Am i looking in the right places?

[Will Tomlinson]

Hello all,

I've been looking at doing a Plumbing apprenticeship for a few months now after regrettably having to leave a course i did in college when i was 18 because of unforeseen family circumstances. I managed to achieve a certificate in Basic Safety In Plumbing and had some experience working with pipe bending and soldering but as it was the first qualification gained it isn't much help in finding a suitable employer.

I have phone called over 30 local around Peterborough/Cambridgeshire/ for plumbers/heating engineers and have e-mailed the same amount to no avail. Also have been constantly on the local college website for vacancies and also looking throughly through the national apprenticeship website. I am not sure if there would be anything else more beneficial to look at?

If i cannot get an apprenticeship the last route for me would be to go back to college and try again from there but as i am now 21 years old, the tuition fees may prove to be a problem without getting some kind of loan to fund it.

Just looking for some general guidance really as it seems i am reaching a dead end when it comes to apprenticeships.

Thank you in advance for any help given!

 

[chris watkins]

Hello all,

I've been looking at doing a Plumbing apprenticeship for a few months now after regrettably having to leave a course i did in college when i was 18 because of unforeseen family circumstances. I managed to achieve a certificate in Basic Safety In Plumbing and had some experience working with pipe bending and soldering but as it was the first qualification gained it isn't much help in finding a suitable employer.

I have phone called over 30 local around Peterborough/Cambridgeshire/ for plumbers/heating engineers and have e-mailed the same amount to no avail. Also have been constantly on the local college website for vacancies and also looking throughly through the national apprenticeship website. I am not sure if there would be anything else more beneficial to look at?

If i cannot get an apprenticeship the last route for me would be to go back to college and try again from there but as i am now 21 years old, the tuition fees may prove to be a problem without getting some kind of loan to fund it.

Just looking for some general guidance really as it seems i am reaching a dead end when it comes to apprenticeships.

Thank you in advance for any help given!

Hi Will
I wish you luck in your search for employment within this trade, apart from trying to see the plumbing companies in person I cant suggest anything else to improve your chances.
The lack of employment opertunity as an apprentice is also mirrored for fully qualified & experience plumbers & heating engineers who are having to compete with hoards of people who have completed training courses but have no or little experience. These trainees are often working either for no or very little money, desperate to gain experience & their NVQ's.
I would urge you to think very carefully before continuing down this path & even more carefully before you spend any money on training.
Good luck what ever you do.