Info for people considering fast tracking

[GQuigley67]

anyone thinking of paying thousands of pounds for a fast track course should read this article first

[DLMURL="http://www.ciphe.org.uk/News/Are-fast-track-plumbing-courses-just-money-down-the-drain/"]Are fast-track plumbing courses just money down the drain? - CIPHE[/DLMURL]

short part of article:

Some companies offering fast-track courses claim there is a nationwide shortage of plumbers. "The country is in dire need of qualified plumbers," says Train4TradeSkills on its website, quoting a former trainee who "never takes home less than £1,200 per week". New Career Skills, another private training company, says in its latest brochure: "The massive plumbing shortage provides an opportunity for those who want a lucrative, secure and fulfilling career."
The reality can be very different. Ivor Bates, who runs a London plumbing firm, Bates Heating and Plumbing, says he is contacted three or four times each week by people who have completed a fast-track course and are desperate for work experience to achieve the industry-standard NVQ level 2.
"Around 10% of these guys offer to work for nothing and say they have rung endless plumbing companies and will do anything to get a foot in the door," he says. "One bloke saw my van outside Asda and ran into the supermarket after me and offered to pay me to take him on. But I would never take someone from one of these short courses because they have not got experience of working on-site and I would not be confident sending them into customers' homes."

 

[Blackcatgas]

Like all the best cons, it relies on peoples greed, promises of 50k a year etc,people will become blinkerd, even when confronted with the truth people will still do these courses.

 

[GQuigley67]

thought its a good article to have on here though, as it is from CIPHE who are a governing body

 

[pauls]

one bloke takes home a minimum os £1,200 a week i wish they way things are at the moment im lucky to get that a month lol

 

[GQuigley67]

maybe i wrote the title wrong think it should be "info for people considering fast tracking" if one of the mods can change it or something ?

 

[fuzzy]

ive been saying it for ages on here. i am worried they will ruin the plumbing industry with their lies and then leave. leaving us to pick up the pieces

 

[Bartdude]

I had 2 letters asking for a job this week.

 

[Puddle]

maybe i wrote the title wrong think it should be "info for people considering fast tracking" if one of the mods can change it or something ?

no problem,was that one suger or two

Good article, must admit, I must be a skin flint coz if I was going to shell out over £7000 or just over a couple of weeks wages , I would really research and investigate what I was getting into and what I would be getting out of it

I always say to people, think about the hobby you have, look how long it took to be good at it and that is something you are probably really interesting in, remember the books you read on it in the beginning and the hours you listened to others with experience ,then think how long it took you to put it all into practice, to learn the little tricks and mistakes you still made, mistakes you have to make, to learn, you soon realise you can not learn any profession in such a short period

Slowly the puddles become smaller but until they do you need an experienced person by your side showing you the best way to mop up

£7000 is a lot of money but it can not mop up a lot

imho

 

[GQuigley67]

here's another bit of info

[DLMURL="http://www.unitetheunion.org/sectors/construction/industry_news/fast_track_plumber_training_-_.aspx"]Fast Track Plumber Training - Beware[/DLMURL]

now I've came across these 2 pages with only about an hour or so of research, why don't these people do the same ?

 

[fuzzy]

"organisations advertising themselves, quite legally, as City & Guilds registered, but they are not registered to deliver the specific plumbing qualification so the learner cannot be certified"

my point when people come on here saying "i have a city and guilds" a city and guids what?

 

[fuzzy]

and that latest one is 5 years old!

 

[Barry98]

for most of the ones i know this is how they end up within a few year

JOB LOT Plumbing Mixed Tools/Parts/Taps ETC on eBay (end time 24-Mar-11 14:03:31 GMT)

 

[fuzzy]

lol, loks like another who has given up and wrote off their 7/8k

 

[Bartdude]

for most of the ones i know this is how they end up within a few year

JOB LOT Plumbing Mixed Tools/Parts/Taps ETC on eBay (end time 24-Mar-11 14:03:31 GMT)

They don't look like they've seen much action!

 

[Gray0689]

They don't look like they've seen much action!

Few decent items in that lot to

 

[plumbster3456]

ive been saying it for ages on here. i am worried they will ruin the plumbing industry with their lies and then leave. leaving us to pick up the pieces

bye the things i hear on here I think this has already happened down south I bet its actually homeowners who are doing these courses as they are terrified that they are going to get another cowboy dong work in there homes lol.

 

[Dannypipe]

What bothers me, is that they sell finance to these people, telling them they'll be earning so much, that they'll probably pay it off early.

I met a bloke who was about 40 years old, and had borrowed nearly 13K (yes 13,000) to go from nothing to Gas Safe Registered.

He fell at the first hurdle when he didn't read the small print, and realised it was down to him to find someone to sign of his portfolios, his NVQ 2, his NVQ 3 and his gas portfolio.

He was in the merchants begging people to let him tag along for free. He bent my ear for half hour and I realised nice as he was, he'd slow me down too much, and when he finally did have the experience, he'd leave and pitch up as my competitor. So I along with everyone else I saw declined.

What's he up to now I wonder? My guess is he went back to his old job, and licked his wounds. Must still be making his payments.

The funny thing to me is, we're just plumbers, not premier league footballers. There's no glamour in our work. The money can be ok, but its not epic by any means.

People believe everything they read in the papers. So frankly if they're foolish enough to listen to the speil, and not see through it, then they have themselves to blame, at least partly.

 

[plumbster3456]

lol 13 grand to go to college then? no apprenticeship nothing at all except a seat in a classroom come on guys surely there isnt people crazy enough to do this.
plumbing is no gold mine if you want this become a banker,, some plumbers earn good money but these are the ones that are very good and this you wont be bye doing one of these courses.
I think it is actually a con why is the government or trading standards not investigating these colleges who do this to people ?

 

[fuzzy]

met someone the other day who had spent 10k and had his 6129 level 2 and 3. he was doing the same, desperate for a placement to get his nvq;s. How do these people continue to fall for the rubbish they are told? they fall for the promise of money, heres to another one dropping out with 10k less than he started with

 

[Bartdude]

The funny thing to me is, we're just plumbers, not premier league footballers. There's no glamour in our work. The money can be ok, but its not epic by any means.

Exactly.It can be a good living,but we all know how hard you have to work for it.

My brother-in-law runs a computer games company,and he's the one earning top money,not me!

 

[Resolute]

When I went to college to complete my 6129 I knew I had to complete my portfolio to get my NVQ as I'd researched it. However the college didn't mention it and no one else on the course realised until I said. They all thought that the course they were on would leave them qualified.

 

[fuzzy]

i remeber one lad coming talking to me who had been to college and was going mad that he was on a 6129 and he had been promised the nvq. when he showed me the induction material it clearly stated 6129 only, nothing was mentioned about the nvq

people see and hear what they want to see and hear

 

[Resolute]

people see and hear what they want to see and hear

Too true!

 

[Hutchey]

why are there so many negative comments?
Does learning this from a young age at college or Uni etc mean its better than distance learning?

I'm a Project Manager and was laid off last year when BSF was axed. Next to nothing since. No money equals no projects equals no jobs.
Back in the good days the money was great but with up to 6hrs travelling per day it takes its toll.
Now i'm not saying its rosey here or there but if a late 30's guy like me wants to retrain whilst trying to pay bills, what other choices do we have?
Too old for college, too old for apprenticeships (if there are any of these left).
So the only avenue is something like this.
For me it's about quality of life, less of a commute and frankly i've had enough of projects inefficiencies, wasting money, failed deliveries, changing politics etc that cause so much aggro each day.
I suspect plumbing also has its down sides but id like to be the one to find out.
I'd like to work for someone. I've been self employed for years and it has good and bad points.

I'm only part of my way through one of these courses and i'm finding it flexible to allow me to try to find soem work to pay the bills whilst i learn.
I've been very fortunate that a plumber allowed me to help him with a load of new pipe work installation.
He showed me the very basics and allowed me to solder, bend, install radiators, help drain the system and also threw some questions at me on some topics.

So come on folk, its not our fault we chose this path, maybe we think the grass is greener but let us try to find out.
For one i'd be losing masses financially but then its not as important for me now as my priorities have changed.

no offence to anyone, just my thoughts at this early stage.

 

[GQuigley67]

when i was at college, there were about 3 40+ guys in my class. They managed to get apprenticeships, and I know alot of other people that did also. My point when posting this was these courses are making it out that we earn millions when we dont, and pointing out that to an employer you are not in any way attractive unless you have NVQ level 2 at least in england or SVQ level 3 in scotland, then its all about experience the more experience you have the more chance you have of getting a job.

The point is these courses are promising lies, and false hope. I accept that there are a minority who go on to become sucsesful but most give up and cut their loses and go back to their old jobs