drainage work. The PGD game needs people who understand both traditional pipe work and new technology. Plus, your qualifications are recognised overseas - take your skills anywhere in the world.
Whether you end up specialising in one trade or working across plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying, solid training is what sets you apart - and that's what Skills Trades Training delivers.
We’re New Zealand's leading trades training provider for electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and roofing. Our industry experts prepare the next generation of tradies with skills that work where it matters – on the job site.
We keep the world running
From power grids to water mains, our graduates maintain the essential infrastructure that keeps New Zealand running every day.