The chief at London firm Pimlico Plumbers has suggested technicians who have taken plumbing courses are likely to benefit from experience in the field.

Charlie Mullins, the entrepreneur who set up the company from scratch, made his comments to Fresh Business Thinking after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called on the government to postpone the scrapping of the default retirement age.

He claimed the institution is being "ridiculous" by making this request and highlighted how 20 per cent of the tradesmen who have taken plumbing courses and work for his business are over 55 years old and there is no substitute for their experience.

"You don't need guidelines and legislation for this, just effective personal management and a decent touch of common sense," said Mr Mullins.

In his view, age should not dictate whether a person is capable of doing a job.

This month, Pimlico Plumbers announced it looks set to deal with a record number of call-outs as a result of the extreme weather conditions.

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