Become a tutor or not?

[Curnsie28]

Hey all, just looking to see if anyone could share a bit of experience about teaching plumbing and/or domestic ng/lpg. I am interested in following this line of work and would like advise, thanks

 

[woodytheplumber]

I am only young to the game been qualified 5 or 6 years but if I were to teach it in the future I would only be able to teach proper apprenticeships non of this fasttrack

 

[Curnsie28]

Yea i know what you mean. My heart is wanting to be a gas inspector for some company who supplies gas like
pheonix gas or firmus energy in Northern Ireland who require inspections on installers work before completion or likewise a building company looking someone to oversee any gas work carried out.

 

[kirkgas]

What experience do you have if actually doing the job? You won't make a good teacher or inspector until you can firstly do the job and secondly learn to teach or inspect ( not ticket science, but not as easy as some who haven't tried it would have you believe) I've met brilliant gas and plumbers who have tried to teach it and can't get into it enough to enjoy it
I started doing it part time and built up the hours while I was Gas Manager for Scotland when I worked will Carillion, as I was in and out the training providers sorting training for the gas team, built it up starting with training, then went through A1 assessor qual then V1 to do internal Verifying, verifying is the easier of the two as you are cross referencing completed paperwork against the answer grids to ensure the assessor has got it right
I'm not saying you can't teach as soon as you are qualified but it wouldn't be easy as you will get asked a question from someone who has tons more experience than you and it's a struggle to explain, I did some Oil quals years ago so I could assess it, but to be honest I hated every minute of it as it was a struggle as I had no practical experience,

 

[kirkgas]

Woodythewoodpecker what's wrong with the right people doing fast track? It's domestic gas not rocket science or brain surgery, I've taught 100's of people via a 6 month full time course ( is that fast track?) and I've always said if someone has the right attitude and aptitude I can teach them to do domestic gas properly and safely

 

[Curnsie28]

Kirkgas,

i am at the plumbing now for 15 years and a registered gas engineer for 12. Do u think i could possibly be at a stage where i could tutor and Assess other engineers etc?

 

[SimonG]

Ever trained anybody?

Years ago, in a former life I did my city and guilds 9294 work place trainer and assessor. Found it very rewarding.

Knowledge is a necessity, but I think its only a small part of the skillset required to be a succesful trainer/assessor.

 

[rpm]

I`m of the view that there are good engineers that would struggle to be a teacher, not through knowledge of the subject matter but from training on speech delivery and control of people.

That`s my experiance and it`s something I wont be trying again anytime soon.

 

[kris]

Thats right rpm there is a statistic that so many people hate public speaking and its a true fact,

 

[rpm]

It`s not the public speaking part and I`ve done one-on-one and one-on-two training which is rewarding but anymore pupils than that and I struggle.

 

[Curnsie28]

I understand where yous are coming from thanks for the input. Ive been told by doctors i have ankylosing spondylitis and its getting worse. Im struggling at work at the minute and trying to take an alternative route soon or later. Dont want to end up seriously injuring myself and able to do nothing. Anyone else know anyone with AS?

 

[Leo21]

Woodythewoodpecker what's wrong with the right people doing fast track? It's domestic gas not rocket science or brain surgery, I've taught 100's of people via a 6 month full time course ( is that fast track?) and I've always said if someone has the right attitude and aptitude I can teach them to do domestic gas properly and safely

Sorry, but fast track is wrong. What about good old fashioned hands on experience, lifting boards, soldering in awkward scenarios, using ladders and lots of other you can't teach in a classroom. Besides it de values the trade.

 

[SimonG]

Yes, be a plumber in 6 weeks is gonads. You are gonna learn feck all. But apprenticeships are few and far between, something is needed to capture the middle ground. I dont have answers, only opinions. If I had answers I would be rich. But there is a market for an intensive training schedule, involving an employer with it. But thats not what this thread is about.

Without any experience of training I honestly dont know where you would start. But its a fact that a plumbers body wont last till retirement and you need to be thinking of a plan b. Im only 46 and luckily, not that it seems it, im taking steroids to combat issues with my lungs which tbh minimises the aches and pains. I dont know about teaching, would quite like to, but also fancy consultancy.

Maybe a starting point would be volunteering at a college, it at least would establish your aptitude for the teaching side. Like I said, no answers, just opinions.

 

[kirkgas]

Kirkgas,

i am at the plumbing now for 15 years and a registered gas engineer for 12. Do u think i could possibly be at a stage where i could tutor and Assess other engineers etc?

You have certainly covered enough time to have the respect of the candidates, which is important, but it's a skill to learn how to teach or train, a lot of candidates aren't comfortable being back in class doing their ACS so the first thing to do is make them comfortable and relaxed, wanting to do it doesn't mean you can do it to a level you will enjoy, because if you are struggling to do it you won't enjoy it, you will never get into a college until you have experience, so go via the private centres, but you need to start at the bottom as you will only be able to train until you have experience then you move on to do A1 then V1, if you want to end up doing it then you will need to take a hit, a trainer up here will be on somewhere between £23-25k, but once you have A1 and V1 and 5-6 yrs experience you can work in a college doing 32hrs a week for 40 weeks a year for about £36k, which is a great salary and set of conditions, however in the college you have to deal with apprentices, pre apprentice groups, adult learner groups short course groups funded by the government in plumbing, not gas, and I will tell you know it isn't as easy as some folk think it will be and they don't stick it, but start by asking training centres if they have any vacancies for part time trainers, it gives you a feel for seeing whether you actually like doing it, and whether you are any good at it, you need experience but it's hard to get it, ask around, you have nothing to lose (except your credibility, as everyone keeps saying those who can, do, and those who can't, teach, but to that I say yea yea I'm away to my apartment in the algarve for 5-6 weeks, see you mid August when the kids are going back to school haha

 

[SimonG]

Teaching is a calling, not a profession. Sounds dead corny, but its something I really believe.

 

[kirkgas]

Teaching is a calling, not a profession. Sounds dead corny, but its something I really believe.

I agree simon, I have worked part time in a couple of colleges and some of the lecturers should get the sack, they simply don't care, they only reason they are there is to get £36k for being there for 32 hrs and all the holidays, the apprentices and school pupils they get in are seen as nothing more than an interference to them getting paid, but some have been there that long it seems to be accepted, but if you don't engage the students you will never teach them as much

 

[Ray Stafford]

Teaching is a calling, not a profession. Sounds dead corny, but its something I really believe.

I think its a bit of both. There are techniques of teaching which can be learned, but I agree that there seems to be something that some people are born with which allows them to be great teachers. All the training in the world can't replace that magic spark.

 

[teabreak]

Please don't think Teaching is an easy option, a few years back it certainly was. However, today is very different and set to get a lot worse.
The advent of Government Legislation, means compulsory education until eighteen. Hey presto, you have students forced into attending trades they have either no chance of joining or are totally disinterested in. The Tutors are still expected to achieve good statistics, because stats. equal funding, no or poor funding equals no job!
As for the pay and conditions, top lecturing salary (without degree) 28k and the day does not finish when the students leave, an ever increasing workload, means often unpaid overtime.
Now, on the odd occasion with the right students, when a lesson has gone well or that hopeless struggling student, suddenly 'switches on' and achieves, this is when you remember why you got into teaching in the first place (and its not for an easy life or because of a bad knee).
So if this doesn't put you off, then look out for a vacancy as a 'Skills Tutor' or support staff and see for yourself.
I have no working experience of private training centres. However, the learner should be better motivated (paying for the training) and facilities must be better.

 

[kay-jay]

I think its a bit of both. There are techniques of teaching which can be learned, but I agree that there seems to be something that some people are born with which allows them to be great teachers. All the training in the world can't replace that magic spark.

Agreed.
I quite fancy doing a bit of teaching in the future.
I like to think about I would be quite good at it. I have always been good academically and Back when I was training I used to hold court in the dinner break and explain the maths and the science to my classmates. It seems I had a knack of explaining things in a way they could understand unlike in class.

 

[chris watkins]

Well as I have just left teaching after ten happy years I could bag on loads but a lot of good stuff has already been covered.

Just a couple of things then -

For me the overriding thing needed to teach is a great passion for the subject, if you genuinely want to tell others what you know this comes across & will cover a lot of inadequacies especially in the beginning.
Be prepared to go back to school yourself, you will not believe just how much you don't know & how much you have forgotten.

Be prepared to be very very frustrated by the paperwork, bureaucracy & general crap that gets in the way of you actually teaching anything. Colleges are bad but City & Guilds are properly the worst, if they were in a proper business market they would have gone bust years ago.

You will need your A1 assessors award but you could try working as an on-site plumbing assessor (N.V.Q) to start with.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Well as I have just left teaching after ten happy years

What have you moved on to Chris?

 

[chris watkins]

What have you moved on to Chris?

As of Tuesday I will be apprentice manager (that is a manager of apprentices) for a national company providing the "last mile" services for gas, water, power & fibre to new sites.
£1M investment for new multi-skilled engineers.
What do plumbing companies want to spend ? your be lucky if it much more than £100 per week !!

 

[jonnyswamp]

A mate of mine is now a (gas)tutor 2/3 days a week, he was never the greatest/neatest engineer but he could always get through to my apprentices in a way that I couldn't, i know a few plumbers that have tried to go down the tutoring route and havent made it, i suppose you can either teach or you cant. In other words, not everyone can convey their experien