The 39 year old mother of 4, who took up studying plumbing as an alternative to a career as a driving instructor and previously as a highly qualified accountant, was already planning to spend her Christmas moving radiators, installing a bathroom for her brother and fitting her mother’s dish washer, outside tap and kitchen units.
She now plans to spend her win on more tools to help with her plumbing career and buy a few treats for the kids.
Hearing of her prize she said, “This news has really made my Christmas. I started the course because I just couldn’t afford to pay trades people to do the work around the house that needed doing and I wanted to find a job that could fit in flexibly around the 6 hours that I can spare while my children are at school.
Sabina believes that she may be the only female Asian plumber in Scotland if not the whole of the UK.
A spokesperson for Train 4 Trade Skills said “This was a very well deserved win by Sabina who demonstrated out of the thousands of entries we received that she was determined to improve her life through sheer determination and hard work. Our sincere congratulations go to her and we wish her continued success with her plumbing studies and as a jobbing plumber”.
End.
Mrs Sabina Aslam-Qadri’
“This Christmas will be different to all the ones past as I will be fully installing a new bathroom suite for my brother including a shower and moving the radiator to another part of the room. I will be also plumbing in a new dishwasher and external tap for my elderly mother as well as fitting brand new base units and work top in her kitchen.
I will also be moving some of the radiators in my own home as they are all situated near the doors in every room making the rest of the room very cold as it’s a Victorian property with massively high ceilings!
I am also taking out my old shower cubicle and extending the shower area to incorporate the whole recess area, which will involve fully tiling the walls and floor.
All this would not have been possible, unless forking out lots of money to other trades persons, if I hadn't enrolled for the course with Train 4 Trade Skills. The course has been very beneficial to me as having 4 young children and being a single mother, I am able to fit the study and practical training around my family commitments.
I have just come back from the children’s primary school as I was specially asked to do a talk on plumbing for World of Work Day. All the kids were very impressed especially when I showed them how easy it was to cut copper pipe and then bend it with the pipe bender.
I am in the process of starting up my own plumbing business and have distributed my business cards and flyers to friends and family and in the local area, especially to letting agents. Being a female and from an Asian background word is spreading fast as I seem to be the only female Asian plumber in Scotland if not the whole of the UK, which is an achievement in itself.
I have already been told to enter "Asian Businesswoman of the Year 2009" by members of the local community. To think this time last year I was going to do a post-graduate in secondary school maths teaching as I already hold an Honours degree in Accountancy, or carry on plodding along with being a driving instructor which was stressing me out.
I have finally found a trade I am good at; well that’s what the tutors at my practical training said, and which will enable me to earn enough within the 6 hours my children are at school and nursery. So thank you T4TS for making my future a reality.
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Train 4 Trade Skills press contact: Mary Stuart-Miller 01403 738844, m.stuart-miller@
