Attention..AJS Heating!!!!

[Rupster]

I have come across this forum as i am,like a lot of others,toying with the idea of doing a fast track plumbing course.Even from my brief perusal of this forum,i've already noticed the slatings dished out from said member 'AJS Heating'!! I'm guessing he must be old school and doesn't agree with these courses,but what are we supposed to do? I need to re-train but cannot afford to be doing college courses for years,but on the other hand i am not blinkered in thinking i can become a 'proper plumber' in 10 weeks!!
Therefore Mr.AJS... What would you advise me to re-train as? Obviously there are too many plumbers,English or Polish,and no-one would employ a 'fast track' plumber,so i appeal to your wealth of knowledge and appreciate your advise. Am i now on the wrong forum!!!!

many are coming into this trade for the wrong reason. not knowing your age or what you have heard. but the common reasons are
£50'000 a yr
get up at 9 home by 2 etc

they are all rubbish, it takes yrs to built up your reputation and customers, and 5 mins to loose them

you say you need to re-train from what ?

what do you propose on doing when you pass or if you pass ?

if you go self employed you won't even scrap £10'000 thats before you have your van, insurance, tools, advertising, phone, stock, etc

so when you have your 10week course and you say you don't exspect to be a proper plumber, well when will you be ?
when you have charged someone £500.00 to experiment on their heating system and 5pm walk off job leaving them still no better off than when you turned up.

and as the 10 week course and the spotty kids that then walk on site thinking they know it all know nothing, sorry not got time for them.

you can't learn plumbing in 5 yrs let alone 10 weeks.

[snorkel1234]

Agree whole heartedly, however you like us that would have to start off at some point. I am also considering doing a fast track course. I know that I will have to build up expeience of on the job work.
I also know that I will never tackle a job that I feel uncomfortable doing, and would rather recommend that the client call someone else, us "oldfolk wishing to have a change in career will have to start off, we did not have the opportunity of doing a 3-4 apprentiship.

[Rupster]

AJS... Thanks for your reply.

I am 34 years old,and my trade for much of my working life has been Car Valeting. I have run 2 businesses,both Valeting,that i started from scratch and later sold on due to re-locating. I suppose the comparisons with plumbing is the simple fact that anyone thinks they can 'clean' a car properly and make a business out of it but it is very difficult.I lost count of the amount of 'fair weather' valeters that i used to see in the summer driving around in their beaten up little Fiesta van with a bucket and sponge in the back and then once the weather changed they disappeared!! Therefore i understand how tough it is building up a client base and a good reputation,and also the lack of work for the first 6 months and the expense of setting it all up in the first place.
The only way to make good money valeting cars is to run your own business as working for a garage or another company pays peanuts and the work is very physical and tiring and i've been there and done that etc. It is also a luxury item which in our present climate may be a problem,hence why i won't be setting up another valeting business.

I will become a dad for the first time in 4 weeks so i really need to be making the right choice concerning my future.I have the funds to re-train,i just need to pick the right route,if there is such a thing!! I feel that this is my last chance and really don't want to throw my money away so i am overly cautious about choosing the right option.

I take on board all advice so thanks for all your input.

P.S. If there is anyone out there that wants a trainee with common sense,a business brain,good with his hands,learns quickly and will re-locate anywhere......give me a shout!!!

you've picked an awkward time to enter the trade as things are slowing right down compaired with last yr.
many are leaving these courses and not finding work as soon as they mention 10 week coure companies don't want to know due to lack of experience.
i would rather take on someone that has experience in dealing with customers, problems, fault finding etc than someone with certs coming out their ears and been on a 10 week course.

[CharterGAS]

Ajs is spot on!!! - the word fast track and plumbing should not be used in the same sentence!!!!!


i personally believe that the only real way to learn the trade is via an apprenticeship !!!

even if yo u want to re-train the do an adult apprenticeship!!!!!
then you need another 5 -5 6 yrs to be really good!!

Plumbing is a life long decision not a part life - although i know people who have retrained and became brilliant plumbers!!!!


this is my personal opinion
but other may disagree!!

again you will not make big bucks and you will lose sleep at night !!! If you really are up for that then go ahead and best of luck

But like i said - there is no such thing s as a fast track!

[fuzzy]

any trade is very difficult to master, i dont mind people wanting to retrain but they need to be realistic, to get anywhere near 50k will take years of working up skills, knowledge and reputation. 10 week course gives you underpinning knowledge, an apprentice takes 4 years before he is qualified, that gives him 4 years on the tolls aswell as his/her quals. how does anyone propose to gain the relevent experience after a 10 week course? i know many people who have taken jobs for penuts after a 6129 course to try to break into the trade, often they go back to their own jobs. less than 10% of newly qualified adult plumbers go into the trade, so think carefully before spending around 10k for this privalige, at least from a college you pay far less

[joebaxi]

ok correct me if i,m wrong
a 17 year old decides to go to college to learn plumbing.he/she will go to college one or two evenings a week and a full day for 2 to 2half years minus holidays etc.this amounts to something like 12 to 16 weeks tuition.A firm will take on he/she at the beginning of course even though they know diddly squat and probably never done a days work and still relies on mum to drag them out of bed every morning.
Meanwhile somebody else who has worked for 20 years doing something they hated suddenly decides to have a go at learning something they want to do.Theyre too old to get a college apprenticeship but find a way to get the same qualification albeit a lot more expensive.They can learn it in a lot less than 12 to 16 weeks because they have life experience and probably don,t have to spend a couple of months bashing a lump of lead like they do in college.
But can they find a firm to take them on afterwards?....not a chance....even though they already have the knowledge,the experience of a work environment and will be on hand more because they don,t have to swan off to college 1 day a week.Said firm would rather take on the seventeen year old to vent their anger on and make the tea and bend the pipes and pay them peanuts for three years because they,re "still learning".Then the now 20 or 21 year old can turn round and say they learnt the "proper way"and so the cycle begins again.
"5 to 6 years to learn plumbing" do me a favour....i could become a qualified GP in 5 years.C,mon lets be honest all you apprenticed trained plumbers,how many weeks or months did you spend doing the crappy jobs that you nprobably had sussed after a couple of days and were chomping at the bit to have a go at something else.How much useless knowledge do you have that you,l never get the chance to put into practice because times have moved on.
If i,ve put anyone,s back up with this post i really don,t care...i,ve put up with this kind of attitude from people in the many jobs i,ve done in my working life.I was`a lorry driver for 2 years and used to get ribbed by the 20 year plus drivers for looking in the atlas before i set off on a morning.They waited till they got round the corner before checking theirs.
Anyway thus concludes the interview...have i got the job

[mehera]

They dont want us to learn cause we will nick their customers more like!

Apprenticeships should be wiped out like the dinosaurs man!

Oh look another dinosaur 'yawn!'

[John t]

Hi ajs, here's my response to some of your concerns regarding fast trackers.

Originally Posted by ajs heating

many are coming into this trade for the wrong reason.

Redundant at 48 and not prepared to go on the scrap heap, good enough
not knowing your age or what you have heard. but the common reasons are
£50'000 a yr
get up at 9 home by 2 etc
After 30 plus years in engineering 6/7 days a week I know what hard work is and don't expect to be rich, ever!

they are all rubbish, it takes yrs to built up your reputation and customers, and 5 mins to loose them
80% plus of my customers are word of mouth


so when you have your 10week course and you say you don't exspect to be a proper plumber, well when will you be ?
when you have charged someone £500.00 to experiment on their heating system and 5pm walk off job leaving them still no better off than when you turned up.

Would never dream of ripping anybody off, I never do anything I am not 100% sure of and pass on heating work to more experienced plumber mates.

and as the 10 week course and the spotty kids that then walk on site thinking they know it all know nothing, sorry not got time for them.
Does this mean you are going to stop helping out fast trackers on this site? or just the spotty ones!

you can't learn plumbing in 5 yrs let alone 10 weeks.

Under no illusions here mate but I intend to be around for a while yet! So keep on helping us fast trackers out!