kat leask

Im not too fussed about the price of it, its just the fact that from what i have been told its really the nvq level 3 you need before any employer will even think about giving you a chance. I have today looked into a company called BTSC but the prices are £5000 for level 1 and 2 and a extra £4000 for the level 3. The college courses sound good but as i work away from home every week this would mean giving up a job i enjoy to go back to college.

uug197h

if you enjoy your job why are you thinking about changing it ?

Plumbing Forum Moderator

fuzzy

there is no level1

kat leask

Well the job i do at the moment i have done for 8 years and this year i have had very little work coming in and i have went from around £20,000 per year to around £12,000. Plumbing has always been something i have wanted to do but think now with my work the way it is would be a great time to do it.

The guy who gave me the interview says at the end i would get a NVQ level 1 and 2. Sorry if that information is wrong im just going by what i was told in the interview.

fuzzy

there is no plumb nvq1, does he know what hes on about

kat leask

well i would have thought so but hey what do i know...

custard

Hi Guys

I did a course with train 4 trade skills and am working for myself. its been very good, I went and tried a course at the college but hated it full of bloody kids mucking about couldnt get to use all the stuff and not enuff help from trainers,bloody waste of time would have taken me 2 years and still not much expereince the only way to get expereince is to actually do the job as I am finding out. I do need help sometimes but the trainers at train 4 trade skills still help me on the phone if ring em up and to be honest most of the stuf i do is bog standard. I did the course in a year and found a bloke in my area to help out a bit while I was doing it he paid me a few bob but i recomend it if you can to get a bit more confidense. Ive been working as a plumber now for six months mainly bathroom and kitchin stuff but its great tge moneys good and the mrs is happy lol

jopybus

just and update, i found that the course with the stated numbers was enough for me to install bathrooms and some basics on central heating. I only wanted to go self employed doing a few bits. As far as getting employment in concerned then i would need an nvq level 3. The 6128 it a technical certificate that covers all of the theory of an nvq level 2. This still was not enough and with the recent credit crunch my work has dropped. I contacted t4ts and they informed me that they are now doing a nvq level 3 course. The deal is i have to find my own work placement but if i fail and i am sure i will they will give me a work placement to get me through the practicle assesments. The new course is cheeper and better and i was a bit anoyed but there is noting i can do. I intend to get onto the new course because there is plenty of work in heating and ventilation as a subcontractor for the local councils. The new course includes underfloor heating, part p electrical and solar energy and its about a grand cheeper. Im not sure how they have pulled this off but they tell me that the practicle centres are a seperate company that they now own and since they train major contractors, they have an agreement with them and can now offer work placements. More study for me but the old courses have been dropped and they were only a tempory mesure. 9 weeks practicle with on the job assesment is the new deal so i guess you lot have nothing to compalain about anymore!

nick22

Hi guys

I really want to do "a" course and i dont know weather the train 4 trade skills is going to be the best, i know can do it but i dont want to be stuck in a £5500 finance agreement if something was to go wrong.

I'v lost a bit of faith in the company as it seems to only have a web site and nothing else.

It's all glossey books and very gimickey.......or am i just being naturally paranoid, about such a commitment.

Its alot of money to pay out if just something as simple as night courses can get me where i need to be just as well.

If this course really is what its cracked up to be can anyone tell me of their expierience with it please?????????

Andrew Rowe

Many courses! Not many become plumbers! Why? There are many reasons, but mainly because businesses don't want to train new comers, they want people who can do the job. So its a case of building confidence as you progress and become more quailfied.
Don't get disheartend, just be determined to get as good/professional as you can. It will take time, but you'll get great satifaction when every job you go to you know you'll sort there problem out (eventually, but as you go your become more knowlegdeable, it will get easier). As I was told "You will learn from your mistakes!"
To all those thinking about training to be a plumber! There are no easy routes, its expensive to get started, you will not earn thousands and thousands (possibly if you prepared to work 24/7 or rip people off or both) and forget it if you want a strees free life (there are always problems (thats why your there!)). If you can hack all of that then you'll be a great plumber/heating engineer. All the best! Regards Andy Home