How many people are thinking of doing renewables this year

[unguided1]

As the title says what are your thoughts this question is for every one or are you already doing them

 

[northstar]

hi kay jay when and where is it at any links? thanks

 

[missplumb]

we are in the process of going into this side of the business, but the cost of the training and iso9001, iso9014, mcs acreditation, unvented, another GSRegistration, its knocking on for £10,000. thats alot of money to plow into a business just for training when there isnt a big uptake for it yet. we are lucky that we have an investor who realises that the work will not become mainstream for about 10 years and is willing to accept that and will pay for all our training now so we are ready to go if we are asked to do the job.

 

[kay-jay]

hi kay jay when and where is it at any links? thanks

http://renewables-roadshow.co.uk/mailers/july2011/

hope this helps!

i'm going to the reebok stadium as it is only a stones throw up the road from me

KJ

 

[blayedrunner]

Thanks for the link guys, going to the Coventry one. Doing my oil in August. Thank god did LPG this year as it has been earning most of my money recently!!!!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

spoke to college earlier today (will not mention its name) 2399 c&g will cost over 2.5k-what a joke ,hope I could express my self here
5 days training ! they are taking a ****

 

[tamz]

Speak to the manu's. Their courses are usually Logic or Bpec certificated and will do the same job. You will get them for free if you speak to the reps.
The whole certification game is a joke. Keeps someone in a job and hands out a worthless piece of paper to a possibly worthless recipient for doing a multiple choice question paper the dog could pass.

 

[quality]

Back to the OP I have been doin renewables for years but probably more that half my work is still gas related

 

[fuzzy]

spoke to college earlier today (will not mention its name) 2399 c&g will cost over 2.5k-what a joke ,hope I could express my self here
5 days training ! they are taking a ****

2.5k for 5 days training!!!! its normally around £100 a day so should be £500!

Each element of the 2399 is 80 hours long, plus 14 for the understanding renewables unit. I guess it will be expensive but you get a lot more than you do with the bpec which isnt qcf

 

[SafeGasInstall]

fuzzy ,do you know how much is anywhere this 2399 you way ?

 

[fuzzy]

i dont know anyone who is running it yet. because it is superior (supposedly) to bpec etc then its taking longer to get sorted in centres, theres a lot more to it, my enquiries i was told a rough guide is £100 per day plus registration fees. [DLMURL="http://www.cityandguilds.com/56842.html?s=4"]Award in Environmental Technologies | Construction and Building | City & Guilds[/DLMURL]

It says here all thats in it, i think it looks good and they are attempting to tighten up the different types of training and qualification so we all work to the same high standards and then register with the national skills academy which should benefit all in the long run. I know little about the technical side of renewables and look forward to doing this courses. I could have done the bpecs but ive decided to wait for these and do it fully and register. after all they are all dear, i want to learn as much as i can

 

[CES]

Its just a pity they are taking so long to get it out there. Until colleges start providing the course then there is no real alternative to the BPEC ones in order to get started with renewables. I think Ill probably take the course when it arrives though, looks good from what Ive read.

 

[fuzzy]

i believe the C&G's course is aligned to NOS National Occupational Standards and QCF and the others are not. I suppose you get what you pay for, my feeling is this is an attempt to get away from fast track such as 1 day courses and make it more worthwhile. My own thoughts on education is its their to provide us with the skills, not a case of get in and out with the cert as quick as i can. I do see people complain about poor skills of fellow plumbers/trainees and then want their ACS in an hour!!! We are hypercritical at times, I want a proper courses, learn something in depth and I expect to pay more and learn more as a consequence

 

[tackleburger]

Time served plumbers shouldn't be having to pay £2k to get a ticket for installing renewables of any kind. 90% of the install is the same as you have done in any plumbing related equivelant. I don't get this at all I did the solar course and all I learned was angles of the roof, sun etc positions of stats working out sizing etc. nothing difficult complete con I felt. There really is no need for certification, that was a joke no more than a tick test i got 100% and was finished in about 1/2 an hour including the commisioning list etc. Honestly it's getting ridiculous a decent set of MIs can easily cover most of what you need to know ans lets face it we were fitting solar in the eighties until gas got cheap so it's hardly new. after my last ACS I wonder about that too really.

 

[Hybrid]

I'm tired of being bled from every artery. It's bad enough having to pay someone to tell me i'm capable of doing my job but to have them meddling in how I run my business is too much.
I'm a sole trader, there's no admin department I can task with handling the QMS.

I spend enough unpaid time preparing quotes and keeping abreast of new regs and technologies without agonising over risk assessments, health and safety policies, method statements etc. I have children and a wife i'd like to see occassionally.

All in all just another way the small business is being destroyed. If it's not Tesco moving into everything from selling cars to upvc windows it's the government throwing up insurmountable obstacles preventing me from earning an honest wage and providing a good service at a reasonable price.

 

[quality]

I don't have a certificate in renewables but I happen to know what I am doin Whig probably the reason I keep gettin work 2399 seams it will help those who are new to this area of work but any decent plumber would gain nothing

 

[unguided1]

Ialso have no qualifications in heatpumps, and I am still not MCS accredited, I have no QMS and I am not paying REAL £200 a year, However I am installing MCS accredited heat pumps and signning them off on to the MCS register, therefore I am living proof that the MCS is not fit for purpose No I am not a cowboy, but because of the insistance of this rediculous idea that renewables should be a seperate industry I am going to fight this the only way I know by refusing to join it and carry on the way I have been, there fore in the eyes of the governing bodies I must be a cowboy, Yeehaw!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[fuzzy]

Time served plumbers shouldn't be having to pay £2k to get a ticket for installing renewables of any kind. 90% of the install is the same as you have done in any plumbing related equivelant. I don't get this at all I did the solar course and all I learned was angles of the roof, sun etc positions of stats working out sizing etc. nothing difficult complete con I felt. There really is no need for certification, that was a joke no more than a tick test i got 100% and was finished in about 1/2 an hour including the commisioning list etc. Honestly it's getting ridiculous a decent set of MIs can easily cover most of what you need to know ans lets face it we were fitting solar in the eighties until gas got cheap so it's hardly new. after my last ACS I wonder about that too really.

i may be on my own here but i dont think people really understand the reasoning behind these short courses. they are there to help installers not provide an opportunity to fail. They are designed to teach people and get them the skills and knowledge required. You need to be qualified before taking these courses so its presumed you already know alot, you wouldnt agree with them testing you again surely? The assessments are not to be difficult as its only an award, as opposed to a diploma. the alternative is one of two things:

1. Make it much more difficult to pass the course
2. Not bother because we are already plumbers

issue with them?

1. less people would take it or pass it and create more un qualified installers without the basic underpinning knowledge the current system gives us
2. we would then complain anyone can do it, it would probably lead to more cowboys

The ACS is a safety course, its does not train or assess you on your skills but your safety. how many people have said to me and i presume others that the acs is rubbish as it didnt teach me to fit a boiler!!! once again its not for newbies, its for already qualified and or experienced tradesmen, we seem to want it both ways. I hear complaints of too much assessment and then its too easy????????? I think people need to understand the purpose of the qualifications before criticizing

 

[fuzzy]

Ialso have no qualifications in heatpumps, and I am still not MCS accredited, I have no QMS and I am not paying REAL £200 a year, However I am installing MCS accredited heat pumps and signning them off on to the MCS register, therefore I am living proof that the MCS is not fit for purpose No I am not a cowboy, but because of the insistance of this rediculous idea that renewables should be a seperate industry I am going to fight this the only way I know by refusing to join it and carry on the way I have been, there fore in the eyes of the governing bodies I must be a cowboy, Yeehaw!!!!!!!!!!!

[DLMURL="http://www.summitskills.org.uk/public/cms/File/Renewables/employer%20brochure%20final%20version.pdf"]http://www.summitskills.org.uk/public/cms/File/Renewables/employer%20brochure%20final%20version.pdf

i[/DLMURL] think they do realise its part of out industry but want the installers to be highly skilled. I agree with most people on here but feel there is some hypocrisy. there are always people who can self train and reach high standards but we must have some control

 

[fuzzy]

your right tackleburger, we shouldnt be paying 2k for it, we should get good training, a good qualification and that in itself should be registration with a single plumbing body. why do we pay for the quals and then registration? they should be one and the same

 

[unguided1]

I agree with the need for control and as our Industry stands the only control is used against registerd installers not the real cowboys so as Long as I stay unregistered I have no fear of any type of prosecution and considering that our industry is completely being regulated the wrong way round I have no respect for the powers that be

 

[fuzzy]

but surely thats the reason control must be improved to stop that happening

 

[unguided1]

I totaly agree but why should I waste my money being regulated when the regulator can do nothing to stop me??

 

[markfxy]

C&G 2399 is still a fast track course when compared to a 4 year apprenticeship why should I be required to do this or a BPEC course to learn about another heat source when I already know how to design and size a heating system. A manufacturers 1 day course which covers the commisioning of a particular heat pump is far more useful and a damn sight cheaper.

 

[tackleburger]

i may be on my own here but i dont think people really understand the reasoning behind these short courses. they are there to help installers not provide an opportunity to fail. They are designed to teach people and get them the skills and knowledge required. You need to be qualified before taking these courses so its presumed you already know alot, you wouldnt agree with them testing you again surely? The assessments are not to be difficult as its only an award, as opposed to a diploma. the alternative is one of two things:

1. Make it much more difficult to pass the course
2. Not bother because we are already plumbers

issue with them?

1. less people would take it or pass it and create more un qualified installers without the basic underpinning knowledge the current system gives us
2. we would then complain anyone can do it, it would probably lead to more cowboys

The ACS is a safety course, its does not train or assess you on your skills but your safety. how many people have said to me and i presume others that the acs is rubbish as it didnt teach me to fit a boiler!!! once again its not for newbies, its for already qualified and or experienced tradesmen, we seem to want it both ways. I hear complaints of too much assessment and then its too easy????????? I think people need to understand the purpose of the qualifications before criticizing

Fair points however the solar thermal course which cost the thick end of £500 taught me nothing in reality so I for one don't think that course is worth anything. ACS I guess you are right but it is still a bit of a joke and some of the guys who get through I wouldn't have in my house. I can't comment on other renewables because I haven't attend the courses.

I would suggest that qualified plumbers can go to the manufacturers and get taught for free. I learned as much in a day with Alpha for free as I did doing the BPEC course. There has to be a better way is all I am suggesting and you are right to challenge my thoughts but the current systems clearly have major flaws and disadvantage sole traders for sure.

 

[markfxy]

You're dead right tackleburger most of the problems with heat pumps are because they are undersized and not commisioned properly a manufacturers course would cover this whereas BPEC and LOGIC courses wont cover the commisioning side of things.