From plumber to pipefitter

[MarcoPolo]

I am a qualified plumber right now ( NVQ level 2 ) and have mostly done commerical plumbing but I am looking for a career change. I want to be a pipefitter so I can work offshore, obviously as a pipefitter. I am wondering if I have to do a full 2 or 3 year training course to become qualified as a pipefitter or whether there is a quicker option available since I already have knowledge of plumbing. I know the two trades are different but there are some similarities.

Has anyone on here trained as a plumber but gone on to do pipefitting? Does anyone know what the different training options are? I'm not even sure if I you can do pipefitting in college unless you're an apprentice, which I'm too old for anyway (I'm 33). Thanks.

 

[Ermintrude]

Get your F - gas lots easier and more money offshore

 

[MarcoPolo]

Get your F - gas lots easier and more money offshore

Thanks for your reply, and yes I am going after money, it's half the reason I want to work offshore ( that and the 2 on 2 off ). So what's this F - gas and what job does it lead to offshore? I only have my Plumbing NVQ level 2 at the moment and no gas qualifications. Cheers.

 

[Ermintrude]

F-gas is refrigerant . Lots of ac and cooling on a rig and on five ships too.

 

[Ermintrude]

Five ships

 

[Ermintrude]

D I V E - auto text getting on my **** now

 

[stevetheplumber]

easy conversion you just need a frontal lobotomy

 

[hammers4spanner]

Why offshore?

Getting subbing to a dockyard usual £20 per hour with as many hours as you want and you'd be lucky to work 10 hours of that a week.

 

[Tyler Gerold]

If you already have extensive knowledge of plumbing I wouldn't waste your time going through an apprenticeship program. There are plenty colleges out there that offer pipefitting classes (and don't require apprenticeships). Or you could just buy some pipefitting books and study up on your own. A lot of companies just require you to take a pipefitting test for them, and if you pass they'll put you to work as a pipefitter. Pipefitter Nation is a good resource for anyone looking for information on the pipefitting industry.