Hi, I might be able to help here, I'm a qualified plumbing lecturer and assessor, I have taught plumbing at private training centres such as the ones that tradecareer are offering and in FE Colleges, what I'm about to tell you is my own personal opinion however it might not be the same opinion as others. Ok here goes, I see more often than not on similar posts to this that plumbers will slate 8 week private plumbing courses because "you can't learn plumbing in 8 weeks", well I'm sorry but yes you can learn plumbing in 8 weeks but ( and it's a big but!) it depends on three things, 1) The Candidate, I have had candidates who have worked behind a desk all there lives and pay £6000 to learn plumbing and I've also had guys from the armed forces with engineering backgrounds, you as the candidate need to take a look at yourself and think am I right for this industry, in my experience if you have been a desk jockey all your life you will mostly likely struggle to join your own hands together let alone pipe, however if your an engineer, joiner or the likes you will probably get on just fine.
You need to understand that plumbing is an extremely scientific and complicated subject and the theory knowledge is as important as the practical knowledge ( and I'm talking plumbing here i.e. Water. Gas is a completely different beast and shouldn't be worked on in my opinion by anyone who has not completed a minimum of the 6189 level 2 Plumbing and Heating diploma and has 3 years experience working as a basic plumber in the field) you also need to understand that plumbing level 2/3 and gas quals are it, you will also probably need the following quals: Water regs, Unvented hot water, Part L, Part P and all the renewable energies, to be honest you spend a lot of time and money on continued professional development to work in this trade and it ain't cheap. If your under 21 I would always say go to an FE college as you will likely be funded, however an 8 week course is deal for over 21's, you must understand this though an 8 week course if it's the proper 6189 level 2 will be the same course as FE it's just condensed but the criteria and content is the same, it has to be! This also means that you will have to build a portfolio of evidence and be assessed working supervised on different jobs to get fully qualified, so wether or not you learn the theory in 8 weeks it can still take two years until you get the full diploma! (make sure the £6000 covers your on site assessments, you will need 6+ depending how good you are, an assessment is normally £120 + expenses). The candidates in the group can affect the learning, most FE students are young naive and generally disruptive and therefore we have to spend weeks just teaching them health and safety before we even get them in the workshop and 90% are just there to get there £30 a week attendance money and therefore disrupt those who really want get on and learn. On the flipside most £6000 8 week course candidates are adults who already have basic health and safety knowledge ( common sense ) and have spent a lot of money so want to crack on and learn.
2) The Lecturer, as I said I've worked in both private and FE colleges and I have to say I've worked with both Amazing and down right shocking in both, do your research, that's all I need to say on that one!
3) The Mentor, as I said above either route you go down you will need a mentor to take you on so you can complete your portfolio (again this is basic level 2 I'm talking about, you need to do another portfolio for your Gas or Renewables at level 3 if you choose to progress). If you go FE route your more likely to get on with someone provided your under 21 however over 21's may struggle a bit.
The problem with the 8 week course route is getting a local mentor, whether warranted or not it's frowned upon in the industry and you will be generally regarded as a "paper plumber" and will be likely disregarded by anyone you contact because they see it as you are marring the profession by trying the quick fix route when they've spent upto 4 painstaking years at college! You could also be future competition and no one wants that! Some 8 week course companies will offer to put you on with a mentor but just be mindful they were probably fast track trained as well with little experience, these are the only plumbers that will likely take you on though as they can empathise with your choice of training.
My advice which ever route you decide is to go down try and get a bit of work experience first to see if it's for you before you go and throw half your life or your life savings on becoming something you weren't meant to be, this job is by no means glamorous and yes although you can earn decent money you need to put in lots of hours, effort, resource and money to get there and stay there, this isn't just a job it's liked joining the armed forces you need to be seriously committed.
Why not contact your local FE College to see if they run a night course, these are just basic taster courses with no accreditation that will give you some very basic insight and cost between £70-£100 for 3 hrs one night a week over 6 weeks.
If you enjoy that then try going to a private training company to do your Water Regs Qualification which costs about £150 where you will be taught the regulations surrounding preventing contamination, waste, misuse of water etc.
If you can stomach this and make sense of it ok then you might just have a chance and a mentor might look at you more favourably as at least you've shown willing, if you struggle with either of these though I suggest you consider spending your savings elsewhere.
Hope that's cleared things up a bit!?
