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I'm going to do the full 2 years of the NVQ Level 2 in Plumbing and Heating and I would like to move out of my parents and town as soon as possible. The thing is, it looks like you can barely survive on apprentice wage which is literally below minimum wage (£3.05) and even under 18 year old's working at mcdonalds get it higher (£4.05) and they're suppose to have the lowest being the youngest age group.

I want to move down to London and I'm from the North East of England so the cost of living is going to be dramatically higher in London than over here. Could you do a fast track course for the NVQ Level 3 where I could do it at any time longer I have the money to pay for it? If not can you at least do it part time? It seems like it would be better to do that then 2 years of living below minimum wage in London which sounds like hell and a lot of stress.
 
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Get your level 3 then move to London. You'll be lucky to buy a cup of coffee on an hours apprentice wage down there.
Or get a job in London, any job, to support you while you train part time.
Why the urgency?
 
I think you need a bit of a wake up call and revise your plans.
Have you already got the offer of an aprrenticeship?

If you must move out, pick the cheapest place in the Country to live and train, not the most expensive.

I doubt as a newly qualified Plumber you'll be able to afford to pay to live in London.
Ideally you will need to train, get qualified, get a job, get some experience THEN see if you can afford to live in London.

He's £95 per weeks worth and I bet the queue will be down the street for this;
Large Single Room. Available 22nd October. All bills included. | in Leytonstone, London | Gumtree
 
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Or get a job in London, any job, to support you while you train part time.
How do you do it part time? How many hours do you have to come in a week? Could you work as a full time plumber while doing the NVQ Level 3 part time?
 
I think you need a bit of a wake up call and revise your plans.
Have you already got the offer of an aprrenticeship?

If you must move out, pick the cheapest place in the Country to live and train, not the most expensive.

I doubt as a newly qualified Plumber you'll be able to afford to pay to live in London.
Ideally you will need to train, get qualified, get a job, get some experience THEN see if you can afford to live in London.

He's £95 per weeks worth and I bet the queue will be down the street for this;
Large Single Room. Available 22nd October. All bills included. | in Leytonstone, London | Gumtree
Yeah I've got an offer which my college helped with. I know London is expensive but I could possibly stretch it soon I live pretty minimalist considering I don't spend money on luxury at all. I mean I pretty much wear the same old clothes. I do go to college and work 7 days a week and have a lot saved up plus my investments in bitcoins which hopefully I'll get more back by the time I move out. Do you live in London by any chance? I do plan on moving to the cheapest county and to be honest I wouldn't mind too much on where I move to just longer it's not god awful dangerous.
 
plus my investments in bitcoins which hopefully I'll get more back by the time I move out.

IMO, bitcoins are nothing more than a high-risk bet that you'll have the luck to switch out the day before the bubble bursts and they are worth nothing. Don't 'invest' anything in them you can't afford to lose.
 
IMO, bitcoins are nothing more than a high-risk bet that you'll have the luck to switch out the day before the bubble bursts and they are worth nothing. Don't 'invest' anything in them you can't afford to lose.
Anything is a risk. That's the point of entrepreneurs and investors, they're risk takers. Starting a plumbing business is a also a risk which could potentially fail. Not sure if you want to start a plumbing business or already have one but remember you're a risk taker too. They were saying bitcoins was going to collapse for years and it's still going on strong. I personally know someone who trades cryptocurrencies and makes over £100k. I've made some decent profits out of it and will still keep going with it. Yes I know you shouldn't invest in anything that you can't afford to lose. That's why I didn't put all of my cash in it and I take a percentage of the profits so I at least made something back if it does somehow collapse. I once saw a comment of a guy who said he was going to put $20,000 into bitcoins on the time when it took a dive bomb years ago. I said he was stupid and I thought bitcoin wouldn't be anything in the future. Oh boy wasn't I the stupid one and I regret being ignorant about it since it's creation although I was pretty young and naive. It's a risk yes, and you may got everything to lose but you have everything to gain.
 
Hi there,

My mate is looking for an apprentice which is willing to listen, learn and work hard. I am based in east London and perhaps if you are thinking to move let me know I could hook you up with a decent guy. Perhaps you can do your nvq-3 with him as he has got a lot of jobs with other young engineers which are very skilled. I guess it would a good opportunity for you to get known other young engineers in your age and perhaps getting a job straight away without having the hassle to look for one.

Please let me know if you are interested

Kind regards

Ron
 
Hi there,

My mate is looking for an apprentice which is willing to listen, learn and work hard. I am based in east London and perhaps if you are thinking to move let me know I could hook you up with a decent guy. Perhaps you can do your nvq-3 with him as he has got a lot of jobs with other young engineers which are very skilled. I guess it would a good opportunity for you to get known other young engineers in your age and perhaps getting a job straight away without having the hassle to look for one.

Please let me know if you are interested

Kind regards

Ron
Thanks I will do that. I don't think I'll be moving down any time soon but if things go to plan after I'm done then I might go for it that's if things stay together after 2 years.
 
Ok guys I have a question. I posted the same question on reddit and I was wondering would the NVQ Level 3 be worth it or just go and pay for the gas qualifications? Here's the answer I got and pretty much the only one soon r/plumbing is mainly Americans.

"Hi. I have just completed my NVQ 2 and i was considering doing my level 3. My boss however talked me out of it and told me just to get my gas safe, flue gas and all that stuff instead becasue being a gas engineer is more sought after. Im in Northern Ireland so not sure if courses are a bit different over there in the mainland.

But basically the moment you can do a job on your own you are worth more money. Save up, get tools, do homers. I work for 30 quid a day at the moment. Im 24 and pay for my courses myself as i cant get on the apprenticeship scheme, its impossible to save up and live on apprentice wages, but I can do a lot of jobs on my own and my boss is talking about sorting me my own van and upping my pay. Make yourself indispensable and soon the money or at least the opportunities will become more available.

I know this post is all over the place but i cant be bothered to go back and structure it. Over here i did my NVQ 2 in 1 year but NVQ 3 is mandatory 2 years, but as of this year gas will be added to it."
 
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You need your lv3 really as most future employers will want this
 
That's the way I did it. NVQ2 took two years however. Was considering the level 3 and my tutor also said just go and do the gas. Completed the gas, unvented etc. It would of taken another 2 years to get my gas on the level 3 course, I had my gas done around 3 month after my level 2 was over.

The level 3 will make you more employable and I would have done it if I was 18 or something but it wasn't worth the wait for me.
 
Lv3
 
I'm going to do the full 2 years of the NVQ Level 2 in Plumbing and Heating and I would like to move out of my parents and town as soon as possible. The thing is, it looks like you can barely survive on apprentice wage which is literally below minimum wage (£3.05) and even under 18 year old's working at mcdonalds get it higher (£4.05) and they're suppose to have the lowest being the youngest age group.

I want to move down to London and I'm from the North East of England so the cost of living is going to be dramatically higher in London than over here. Could you do a fast track course for the NVQ Level 3 where I could do it at any time longer I have the money to pay for it? If not can you at least do it part time? It seems like it would be better to do that then 2 years of living below minimum wage in London which sounds like hell and a lot of stress.
The trouble with the fast track courses is the whole point of the theory and college workshop side of an apprenticeship is that it dovetails together with what you learn in the workplace. There isnt a course in this land that will teach you what you will learn by doing a proper apprenticeship. Its a dark art that you learn slowly and only by working with experienced plumbers.
 
Isn't a lot of years of experience more important or will a Level 3 still play a big part?
You can have all the certificates but if you haven't got the knowledge it won't help you much. It's good and an advantage to have the certificates but knowledge is a lot more important.
 
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