Your help and advice is needed...

[mkandy]

Hi Guys,
In 2006 I finished a two year, two nights a week college course in city in guilds level 2 6129/22 unfortunately I wasn't able to work with any qualified plumbers to gain extra knowledge and experience due to mortgage comitments and having children. I have always been working with the trades and can complete most items with ease I often take on plumbing jobs without thinking I can't do something (obviously no gas/boiler flue work). I have worked as a kitchen and bathroom fitter, plasterer, plumber for many years now owning my own company, van and tools for the last 6 years. I have recently been full time plumbing with a good friend of mine who was very busy who is gas safe and all qualified and am enjoying it as for some reason my work has tailed off slightly. I have been fortunate enough to now have the money to take my learning further but this is where I would like some advice. As i say I completed my level 2 city and guilds 6129 which i think means nothing today but want to go down the next step. I am wondering what i should do as i am not a beginner by far and don't want to sit in a class of beginners learning the complete basics. What how and where do I take it? Gas safe? Level 3 and if so can I do an intensive or part time course as I will still need to earn a decent wage to pay the everyday bills and mortgage as I am now soon to be 33 with grey hairs, a wife and two children....

Can you help your advise would be appreciated.

All the best Andy from Milton keynes area

 

[SimonG]

You need a decent wage? Well maybe you should research what's available in the plumbing world.

 

[Simon F]

Hello Andy, welcome to the forum.
adding the NVQ to the tech cert would be good option.
I think there is a 5 year window to apply some of the stuff from the tech cert to the NVQ
if that's the case you would need to redo some things.
best to speak to the staff at your college, as the qualifications are all changed now anyway.

 

[Kyle87]

I would recommend sticking with the plumbing ie level 3 etc. I did the 6129 and am now on the bpec gas. I've started out as self employed prematurely but with enough know how to survive.
There's gaps in my knowledge when it comes to complex heating systems. Bathrooms are no problem what so ever.
If you stick with the plumbing then look at renewables in the future I think you will be better off.
When gas appliances stop being installed in new properties along with the amount of ppl becoming gas safe, the gas industry will be completely saturated with everyone trying to service the gas appliances.
The renewable companies will kick in and that's where the money will be in the future. Gas won't be here for ever. But plumbing will (bathrooms etc)and so will the next generation of heating systems.
That's what I'm going to look at over the next few years.

My predictions are possibly wrong but this is how I feel

 

[jam1979]

gd solid advice kyle I am very much like you in that respect got my level 2 and now looking at level 3 where r u doing ur b pec gas course how much is it and does it give you the credits to become gas safe cheers

 

[Kyle87]

It cost me 1800. I'm doing it in Leicester college. It gives me what I need to know to sit acs. It is simply a gas safety course. They teach you how to work safely with gas. They don't teach you complex fault finding etc.

 

[jam1979]

so u could still install boilers though

 

[Kyle87]

Yea providing I sit the correct acs exams I can install whatever I want. Te point I'm making though is that the course doesn't teach you much more than safety.

For instance where I attend job and find a problem. I may not have the knowledge to rectify the problem and may have to issue a warning label.
Whereas an experienced gas man may have ten solutions. Experience is worth much more than a quick shot at the acs exams!!

 

[Killy Bing]

Yea providing I sit the correct acs exams I can install whatever I want. Te point I'm making though is that the course doesn't teach you much more than safety.

For instance where I attend job and find a problem. I may not have the knowledge to rectify the problem and may have to issue a warning label.
Whereas an experienced gas man may have ten solutions. Experience is worth much more than a quick shot at the acs exams!!

Spot on, always have a couple of engineers in the phone to give aid
After a while you call them less and less

 

[TimeServed]

I was speaking to the lecture at our renewables training centre, so I asked him when does he predict renewables to be regular work for us guys, he said 10 years ago that now would be the time.....now he says it could be another 10 years. Just have to wait and see.....

 

[Kyle87]

I just feel at the min that by time I'm well established in the gas world and have built up a bank of knowledge of various boilers and fires that everything start changing fast