hi tauruss77....regarding your post that you were thinking of going with viy training but do not think 10 weeks was sufficient time especially as only 5 weeks of this is workshop based.i feel it is my duty to big up viy as i,m currently still doing this course and am enjoying it immensely with a great bunch of blokes,assessors and students alike.it,s something i,ve been pawing over for a few years now and whilst researching all the different courses viy was always up at the top of my list.it is i agree a lot of money to spend and a big risk to take especialy at my age nearly 40 but after 20 years in a factory and a handful of other jobs i didnt care for i thought what the heck so took the plunge.the course is everything they tell you it is on their web pages.if you go on their tour on a thursday george the owner explains everything the course offers and sugar coats nothing.one course i nearly went on a few months back was a grand cheaper than viy but i smelled a huge rat when some spiv in suit came to my house and proceeded to act like my best mate and was telling me i was the sort of person they wanted on their course then made a big deal of phoning his boss and begging him to try and squeeze me in on the next corse.it turned out the certificates they were offering werent worth the paper they were written on and the practical experience they offered amounted to summat like 5 days workshop and 6 months home learning.dont get me wrong i,m under no illusion that you can learn plumbing in ten weeks and was also a little surprised that it was a straight 5 weeks classroom then 5 weeks workshop.the classroom bit is to get you through the 12 exams you need to pass for the 6129 certificate and you could be forgiven for thinking that you are being thrown a lot of information you dont need to know as regards plumbing and the time could be better spent doing hands on work but the teaching is first class and joe the tutor is only too happy to repeat anything you dont understand over and over again until it finally sinks into your old and dicrepit brain.things like health and safety and working relationships are a bit of a chore but city and guilds demand that you must learn these things to gain the qualifications.the exams are multiple choice and require 80% to pass but 75% gives yolu a chance to immediately have another crack at the questions you got wrong.less than 75% means you must resit the exam further on in the course.as regards the workshops there is really only so much they can show you.the first half day there we were given a blow torch,as much copper pipe as we wanted and an endless supply of elbows and tees and after a quick demo told to practice soldering joints...its as simple as that.2 hours of practice and so far after 3 weeks of different projects nobody to my knowledge has had a leaky soldered joint.then after a quick demo on spring bending and machine bending you,re thrown straight into plumbing in a full bathroom suite.sounds a bit daunting but the assessors run round like blue assed flies helping you out but to be honest the knowledge is already there from the classroom work it,s just a case of getting your hands to do what you,re brain is telling them to.the bathroom takes about 2 days but if they asked me to do it again tomorrow i,d have it done by dinner time
.you,re confidence grows and you find yourself chomping at the bit to get vstarting on the next project and learn something different.theres a couple of days precise copper work where bends have to be accurate to correct angles and length but thats just to please city and guilds and its just basic maths and learning the bending machines capabilities.out in the real world the bending machine will probably never leave the van.i have 2 weeks to go on mny practical and i can honestly say i know a million times more about plumbing now than i ever did and would be confident in taking on any job i,ve learnt so far.ok i,m gonna take twice as long and will probably refer back to my books now and again for the next 6 months or so and i,l probably turn down a few major jobs till i have enough experience but like my old dad used to say "if you dont make the odd f*** up,you never learn".yeah go for viy mate if you decide to do plumbing,there,s no bull and they do exactly what it says on the tin