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Everyone knows that plumbing is a highly-valued skill to have. As a result plumbers are able to charge a premium for their knowledge and abilities. If you're interested in becoming a plumber then a plumbing apprenticeship is one way of going about it. You might have heard some things about training to become a plumber, but here are five things you didn't know about plumbing apprenticeships.

1) It's not just fixing leaky pipes. When we think of plumbing we tend to think of gushing pipes and dripping faucets, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Plumbers also install, repair and maintain gas systems that heat our homes and places of work. On the advanced plumbing apprenticeship you'll learn the skills to enable you to work with gas as well as water.

2) A plumbing apprenticeship will teach you to use many more tools than the standard plumber's wrench. You'll learn how to weld, for example, and other skills you'll be acquiring will help your CV stick out from all the rest - and you'll be able to use them doing all kinds of different jobs.

3) You may think that plumbing is old-fashioned, and in a lot of ways you'd be right. On the other hand, though, plumbers get called upon to create and install computerised control systems. This means they've got to have a lot of computer knowledge, so don't be surprised if you see a plumber taking a laptop to work with him.

4) Plumbing is a forward-thinking industry. Again, though plumbing is thought of as an old trade, the job is adapting to new technology. For example, the industry has been involved with developing environmentally-friendly technologies like solar water heating and rain water harvesting in recent years. You can learn all about these kinds of thing on a plumbing apprenticeship.

5) When you finish the apprenticeship you can earn upwards of 17,000. It's great to enjoy the job you do, and there's a lot of job satisfaction to be found in plumbing - whether it's fixing a burst pipe or installing a new boiler for an elderly person, but it's also important to earn a liveable wage. You'll be pleased to know that the starting salary for a qualified plumber is between 17,000 and 21,000. You can also earn good money as a self-employed plumber.