OCHO RIOS, St Ann — It was a struggle for Seymour Green to find reliable and efficient plumbers when he was building his house in 2017, so he decided to invest in learning the trade.

Today, he has his own plumbing company and he recently launched a school tour that offers St Ann students skills training and career advice.

“I had to employ people to do the plumbing, and out of that I realised that there was a lot of shortcoming with the work and a lot of uncertainty about the work. Sometime I go on a job site and you see people joining two pipes and you think that’s plumbing and it’s not. So I saw the need to dig deeper because I was not getting the type of service I was looking for,” Green told the Jamaica Observer.

He enrolled in classes at the HEART/NSTA Trust, where he graduated in 2017 with a level two certificate.

He then delved straight into the working world to hone his skills and was employed with Kemtek Development and Construction Limited for four years.

“At Kemtek I learnt the ins and out of what to do and how to please a customer. HEART gave a start, but that was a bigger training ground for me,” he said.

However, Green wanted to offer an even more detailed and customer-driven service experience, so he started his own company, Plumbers Elite, in 2018. Two years later he earned level three certification from HEART/NSTA Trust.

“I took pride in understanding the depths of plumbing by dedicating my all to it in school. So when people talk to me about plumbing I can speak with confidence,” he said.

Green told the Observer that the team of four he now leads is equipped to take on any plumbing job.

“About 87 per cent of the work we do is fixing work done by other plumbers. Credibility and peace of mind is an integral part of what I hope to achieve in my business, and my team has been doing great so far,” he said.

His goal is to expand his company, keep improving the quality of work done and perception of the plumbing profession.

“I think the reason why plumbers are not really motivated, too, is because people kinda don’t hold the job to much standard, but I want to change that. I even came up with the name Plumbers Elite to give our employees a mental boost,” he explained.

The recently launched school tours tie into those efforts by informing primary and secondary school students that plumbing is a viable and respected career path.

Each training session features career advice, hands-on demonstrations, and an interactive question-and-answer session.

Students at Exchange All Age School and Brown’s Town Community College have already benefited from the tour.

“We’re not just showing students what plumbing is, we’re showing them what’s possible. Plumbing can be a powerful pathway to entrepreneurship, job security, and professional pride,” Green told the Observer.

He said he has plans to keep doing tours for the rest of the year and expand to other parishes.