azza

hi everyone.

hoping to start a plumbing course soon. just need some vital info and opinions on courses and companies. i'll start easy.

College or private?

OLCI or BTSC?

does C&G tech cert level 2 = 6129? level 3 = 6089?

what NVQ qualifications are they equal to?

how easy or difficult is it to gain work experience for the on-site assessments?

I'm sure there will be tons more questions, but you guys all seem nice.
Thanks in advance

Aaron

uug197h

Hi Aaron

welcome to the forum

College or private? this is down to cost of the amount of time you have

OLCI or BTSC? most go for OLCI but there are others

does C&G tech cert level 2 = 6129? level 3 = 6089? 6129 is level 2 and if im not mistaken 6089 if working for gas.

what NVQ qualifications are they equal to? 6129 is nvq level 2 but you would need to be assest

how easy or difficult is it to gain work experience for the on-site assessments? very difficult to gain work experience unless you have a job in plumbing before you start, if you do the course then look for a job you will find that it is more or less impossable unless you work for a agency at a reduced rate.

Plumbing Forum Moderator

ProffesorPlumb

Hi Aaron,

OLCI is by far the quickest route, but extrememly expensive. College is dragged out a bit, but a hell of a lot cheaper.

The 6089 certificate is the NVQ2 in Plumbing. The 6129 is the underpinning knowledge certificate for the NVQ2. Basically its everything you need to know to be plumbing @ level 2.

Re: work experience, you will find it very difficult if you are over 25, as apprenticeships tend to go to those people only unfortunately. However, the Govt is looking to extend this to adult apprenticeships in the next couple of years.

Let us know how you get on mate

azza

thanks again guys that was more or less perfect.

Not sure what i'm going to do just yet. in the process of trying to speak to local colleges to get nore info about their courses. not holding out a huge amount of hope with regards to availability but you never know. got the guys from BTSC asking me for money but i've heard quite a bit of negative press about them and i'm not sure want to hand over a large amount of wedge to a firm like that.

what kind of rates can you expect from agency work? how much does it cost to get assessors to visit? and last but not least has anyone on this forum trained with OLCI or similar and made a proper go of it?

Thanks

Aaron

ProffesorPlumb

The problem is with OLCI and distance learning, is that you are expected to read the theory they send to you. From that you will have a million questions, trust me

It takes a lot of motivation and organisation to keep going on these kind of setups. The practical days are good, but very expensive. Praticularly if you need to go back and do it again.

Best bet is to go with a college, or do a short course. then get plumbing during the day whilst getting on with your night course at college for your 6129.

Assessors rates are anything from 150-250 per day. Take that from a qualified assessor

Keep us informed mate - good luck!!

Varley

Hello mate, welcome to the forums

Matty boy

Hi i've done my course with olci. go for them mate they were brilliant tutors are really excellent and alot of fun. facilities were great.