bbb

From what ive heard I honestly wouldnt waste your time and money on going on a plumbing course. You are extremely unlikely to find anyone to work for/with unless you know somebody beforehand. If you cannot find somebody to work for then you will have to go it alone which can be very tough for someone with no experience and 8 weeks or whatever plumbing behind them. There are loads of startup plumbers out there barely making a living, and by the sounds of it there are loads of people wanting to go on courses. There is simply not enough work to go around. The so called plumbing boom was years ago, now there are too many. For every 1 person who has "made it" there are 10 who havent. I think I read somewhere that 50% of people who train to be plumbers do not go on to finish their NVQ because they cannot find anyone to take them on so they cant do the onsite assesments. If they do bring out the requirement that by 2010 all plumbers must be NVQ qualified then you will be unable to work aswell. Plumbers who have been plumbing all their lives (like me) will be given "grandfather rights" to work so its no skin off their noses.
The bottom line is, dont waste your money. And for all those people still thinking "i will be ok" and dreaming of megabucks then you have been warned.
Sorry to put a dampner on things but people need to know the reality.

bbb

point in question, on tonights weakest link a female contestant claimed to be a plumber (she was also a lapdancer!) and Anne asked her what she would do if her pump was continually on (i dunno which pump she was refering to but anyway) The girl relplied that she would "ring her mate" to which Anne asked "what sort of plumber are you?? the girl then said that she had done a 10 week training course prior to going self employed and that quite alot of people do it as a change of career. It is people like this that give the industry a bad name, calling themselves plumbers after a few weeks in a workshop. I think it down to greed and the fact that they think they can make loads of money in plumbing, they are making a mockery of people like me who did 5 year apprenticeships. Im sure there maybe are some decent people out there who have re-trained but I would say that 75% are a joke.

please feel free to voice your opinions

uug197h

ok bbb we take your point, but do you have an apprentice or would you be willing to take on an apprentices thats aged 25+??????????????

Plumbing Forum Moderator

Varley

Apprenticeships are by far probably the best way to train in any trade, however as uug has stated, fewer and fewer time served tradespersons are willing to take on apprentices, leaving an opening in the market for these so called g'et rich quick' training companies, ultimately leading to some poorly qualified tradespeople. So what are people who really want to learn a trade going to do??? Go to a ttraining centre or miss out on theor calling in life.

Chris R

Re the above - I have been a keen amateur plumber for years. I recently retired and did a four week 'intensive' course with PPL in York. I got two City and Guilds qualifications and will go back later this year to finish off the City and Guilds 6129. The course included the LOGIC assesments for unvented water, building regs, legionella and water regs. I am now self employed and the work has started to come in. I know my limitations and will not take on anything that is beyond me.I also know as I get more experienced I will take on bigger jobs. When I go out and do a quote I can predict that the first thing the customer will say is how hard it was to get anyone to come out to quote (the last one tried 15 plumbers - I got two days of work out of that one). I think there is plenty of work out there if you are prepared to provide a good service for a fair price. I also think there are too many in our profession who will only do the easy, big jobs. If you are prepared to take on the stuff that no one else wants to do, you will have no problem. I read somewhere that plumbers are supposed to provide an essential service to the community. It would seem that some colleagues are happy to do so, along as it is easy and pays well. Perhaps we should look in their direction when we consider the reputation of the profession. Like most things in life you have to put in a bit of hard work. I understand the argument about apprentiships, but perhaps some of us more senior people have something to offer - don't write us off

christay01

Hi Chris R, Like all you said. Could I ask you what two City & Guilds qualifications you achieved, how you found them and what did these qualifications enable you to do jobwise? Thanks Chris T

bbb

What part of the Uk are you from Chris R?

ProffesorPlumb

We offer the NOCN Level 2 in Domestic Plumbing at our centre. Perfect for domestic wet plumbing, if you want to stay domestic. NVQ's are only required for site work (by 2010).

We cover all you need to know about domestic plumbing including water regs, earth bonding, rads, pumps, power showers, bathroom installation, immersion heaters and a whole lot more.

For a hell of a lot less than a C&G 6129 at OLCI!! lol

jay35

Need some help with 6129 write ups?