Plumbing course students may find work with London firm Pimlico Plumbers in the near future, after it announced expansion plans for 2011.

Charlie Mullins, managing director of the company, said he is confident of increasing the size of his workforce by 25 per cent over the course of the year.

He explained that he would hire top class engineers "on the spot", which may encourage more tradesmen to perfect their abilities on plumbing courses.

However, Mr Mullins claimed there is a growing skills gap between older technicians and their younger counterparts that makes recruitment more difficult.

"Demand for our services has continued to grow at a constant rate in the past year, which has created the need for these new recruits," he added.

This month, Pimlico Plumbers announced it achieved sales of over