Careere Change - Advice Needed

[go2green]

Hi All,

I currently work in the IT industry and have had enough! Oh... BTW... IT is not as well paid as you may think!

Over the years I have thought about retraining as a plumber. Whenever I am working on the house, it's the plumbing that I really enjoy.

I have refitted two kitchens and a bathroom, another to do soon, in my own houses and moved, added and replaced god knows how many radiators. I virtually re-plumbed my old house.

All of my friends and family ask my advice regarding plumbing and often do unpaid work for them.

Anyway, I have recently been looking into training courses and have found one that I am quite interested in provided by New Career Skills (NCS); Domestic Green Engineer.

It's a blended course consisting of both home study and practical experience in their workshops and should take around 14 - 18 months. The good thing is I can do this whilst still working.

I have been looking at some of the threads regarding qualifications and am a little concerned that I could be shelling out £8k and not be qualified to either get a job with a reputable plumbing firm or start out on my own.

Basically, on completion of the course I will have the following qualifications:

BPEC Water Supply Regulations Qualification
City & Guilds 6128 Level 2 Heating and Venting Tech certificate
BPEC Un-vented Hot Water Systems Qualification
BPEC Electrical Defined Scope Part 'P' Qualification
BPEC Certificate in Renewable Energy Awareness
BPEC Solar Heating and Solar Thermal Installation Qualification
BPEC Building Regulations Part 'L' Qualification
BPEC Air Source and Ground Source Pump Installation Qualification
Rainwater and Greywater Harvesting Installation Qualification

This all 'sounds' rather good, and 'apparently' these qualifications are recognised by local government and housing associations allowing me to consult, design and install domestic renewable energy solutions.

That said I do have a couple of questions...

Does the C&G 6128 cover the requirements of basic plumbing as covered in 6129, or is this purely for heating and ventilation? I was told by NCS that this is the new C&G plumber’s certificate as the 'roofing' elements in 6129 are no longer deemed a requirement for a plumber.

Who are BPEC (British Plumbing Employers Council)? I have tried to find out if their qualifications are industry and/or government recognised but I can't seem to find anything. If they are, to what level? Are they equal to a C&G level 2?

Will this course enable me to get a reasonable paid job or start out on my own?

I have a number of contacts in the building industry that are willing to give me work once I'm qualified, but I want to be sure that these are the qualifications I should go for. I have a mortgage and all the other associated costs of owning a house, so I need to earn a reasonable amount to be able to survive, I can't afford to go down the trainee route.

Phew - just a short post, but I would be grateful for any advice that can be offered. I'd especially be interested from hearing from people who have completed NCS courses or have obtained BPEC qualifications, regardless of the source.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Eddie...

 

[gakmonkey]

one thing you may have to contemplate is if you are doing retrofit renewables you will more than likely need your gas safe as you will still have to decommision gas applainces and gas lines, as very few houses will be running 100% renewable. I deal with renewables on a regular basis but i still instal gas boilers to complement systems, the best examples would be a solar hot water cylinder still needs another heat source of fitting ground source in a public building, then you have commercial gas boilers to worry about. You can also get a lot of the main BPEC quals such as solar thermal and heat pumps from approved manufaturers courses.

 

[go2green]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies... Yes I live in Bromley and would have to stay over in Southampton when doing the 5-day practical sessions - there are 7 of them, so there is additional cost to consider here too

It seems that if I want to be a plumber I have to complete the C&G 6129, but then no one will touch you if that is your only qualification. What I really need is the NVQ 6089 level 2/3 (in addition to the C&G 6029), for which I need to be working in the industry to be assessed - catch 22?

So what’s the best route?

 

[johnmcginty]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies... Yes I live in Bromley and would have to stay over in Southampton when doing the 5-day practical sessions - there are 7 of them, so there is additional cost to consider here too

It seems that if I want to be a plumber I have to complete the C&G 6129, but then no one will touch you if that is your only qualification. What I really need is the NVQ 6089 level 2/3 (in addition to the C&G 6029), for which I need to be working in the industry to be assessed - catch 22?

So what’s the best route?

Best route at your age is self employment .

 

[fuzzy]

whats a 6029?

 

[go2green]

oops! Typo - 6129

 

[fuzzy]

6089 superseeds the 6129, u have 6089 your cert for the 6129 could be thrown in the bin