Train 4 Trade Skills

[collier23]

Re: T4TS, Starting my practical tomorrow

sounds like prices have went up lol

Hmm!

I'm an old guy just nosing around! When I was an apprentice Plumber we got £1.15p for a 45 hour week. Working Saturday morning was part of your normal week.

In those days it was all "Don't matter how long you take, just do a good job!".

It changed in the eighties to "When will you be finished?" "That job is taking a long time!" "Its costing a fortune!"

Today probably by an employer you will be told "Your next job is!" and you haven't even started the first one you had.

The customer will usually say "How much?" "How long will it take?" and "Will you be long?" regardless of whether your re washering a tap or plumbing the whole house out.

So get accustomed to it boys its part of the job.

As to the work?

Well new house work on a building site is probably one of the easiest in a way.

You are usually given a set of drawings to follow with everything worked out for you. The thing is you have to keep to the exact measurements for everything, to make all the houses look the same. That can be a bit of a pain when you first start.

Then the next thing on site work is speed!

Its usually bonus work and you have got to be fast. The slowest gets the sack first. But your work has also got to look good. Don't forget the customer probably may not know the technical difference between a good and a bad job, but they can tell one which is symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. Load your end feeds out, with solder runs everywhere and dirty great oxidised over heat marks and you'll get few points even if your job is technically brilliant. And no doing foreigners, by selling all the charcoal where your torch has been burning half the floor away. And flush your systems, no saying 3 months later "These combi's are always going wrong!" when you haven't followed the correct flushing procedures.

No putting millions of elbows on your CH runs, requiring a super booster pump to push the water around.

Oh! and yes! Never say your not sure to the customer. Just say "I'll let you know!" or "I'll do some tests!" and then go and look it up or test it.

If you say your not sure, they can loose confidence in you. A bit like a doctor saying to you "I am not sure what is wrong with you!"

So give them, reasonable cost, beauty and technical excellence all done very fast and neat and you will be the sort of plumber people will call back and give another job too.

Thank you for the advice bernie, cracking post

 

[arif7]

Hi,

I would like to know if any one has had any problems with train 4 trade skills? I have completed the foundation but am pulling out of the intermediate and advanced stages as they have not fulfilled a number of promises made by the man that came to my house to sell me the course.

They also told me there was a training centre in luton when there isnt. Well they have apparently completed a centre there now but i completed my written part of intermediate back in nov 08 so have waited 6 months and had to chase them numerous times so i am now looking to get my money back for the intermediate and advanced.

Has anybody else tried to get money back, taken them to court etc?

Also how much are they selling the foundation part of the course for?

 

[arran123]

train 4 trade skills do nvq2 and nvq3 c&g 6129, part p, and others. what is foundation?
if u do the nvq3 there is 11 weeks of practical, + they can place u with a contractor to gain your on site evidence for nvq's
stop moaning and get on with it or stay in your current job.
if you think you can you can do it do it, if you think you cant you wont.

 

[arran123]

Re: T4TS, Starting my practical tomorrow

i have completed level 2 with t4t and so far its been good, the practicals are good and they have done what they said on the tin.
it is what it is, im 34 and to old for any other route into plumbing, like i have said before you have two choices 1: re skill, get on with, dont moan, stay posotive, or 2: dont re skill stay the same and die wondering

 

[arif7]

train 4 trade skills do nvq2 and nvq3 c&g 6129, part p, and others. what is foundation?
if u do the nvq3 there is 11 weeks of practical, + they can place u with a contractor to gain your on site evidence for nvq's
stop moaning and get on with it or stay in your current job.
if you think you can you can do it do it, if you think you cant you wont.

what you on about stop moaning? the nvq stuff must all be new because when i started it was just city and guilds foundation, intermediate and advanced. When you get ****ed about i think i got every right to moan along with thousands of other people about t4ts!

 

[arran123]

sorry arif7,
i did not know that they have changed how they do it. have you tried asking if they will switch you on to the new course

have a look on the website they dont do foundation must of changed, ask if you can switch to an nvq course

 

[Dave]

what you on about stop moaning? the nvq stuff must all be new because when i started it was just city and guilds foundation, intermediate and advanced. When you get ****ed about i think i got every right to moan along with thousands of other people about t4ts!

I suggest you alter the tone of your posts please...and if you swear again you will be removed from here...( read the rules)


thanks..

 

[arif7]

sorry arif7,
i did not know that they have changed how they do it. have you tried asking if they will switch you on to the new course

have a look on the website they dont do foundation must of changed, ask if you can switch to an nvq course

I didnt swear i blanked it out to show how much ive been messed about. Ive heard so many bad things about them and been through the bad stuff with them aswell so i dont want to switch to any other course just want my money back and to forget about them.

Ive looked on a lot of other forums aswel where plumbers and employers have commented and they have said that even when you get your nvq's they still will not take you on if you have gained it from a training company like t4ts for a number of reasons.

 

[Beammeup]

Re: train 4 trade skills scenario 4

Done the 4th senario, want some tips and advice??

 

[paulbrogden2007]

tony bryden from train 4 trade skills

hi i had 2.5 hours interview today from a college adviser a so called person who seemed very nice but at the end i realized he was a salesman turning up in a black audi wanting to discuss the plumbing course where he talked about the shortages being out their however i have a relative in the plumbing trade who says because the down turn plumbers are not needed as much as the gov, say. any way tony discussed my situation such as my debts too wanted to know about my work history the things i had done i live in batley but i found it a very intense interview at the end then he discussed the costs by the end i felt if i had the money would have signed up.... if its a scam i must say its a very good one. any way the costs involved was £3950 or 22.50 per week i think they offer you fianance for the coursethe domestic course part lasts for 1 year which involves 6 weeks practical the rest is theory and virtual relialty training on the computer... their after another year for nvq level 3 and gas training. the full training including the proffesional part costs £5700 and or £35 a week.

he was still insistant their is work out their and claimed after doing the first year... could work doing basic plumbing to pay for the course it is still a loan you have to pay it is quicker than college he claimed full training takes in all about 2-3 years he claimed.

but given what plumbers are saying as well as my relative it appears work is short so maybe becoming a plumber is not a good idea but he was insisting that you need qualifications in a set trade to make a good living and was banging on about this he was saying the evening welding course i was doing wont get me any where as its only a certificate it seems i wont be able to get a job at all based on what he saying very depressing he kept going on about how does it feel to be unemployed how depressed does it make you.. what do you people think? thanks for reading...

 

[alph250]

Re: tony bryden from train 4 trade skills

what do you people think? thanks for reading...

I think this schmuck wants a slap, he's picking on the vulnerable by selling them a false route to a new profitable life!

Economic downturn, no work, people have debts, etc....... Why not spend the recession re-training to be a plumber with small 'learning loan' (whats the apr?) and re-pay it when you earn your first weeks paycheck of £3500!

And another point if its going to take you 2-3 years you might aswell do an apprenticeship and there cheaper prob cost around £3-£4K for 3 - 4 college years?! (please correct me if im wrong!)

Best place to look for an apprenticeship is within a maintenance company, someone big involved with public money, or there supply chain.

But this guy has no right to go through your personal circumstances and make opinions trying to butter you up, its just wrong and makes my blood boil! if you want advice ask a plumber, pick one out the yellow pages they will be more use than some c*nt in a flash car trying to get you signed up on the never never by manipulating you when weve all got the economic dowturn cloud hanging over our heads.

This guy is a ****...end off!

Virtual reality training the only virtual reality is this course...... is the work which is crying out to be done virtual reality aswel? he is a ****

Rant over

 

[Padawan Plumber]

Re: T4TS, Starting my practical tomorrow

Hi all, like the posts, am currently doing Train 4 Trade Skills also, currently on the water regs. So was the first session of practicals 2 weeks long? was the accomodation expensive? Is anyone from the Essex area doing this course also?


cheers

Bill

 

[bcharalambous]

there are centres in southampton,guildford and leeds..

 

[Dan]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

You've joined the course you say?

What are they saying on the course? Do they help to get your work at the end or are you going self-employed?

Keep us posted. I'm sure the fee's are the same across the board though.

 

[LUCIALIA]

i was told by t4t that there isn't a centre in guildford & one opening soon in luton, but they do pay up to £300 per week for accomodation/expenses

 

[migoplumber]

call me daft, but surely if your paying a fee for a course, and later they say "we pay you up to 300 quid a week for accomodation" where would this money come from?
maybe im naive but i reckon warning lights would flash!

good luck
shaun

 

[arran123]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

i am training with t4t skills and they help with running your own business, any one going down the employed route who cant get employed t4t will get a work placement for you in your local area for your nvq work based assesments.
to answer your question " is it worth it" its worth it if you put in the effort and do what you have to do to make it in this industry.

 

[REDSAW]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

work placement for nvq is not getting a paid job.
any paid jobs going out there at the moment i'm affraid will have at least a dozen well experienced guys after them and on the self employed route, your trying to compete in a cut throat market against seasoned pro's trying to survive now your trying to stand toe to toe. hello...
but good luck.

 

[bcharalambous]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

im training with t4ts and i can see wat redsaw is saying, im only 4 months into my course so can t compete with the pro's yet but i have a buisiness background and personally i think at least 75% percent of fast trackers will have to go down the self employed route. from my experience in dealing with plumbers that have let me go out and work with them, none of them seem to want to drop their prices in the current economic climate, they say they need to get as much money as possible from the work they do have, which i can understand.. but, personaly i would slash prices by at least a third on big jobs, bite the bullet and do some proper advertising and im sure you would get some work if your prices were a lot cheaper than the competition. when i am qualified i will advertise as plumber, doing gas as well, i wll have someone i can sub work out to , obviosly getting my small cut and along with that and the knowledge and experience watching the guy do the work, if he dont like it, he can get stuffed and ill find someone who does want the work.. anyone doing one of the fast track courses just remember,there are people on here whohave managed to run succesful buisiness's and i can also tell you another fact, there are lot of people out there who have passed there courses and have got nowhere because they dont realise theat just because you have passed a plumbing course and got your qualifications that you will be automatically good at running a buisiness, running a buisiness is going to be lot harder then passing your course.. sorry to have gone off the subject a bit, you know how it is!!! just one last thing, id just like to say, i never realised how hard a plumbers a life is, you guys deserve every penny you get.. hopefully this reccession will be over in the next decade!!

 

[LUCIALIA]

apparently its a new thing that they are not exactly shouting about, i found out about it on here!

 

[stevetheplumber]

i was told by t4t that there isn't a centre in guildford & one opening soon in luton, but they do pay up to £300 per week for accomodation/expenses

thats good of them

 

[REDSAW]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

im not bitching and i am writing this with a little grin and confused, but...

me tooo. s/emp

look the best place to start is getting work with your local councils where you can learn more and there standard is not that high anyway, not for the schite i have seen at least so wait till you can get on.

economic climate?
proper advertising?

my ad bill this year is short of £7k
i have earnt more this year than last year already, and yes, i could now work for a pound a day plus expenses, (come to think, i am as i am training for my gas card and my titearse mate wont pay me) do you want to compete with me noww? wake up.
all that would do is de-valuate public opinion as to how much a plumber is worth and before long we will be on the same rate as a gardener (£8 per hour here).

slash your prices you say?
immagine god forbid, some one near to you has a serious problem in their health.
you have 2 choices to fix it........

1, harley st , 1st class service and expertise guarentted to solve the problem £8,000.
2, romania, bring your own sandwiches £800.
q: who will you book with?

its the same where ever you go, people in the u.k know you get what u pay for and your most welcome to the krap as while you work 3 times harder for a third less, why be a plumber in the first place?, yes, to earn a descent living.

finally, if you are dropping your prices 33% from every one else and taking on gas jobs that you admit you cannot do, how the hell are you expecting to sub it out to a gas engineer who should be charging more than you anyway and be expecting a cut of the top for you.?.

not being personal here but i would also tell you to get stuffed and wait untill that customer rang me...

looking up at the clouds in expectation is one thing
but not if you have just gone over the edge of the cliff................................................................................................................

 

[newbie1]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

im training with t4ts and i can see wat redsaw is saying, im only 4 months into my course so can t compete with the pro's yet but i have a buisiness background and personally i think at least 75% percent of fast trackers will have to go down the self employed route. from my experience in dealing with plumbers that have let me go out and work with them, none of them seem to want to drop their prices in the current economic climate, they say they need to get as much money as possible from the work they do have, which i can understand.. but, personaly i would slash prices by at least a third on big jobs, bite the bullet and do some proper advertising and im sure you would get some work if your prices were a lot cheaper than the competition. when i am qualified i will advertise as plumber, doing gas as well, i wll have someone i can sub work out to , obviosly getting my small cut and along with that and the knowledge and experience watching the guy do the work, if he dont like it, he can get stuffed and ill find someone who does want the work.. anyone doing one of the fast track courses just remember,there are people on here whohave managed to run succesful buisiness's and i can also tell you another fact, there are lot of people out there who have passed there courses and have got nowhere because they dont realise theat just because you have passed a plumbing course and got your qualifications that you will be automatically good at running a buisiness, running a buisiness is going to be lot harder then passing your course.. sorry to have gone off the subject a bit, you know how it is!!! just one last thing, id just like to say, i never realised how hard a plumbers a life is, you guys deserve every penny you get.. hopefully this reccession will be over in the next decade!!

surprised that while still training you are talking of slashing prices and subbing out work well ime surprised if these people are so succesfull why they are trying to move into a very stressfull market of self employed plumber
the streets are not paved with gold for plumbers and it takes a good 3-4 years to just be competent and a lot longer to be good
plumbers do deserve every penny its not an easy road to be a good qualified plumber and slashing prices is a good way to drive down the earning potential for this trade

why would an experienced gas guy sub to a beginer and also give him a cut??

 

[arran123]

its not £300 per week, its £30 a day mon- fri 4 nights £120 still cant grumble, i'm sure some will though

 

[johnmess]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

I agree that dropping prices is a bad idea, it would be like saying to your current employeer "I know times are tough so why not cut my wages to help you out"

I am doing the T4TS course and have never fallen under the imperssion it will be easy money. If I wanted an easy life I would stick with my current job.

I am doing the course because I enjoy plumbing and I want a job that will continue to challange me for years to come.

As this part of the fourm is about the courses I am happy with t4ts so far the material has been a good mix and I will happily answer any questions about it.

 

[lance]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

firstly hello everyone this is my first post
im 2 weeks into mt t4tskills course ,paying £3900
im trying to get a new skill as was a roofer and had a accident=lost job
after reading threads on this company ,ive obviosly been misleaded as i want the skills to be a competant plumber
im looking to go with a local plumber to get some work experience as well
i am worried as ive been out of work for 3 years and want to be out working
has anyone got any pointers?
thanks

 

[johnmess]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

If you don't mind me asking how do you feel miss-lead?

If you can get work experience with a local plumber take it with both hands, it is my understanding that the course can't make you a competant plumber (I am doing the course myself) it can only give you an understanding of the under pinning logic, rules and regulations.

Getting out with another plumber will give you experience in doing the job.

So having both in my opinion is fantastic.

Any Questions just ask

 

[lance]

Re: Train 4 trade skills (t4ts)

im having problems with the 3d disk ,first section completed task just cant seem to do the cold water check,even though ive checked everything is there a system im not doing correct,

 

[truemanufan]

Re: tony bryden from train 4 trade skills

i am currently on the train 4 trade skills course and i have no problems! no interest loan and it costs £35 per week to pay back and they are very helpful! you learn at your own pace and all costs towards practical assessments are covered for example if the training centre is away from your house the travel and accomodation is covered! no probs people just need to realise there are other ways of learning than goin to college and losing money! this way you can still earn and learn! end off !!!!!

 

[lauramo]

Re: tony bryden from train 4 trade skills

I queried online, was phoned to say someone would come and speak to me, to discuss the course. Turns out it was a salesman which I was un-perpared for.
He sold me this amazing package.
I explained that i was mid-moving house and said time was restricted at the moment... he went into fulls sales pitch.
I asked if I could cancel after the domesticated plumbing and he stated I could (LIE).
I moved house, forgot about the course but at xmas I realised that I didn't have the time and post-poned it until June whilst i sorted more pressing personal matters.
They accepted my postponing.
However since then I have tried to cancel, but they're not having any of it.

I haven't started the course.
I was lied too... about quite a few things.

And yet I've offered to pay a cancellation fee and they're just not helping at all.
I'm stuck.

It seems they have the money and now they don't care if I start the course or not.

I'm seeking legal advice.

As I haven't actually started the course or used any of the materials then I'm hoping I have some ground to stand on.

Anyone else thinking of court action?

They shouldn't be allowed to do this.

To give you a 3 week cancellation period on a course that's so big and long is shocking.

They should give you the option of cancellation after domesticated.
As what if you find self-teaching difficult?

 

[arif7]

I queried online, was phoned to say someone would come and speak to me, to discuss the course. Turns out it was a salesman which I was un-perpared for.
He sold me this amazing package.
I explained that i was mid-moving house and said time was restricted at the moment... he went into fulls sales pitch.
I asked if I could cancel after the domesticated plumbing and he stated I could (LIE).
I moved house, forgot about the course but at xmas I realised that I didn't have the time and post-poned it until June whilst i sorted more pressing personal matters.
They accepted my postponing.
However since then I have tried to cancel, but they're not having any of it.

I haven't started the course.
I was lied too... about quite a few things.

And yet I've offered to pay a cancellation fee and they're just not helping at all.
I'm stuck.

It seems they have the money and now they don't care if I start the course or not.

I'm seeking legal advice.

As I haven't actually started the course or used any of the materials then I'm hoping I have some ground to stand on.

Anyone else thinking of court action?

They shouldn't be allowed to do this.

To give you a 3 week cancellation period on a course that's so big and long is shocking.

They should give you the option of cancellation after domesticated.
As what if you find self-teaching difficult?

I would have taken them to court if i had the money but had to accept that i had to pay 2950 instead of 6250 and just swallow it

 

[Gazza]

Re: tony bryden from train 4 trade skills

I am currently doing the same course. I got the course material over a year ago but only recently started doing it. Course material seems fair enough, some mistakes but those are higlighted in the online section and corrections given. Done my first scenario which again does exactly what it says it does. I can make mistakes and flood a virtual house instead of a real one .

So far i have been happy with it, yes it's expensive but at the end I get an industry recognised qualification and the loan is interest free. At the end of the day the qualification is always going to help. I have an NVQ in floorlaying which has gotten me into some large commercial work because as part of thier insurance contractors have to be qualified.

The sale guy who came to my house is also one of my tutors, I got the standard sales speil but to be fair he's only spouting goverment statistics which I would take with a pinch of salt anyway.

maybe on the down turn he was talking about, was people not buying new houses at the moment and instead spending money on renovation of exisiting property, is this maybe what he was getting at?

Any industry at the moment is struggling not just plumbing. But you are not going to complete the course in the next 12 months and hopefully the recession might be over the worst of it by the time you finish. You main question should be can I afford to get into a credit agreement with your current job? is it safe?


lauramo, sorry to hear about your situation but it appears the issue you have is with the credit agreement which you signed not the college itself. 3 weeks cancellation to me seems fair as the legal stance on cancellation of credit agreements is 14 days Credit

Also as you have mentioned they accepted a postponing which again seems fair enough. If you took out a credit agreement on a £30,000 car or £300 tv legally it would still be the same.

NEVER SIGN ANYTHING you are not certain of. I never sign anything there and then as I want to be sure and told the sales rep this. I also asked for a copy of the credit agreement. I told him to contact me in a few days time once I have ingested everything and spoken it over with my wife which he did with no pressure.

If you feel the rep missold you the course in anyway then I would contact them and ask to speak to someone who can deal with complaints

 

[lance]

3 weeks cancelation? read the back of your credit agrement mine says 7 days

 

[arran123]

i think people need to wake up and smell the coffe, T4T do what it says on the tin, its hard it takes time effort and discipline. while you are studying write to every plumber you can think of, ask if they will be a mentor, one day a week, for free. i truly belive if you stay focused you will make it, some one starting a course and not doing any work towards it for 6 months does not sound to determined, and then to put the blame on the company who enrolled them is the easy thing to do.
i can only go on my experience and i think t4t skills are ok. but so are probably most of the training providers.
train 4 trade use atl for the practicals who have been around since 1991, if that makes any difference.

 

[Old soutie]

Hi all I am a newbie. Well I to have been looking at getting into the plumbing trade in the UK. All the courses that I have looked at sound fantastic. But reading through some of the feed back from others that have done the courses there are some things that they fail to mention. Extra costs when you are finnished the course ie; inspections on jobs that you have done. Not that I am saying that all the courses do it but some do.

I am trying to find out from some one I have done a course in South Africa and what do I need to do here to get into plumbing. No one can answer me at all at this moment. It is full domestic plumbing equal to NVQ 2 6089.