MetalMickey

Right,

You can complete lvl 2 for about 5K no strings...if you want to complete lvl3 and the gas nbits you need to either pay upfront for all 3 bits for 10K with a 10% discount BUT LVL2 MUST

mehera

It aint so easy as you think . . .

http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/pl...o-excited.html (Dont get too excited !)

See what i mean . . .

scanny22

the problem is with this guys is that it only gives you qualification 6129 which is theory level 2 and then you have to pay another 4 thousand to do the gas and be corgi registered and nvq level 2 and 3 which is 6089. it6s alot of money for me but im still doing it and im only 20........

im sooooo p***sed off. i fdont know what to do. i was doin a course with train 4 trade skills and they were good. and was only 3950 and they give you tools......

buster

Yes! And most have been on these wonderful courses! Please don't waste your money! Go to your local college on the first day of the new year and put your name on the list for September enrollment. The government pay for your N.V.Q. 2 course fee's if you don't have one already. You only pay for your materials used, which is about £350 per year. N.V.Q. courses are designed to run over 2 years but can be completed earlier. I can't help but think that some of the contributers to these forum's are from these company's charging these unsuspecting people lot's of money! A level 2 certificate will not get you employed with a company unless you are going to complete your N.V.Q.2 and in most cases that can take a further year.

MetalMickey

I agree with you buster, but you assume that everyone wants to be a corgi fitter. Thats not the case in most circumstances. if you want an entry level Qual that will give you the practical experience then you could choose any of the lvl 2 courses offered around the country.

olci do the theory home study
btsc do the practical and theory for lvl 2
btsc do the pracitcal an theory for lvl 3 and corgi, but this alone will not get you a corgi cert as you have to work for a corgi reg fitter and build up a portfolio of gas appliances...fires, cookers, boilers before you get your cert.
Theres a company in edenbridge that do the 10 week course which is about 8K but its intensive. Btsc was a flexible option, so if you wanted to change careers and do the course 1 week in every 7-8 then it suits. if you wanna dive in and do it all in 1 go then its not your best option.

I can say for anyone who wants to do a p[lumbing course, that you should research all your options.
Flexi
intensive
Lvl2
Lvl2&3
Corgi

Here is a good place to get a general idea as to what to expect from any course. READ YOUR CONTRACT and know what you are letting yourself in for.

I thought at btsc that i could just pitch up any day and do some practical training or theory, but its not 6th form college....ITS A BUSINESS MACHINE TO CHURN OUT PLUMBERS OF A CERTAIN STANDARD.

Theres no magic pill to take and wake up a plumber!

I did the btsc course and im happily fitting bathrooms and wetrooms. Thats all my training provided and thats all i wanted to do. If my circunstances change then i'll take another look at my options. Theres no way anyone is gonna become corgi reg within 2 years.

Just be aware of the facts and choose the right solution for yourself. Dont let anyone ram their opinion down your throat. Btsc was ok for me and im happy with the decision i made. it was right for me as it was flexi, if you feel that you wanna grab the skills you need, do an intensive. If you can do it at college part time then you can save yourself alot of money and you'll be alot more informed. You'll be around plumbers for longer which will give you the opportunity to ask them how to do stuff.

Ive had to solve alot of plumbing probs on my own was btsc was only avail the weeks that i was training. there's no helpline...unless you can bag yourself a job as a plumbers mate.

All views are welcome here, just gather the info you need and DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

Good luck

MM

buster

MetalMickey, Well done for using your brain and not your wallet! What you say is true and although I'm a traditionally trained plumber, I'm not into bashing the so called 'fast trackers' because if you look at a college course it runs over about 80 day's which is not much more than a fast track course. But a lot of the people on these forum's seem to be under the misapprehension that if they complete one of these fast track courses they will find employers falling over themselves to offer them employment, this is just simply not the case! The course you attended fitted your circumstances and it was the correct course for you and the job you are doing. But if your circumstances change you may find it harder to move to a new employer with out a full NVQ. I hope this doesn't happen to you but you never know! The main point I'm trying to make is that in a lot of case's most of these people will have sold themselves short! And for a lot less money and just a little more work they could achieve a whole lot more!

Balo

Hi all

I am considering a career move into plumbing and have looked into all the options. College is a definate no no for me cos of my present job, so I have been researching into all these fast track schemes. I am looking at traing with OLCI, does anyone have any good/bad reports on this company? Thanks.

ajs heating

what makes you of a sudden want to do plumbing ?

1. £80k a yr
2. get up at 9am home by 3pm
3. shiny new van
4. or knowing you've got 2 washing machines and a tap washer to fix easy
day.
or

1. £18k a yr
2. get up a 7am home at 6.30pm called back out at 10pm
3. or the excitement of fitting a soil stack in the peeing rain in the middle of february.
4. or customers who want to argue and not pay you at the end of job.
5. all the days holiday you get when work is slack in the building trade
(like now) you the morgage needs paying & the kids want feeding.
6. or paying some muppet £4000 + to show you what a radiator valve is
bend a pipe and solder a e f fitting.
7. maybe they show you heat loss calculations, pipe sizing calculations


please tell us what ever makes people want to change career in mid life
when they have a steady job earning £25000 a yr

snorkel1234

Attention AJS try having to do Security work doing shift work not seeing your kids at times for up to a week and you will fin out why people would like to change their lives even while earning a steady 25k per year tell me do you see your family every night?

ajs heating

i would never do that sort of job for £4.50 hour thats useally loners, blockheads, or clueless people do them jobs.
why take a job that with them conditions?
so hows the grass going to be greener when your a plumber ?
i told you its not get up 9am take the kids to school and back home at 3pm.
at least your kids are getting clothed and fed with £25k yr.
when you leave these courses don't expect a job at the end.
and if you go self employed you'll be lucky to touch £8k your kids will be happy.

so i think you need to look around first before you think its all roses
cause its far from it.
whats wrong with doing painting and decorating, or plastering easyer to learn trades.
oh no they don't earn £80k