Hi kirkgas,
Thanks for a great response!
It seems such a minefield out there, but I think i'm getting it..
Could you recommend any courses that actually GUARANTEE the placement ?
I really want to be a gas engineer (fitter, service & repair) what would be the minimum certs I would need to get before I could apply for my Gas Safe ? Would it be CCN1, WAT1, CPA1 & CENWAT. I have been baffled by all the different certs available!
I hear what you are saying about the repair, this must be the hardest part to master! Most people would rather install a new boiler, than spend the time fault finding the actual problem & having the time to try & repair it, I guess this also has it's pro's & con's depending on the situation.. possibly an old lady who can only afford the part that needs replacing, or a job miles away from home that you don't want to be going back to when the next part in the boiler fails & fitting a new system knowing (hoping) this will be good for years (hopefully)
The local college is government run & I think they only provide the theory side, could I actually do the portfolio on my own ? covering the criteria with my pal if he would be happy for me to do this ? How would I go about doing this on my own ?
It seems like there are various governing bodies who can say i'm competent to apply for my ACS certs BPEC & Logic being 2 that I know of. Isn't it possible to go direct to ACS do I need a governing body to say i'm competent enough to apply ? if so which is best ? I have heard BPEC require lots more evidence than LOGIC but does this carry more weight or not ?
Again, thanks for a great reply!
It's down to the actual place providing the training, not the certification body who run the scheme to sort out a placement, as that's part of the contract with the client, as long as the client does a relevant portfolio then it's fine, so as long as you have a detailed chat with the training provider and clarify in writing what is required in your portfolio to allow you to sit the ACS, and you document that then you must be allowed to sit the ACS, some places are less scrupulous than others, ( haha I can hear the troops saying most are unscrupulous but that's opinion and there are many many registered firms who will rip off their customers just like the dodgy centres who rip off candidates like you) so choose carefully and wisely
Once you have in writing what you need it's perfectly acceptable for you to organise it on your own, if they cannot guarantee it, do it in conjunction with the college and keep things updated and checked as you go, there's no point in waiting 5 months to be told the portfolio is mince,
So sort a portfolio provider, confirm the details to the college, confirm they are happy with the firm, do ongoing updates with the college on your portfolio and when you have met the minimum requirement you will then sit the ACS
When qualified you will do whatever work you can get, whether it's servicing with a bigger contractor, installing or last resort repairing, some firms only install so it's ideal to get a job with them rather than with a repair firm cause you won't survive there as you will spend too much time and money on parts trying to fix boilers, that needs to be built up over time
Re applying to gas safe for registration, technically once you complete your CCN1 you can apply, but you can only work on the categories you hold tickets for, and although CCN1 is core and all about safety, it will only let you install pipes and do visual inspections, you cant work on any appliances
CENWAT covers boilers and water heaters,
CKR1 covers hobs and cookers
HTR1 covers fires
CPA1 covers flue gas analysis ( but is now incorporated in CCN1 for initial guys)
DAH1 covers warm air ( very limited areas to work on warm air, but still needed by lots of guys)
MET1 covers exchanging and moving meters
I'm very familiar with bpec portfolio, but not so much others, but contact the certification bodies office and ask for info on their portfolio, I can't see it being too much different between places
You must get experience on the types of appliances you want to do ACS on, however one way round this is to do CCN1 and CENWAT concentrate on doing boilers for portfolio, once qualified it's acceptable to return to the centre and do other elements as a Cat1 so less training required before assessment and no portfolio, this route could be hazardous as you will have limited experience, your choice, depending on how hard you will try to do things properly
I'm based in the west of scotland and train and assess in places that run the courses they only book the amount of candidates on courses that they have placements for via their network, if you are in this area contact me via PM and I will supply you contact names, if you aren't up here it's not really worthwhile discussing actual places,
