Getting closer to becoming a plumber hopefully, requesting more advice

[armyash]

Ok so anyone who has read any of my threads in the past may know that I am determined to become a plumber once I have left the army. It feels like an eternity for me so I apologise if you feel de ja vu when reading through this!

A quick update, My final day in the army is 29th November 2012 but I have been granted resettlement entitlements so I will be out before that date. Part of my entitlement is money towards training.

A reminder of the qualifications I have:

C&G 6129

CCN1
CKR1
HTR1
WAT1
CPA1
CEN1
CONGLP1PD
VESLP1

Water Regulations
CSCS card

The plan is to gain the NVQ level 2 and unvented hot water.

What electrical qualification would benefit me the most in the plumbing trade? Part P or is there something else I would be better off doing?

What MCS qualifications would I be wise to consider?

What about underfloor heating is there a course that anyone could recommend or do you think that route would be a waste of time?

Basically i'm interested to know if you had time and funds to do courses and you was in my position what would you do?

On another note, if anyone in the Kent area or further away in the South East that's practical requires a tea boy/labourer on a weekend in return for letting me learn from you then feel free to PM me, won't cost you time or money.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Rickster123]

Ash you sound highly qualified on paper already mate. Maybe less time in the class room and more time on the tools. Nothing prepares you for life on the tools than being on the tools.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

ash have a read of the mcs threads in the renewables section might put you off going down that route. unvented is good to have.

 

[Nat]

I thought you had to have level 2 to do your gas?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

ash,i have read your posts from day one,i really hope you make it as a plumber/gas engineer,i was very tempted by the army a few years back,going in as a mechanical engineer,i was already a gas engineer my mate wanted me to join with him,but i felt i could earn more as a gsr,sadly my mate lost his life,so its good to see someone like you leaving the army having survived your service time and making a go of it in this industry,all the best of luck mate

 

[armyash]

Ash you sound highly qualified on paper already mate. Maybe less time in the class room and more time on the tools. Nothing prepares you for life on the tools than being on the tools.

Time on the tools would be ideal, I know i could go out and start working for myself but i'd rather work for someone or a company to learn the trade inside out before i do jobs by myself. If I make a lot of mistakes i'm going to have a terrible reputation and my career could be over before I get started! lol not saying i'm that bad at plumbing but i'd rather have the guidance of an experienced plumber there when i'm not entirely sure what to do. Thanks for your reply.

 

[armyash]

I thought you had to have level 2 to do your gas?

I'm not sure what the requirements are but I have the 6129 and I know if that was not sufficient the army would not be able to put us through our gas qualifications as they do everything by the book especially when dealing with any external organisations such as the training schools who done our ACS assessments.

 

[armyash]

ash,i have read your posts from day one,i really hope you make it as a plumber/gas engineer,i was very tempted by the army a few years back,going in as a mechanical engineer,i was already a gas engineer my mate wanted me to join with him,but i felt i could earn more as a gsr,sadly my mate lost his life,so its good to see someone like you leaving the army having survived your service time and making a go of it in this industry,all the best of luck mate

Thanks for your encouragement gas man sorry to hear about your mate! I'm still fairly young but I have done 6 years and feel it's time to move on. Unless you're prepared to give it 100% and can put up with the BS it's not the place to be, only wasting my time and other peoples. I've had a great time but I'm now just as excited about making a good career of plumbing as I was to join up. I have a lot of work to do to get my foot in the door but I know it'll be worth it.

 

[Rickster123]

Great attitude. There's been a lot of similar threads on here and most I flick past because I wouldn't employ them in a million years. Keep at it mate. If you have the time nd the money get as many bits of paper to your name as poss. Unvented, solar, LPG etc. but don't sell yourself short when it comes to work and money.

 

[armyash]

Would anyone recommend I do Part P?

 

[rodders]

Would anyone recommend I do Part P?

No I think it's being replaced in april with 17th edition! So basically would be a waste of time.

Not sure how you got gas without having a full NVQ. I was told that you needed at least an NVQ level 2 in a mechanical service (like plumbing, heating & vent etc).

Unvented is good!

 

[armyash]

No I think it's being replaced in april with 17th edition! So basically would be a waste of time.

Not sure how you got gas without having a full NVQ. I was told that you needed at least an NVQ level 2 in a mechanical service (like plumbing, heating & vent etc).

Unvented is good!

Thanks for the reply, I will definitely be doing the Unvented.

Thanks for clearing that up I have heave heard of 17th edition I didn't realise that it was replacing Part P. Would you recommend doing 17th edition as a plumber or would a different electrical course benefit me more?

 

[PlumbBobBob]

17th edition would be a good string to your bow ash. you will be able to do complete installs for showers for instance and loads of other wiring jobs. you can also then advertise yourself as an electrician as well as a gas engineer/plumber having all bases covered.

 

[Plumbus]

Nat - in answer to your question I think having Level 2 NVQ (or having registered to undertake it) is a fairly new requirement c. Last 12 months or so

 

[Barry98]

No I think it's being replaced in april with 17th edition! So basically would be a waste of time.

Not sure how you got gas without having a full NVQ. I was told that you needed at least an NVQ level 2 in a mechanical service (like plumbing, heating & vent etc).

Unvented is good!

part P is a building reg....

every one has to follow Part P be it builder, spark and indeed plumbers..!!

it will never be scrapped, the 17th is the wiring regs that get updated just like the water regs,always will be around also..​

 

[Simon F]

there are various routes to gas qualifications, the course i am on is an NVQ course over 2 years the only entry requirement is to be doing sufficient gas work. I am qualified to NVQ level 2 on the plumbing, but no one else on the course is.
I believe that having other Qualifications in related fields ie - plumbing can mean an easier route through the ACS than for some one without qualifications, its classed as different entry levels ( I think 1-3 )
- re doing ACS
- first time but with previous related experience
- first time

 

[armyash]

part P is a building reg....

every one has to follow Part P be it builder, spark and indeed plumbers..!!

it will never be scrapped, the 17th is the wiring regs that get updated just like the water regs,always will be around also..​

After reading your post would i be correct in thinking I would need to do both 17th edition and Part P, or could I just do Part P?

 

[Barry98]

Depends what your wanting to armyash

 

[nysk2008]

Hi mate, what barracks you in? I hopefully have a small jobs in maidstone coming up (just adding a few new rads to and existing system) if you fancy it - obviously we will pay for your time, not confirmed but it may happen.

 

[armyash]

Depends what your wanting to armyash

As steveb said above really shower installs etc anything I can link in with plumbing/gas.

 

[armyash]

Hi mate, what barracks you in? I hopefully have a small jobs in maidstone coming up (just adding a few new rads to and existing system) if you fancy it - obviously we will pay for your time, not confirmed but it may happen.

Hello nysk2008, I am at Invicta Park. I would be interested in that definitely, is it a problem I can only do weekends? That is the one thing that seems to be holding me back at present.

 

[Barry98]

hey ash , dont hold me to this as im not part p myself or 17th , booked in at the end of march but i THINK <<<<< STRESS THE WORD THINK you would be ok with just part p , buzt i would check for yourself

 

[nysk2008]

No worries, my mate used to be based at maidstone barracks and the job is just up the road, just waiting for the customer move a couple a couple of sockets - pm you email/mob and ill try and get you on this one mate - will def be on a sat as I am a subbie during the week.

 

[nysk2008]

as you can see, litteracy and computers are not my strong poing !! lol

 

[Destroyer2813]

This is what i like to see Ash aint coming on here like some fast trackers wanting everything on a plate for them prepared to put time and effort in to do quals. Good luck Ash

 

[armyash]

hey ash , dont hold me to this as im not part p myself or 17th , booked in at the end of march but i THINK <<<<< STRESS THE WORD THINK you would be ok with just part p , buzt i would check for yourself

Thanks i'll check it out!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

the thing is though with 17th you can rewire a house you can't with part p i think

 

[armyash]

the thing is though with 17th you can rewire a house you can't with part p i think

The way it looks I will be doing the courses around summer time so I have everything sorted when I leave the army. I will spend some time tonight reading up on each one. Will keep this thread updated with what courses I do.

 

[Nat]

Nat - in answer to your question I think having Level 2 NVQ (or having registered to undertake it) is a fairly new requirement c. Last 12 months or so

I was told you had to have at least NVQ level 2 before I did my CCN1 and that was about 3 years ago I was told that.

 

[Guest123]

Get all your advertising in order, before chucking the Army. Suggest putting a few newspaper ads a few weeks before you come out of the Army to see what response you get. Anyone who calls, tell them that you are really busy and will pop round in a few weeks!

Try Serif Pageplus and Serif Webplus to save a fortune in design for print and for easy to design websites.

www.serif.com

 

[armyash]

Get all your advertising in order, before chucking the Army. Suggest putting a few newspaper ads a few weeks before you come out of the Army to see what response you get. Anyone who calls, tell them that you are really busy and will pop round in a few weeks!

Try Serif Pageplus and Serif Webplus to save a fortune in design for print and for easy to design websites.

www.serif.com

Great idea! thanks

 

[Guest123]

Also one of the best things ANY self employed person could do is to enrol in a weekend or short course for a few hours a week in their local college doing marketing and design. Im qualified in graphic design and do all my own marketing and I'm glad I did.

 

[armyash]

That sounds like a good idea also. What costs would I be looking at for something like that?

 

[Guest123]

That sounds like a good idea also. What costs would I be looking at for something like that?

Mines was a 3 year HND course as I had a printing and design firm as well as plumbing. Most colleges hold vocational courses and you should contact a few of them for a prospectus telling them you're interested in marketing and design. Won't cost a fortune and it will pay for itself many times over!

 

[Barry98]

Mines was a 3 year HND course as I had a printing and design firm as well as plumbing. Most colleges hold vocational courses and you should contact a few of them for a prospectus telling them you're interested in marketing and design. Won't cost a fortune and it will pay for itself many times over!

or speak nicley to system

 

[Guest123]

I'll be putting a few templates of leaflets, business cards, letterheads and invoices on the forum later on in the year, when work gets a bit less hectic. Until then I recommend Serif Pageplus for novices in design.

 

[armyash]

All useful advice! Thanks. I have so much I have to do but luckily I still have time on my side, just need to prioritise now and things should hopefully work out. Once I have sorted extra qualifications, advertising, van etc it's just the small matter of actually booking jobs in and hoping for the best!