Strangely on point ancedata: My father worked as a drain cleaning specialist for many decades without a plumbing certificate. When he started his business dra

Strangely on point ancedata: My father worked as a drain cleaning specialist for many decades without a plumbing certificate. When he started his business drain cleaning was not regulated under the local plumbing trade. He knew vastly more about how to locate sewerage pipes, clean difficult lines (tight corners), which trees/shrubs were likely to be causing problems through invasive roots or causing movement of the pipes than any of the certified plumbers. He had knowledge of the types of pipes that a house within a suburb was likely to have (terra cotta, cast iron, PVC etc) and the right way to deal with blockages in each type. He did work for many plumbers who knew they didn't have the right equipment or knowledge required for some of the larger jobs (sewerage lines vs sinks for example). Many plumbers were not interested in drain cleaning as it often involved dealing with unpleasant waste, jobs were typically only an hour or two in length while construction plumbing or gas fitting was cleaner work with more billable time. He also coordinated with the local water authority when a blockage was suspected to be in the sewer main. My father would not do any pipe repair or fittings replacement. As he was not a licensed plumber he was not even permitted to change a tap washer. The Plumbers Association eventually lobbied to have drain cleaning included under their certification. This came in when my father was about 50 years old. He did not want to do an apprenticeship to become a licensed plumber. An apprenticeship would have taken quite a few years at low pay to learn plumbing construction, gas fitting and a bunch of other stuff that he was not interested in doing. So my father had to then be "supervised" by a licensed plumber. Luckily "supervised" was interpreted quite loosely for a long time. My fathers rates for drain cleaning were substantially less per hour than a licensed plumber charged. By capturing drain cleaning under the plumbing certification - prices for drain cleaning did go up for most people. From my perspective my father was not an "uncertified person taking advantage of the poor". An organised group (the Plumbers Association) instead lobbied to capture exclusive access to work via regulation. None of my father's associates who held plumbing licences thought it was a good change - so they helped him through "supervision" to keep working. Generally, I see certification and regulation as a good thing. I am skeptical, however, of organised groups lobbying to increase their power/exclusive access etc through more regulation. Any such regulatory capture should be backed by solid risk analysis. As you pointed out, the risk in drain cleaning includes damaged pipework. This could be mitigated by professional insurance, which my father carried - it does not require regulation and licensing.