Looking for a gas safe mentor

[ShaunCorbs]

Is this a proper college or a training centre

paid so training centre

 

[Riley]

Ahh yes true

 

[Mohammad ejaz]

Thanks for everybody's advise and I've found 1 gas safe engineer and today I m going to start with him.
Thanks

 

[firemant]

The powers that be need to get a grip on this. I don't really understand NVQs etc - I am from the days of Gity an Guild. I do understand that course providers are misleading folk, and selling expensive courses to the slightly desperate. It is not fair to call these punters gullible - who would think that the govt. would allow "colleges" to encourage guys to give up good, but possibly uninspiring, jobs, take out loans, work for free - all to (typically) end up, at best, swapping out meters.

At the very least, it should be the providers responsibility to provide mentors - and pay us. When I had a shop, it was a weekly routine to decline the offer of "free" labour in return for assistance to build a portfolio. I tried hard to be positive with them, while refusing their offers

 

[Riley]

Thanks for everybody's advise and I've found 1 gas safe engineer and today I m going to start with him.
Thanks

Good luck not really sure why you saw fit to dislike my post unfortunately it’s true. You could’ve done with a proper college type introduction to plumbing before moving onto gas. People trying to run before they can walk

 

[firemant]

Thanks for everybody's advise and I've found 1 gas safe engineer and today I m going to start with him.
Thanks

You did well to find someone, TBH. Good luck - and don't forget to let us know how things go.

 

[Mohammad ejaz]

You did well to find someone, TBH. Good luck - and don't forget to let us know how things go.

Hi mate
I thought I let you know that I m doing very good in five days I already done five portfolio jobs and 3 extra work like plumbing,and I m really enjoying this.

 

[Riley]

Keep us posted it’s always good to hear of a success story. What portfolio bits have you done?

 

[Scott_D]

Any pictures?

 

[Bibbs118]

Just out of interest, how much does someone like Mohamid pay for an 8 week course? And what sort of basic knowledge will someone have after 8 weeks? My course was 7 months at BG to become qualified and none of us thought 7 months was long enough. Without on going support for 2 to 3 years youve no chance of making it as a gas engineer in my opinion .

 

[Riley]

Agreed

 

[Bibbs118]

Agreed

Without full support you're asking for either a nervous breakdown or a manslaughter charge.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

At a rough amount around 6-7k

Bollox all other than a training room test

 

[Lambed84]

Success story right here! Been qualified 2 years with no previous experience! Skills now valued enough to have an apprentice with company!
I did my quals with Birmingham metropolitan. My dad was my "mentor", he strongly advised against the training centre. I paid 2700 for fires cookers meters boilers and CPA. The course was 10 months. It was good, think that was largely down to the tutors, but far too much information to retain in a short period if time! In my opinion, having watched others that I went to class with, if the mentor and tutor are crap then there's very little chance of success!
It all comes down to the person learning being able to understand the responsibilities involved BEFORE opting for a career within the industry and finding a mentor that's happy to spend a little time to mould a future engineer!

 

[Old Account]

Because you have to walk before you win marathon

thats not quite right though. but you are already trying to win the marathon before you even walk..

 

[Riley]

Success story right here! Been qualified 2 years with no previous experience! Skills now valued enough to have an apprentice with company!
I did my quals with Birmingham metropolitan. My dad was my "mentor", he strongly advised against the training centre. I paid 2700 for fires cookers meters boilers and CPA. The course was 10 months. It was good, think that was largely down to the tutors, but far too much information to retain in a short period if time! In my opinion, having watched others that I went to class with, if the mentor and tutor are crap then there's very little chance of success!
It all comes down to the person learning being able to understand the responsibilities involved BEFORE opting for a career within the industry and finding a mentor that's happy to spend a little time to mould a future engineer!

That’s very true mate but I’m sure you will agree that in 99% of cases people are not adequately trained nor are they competent to be let loose on their own without support. It sounds like you have attacked this with a very mature head and have been pragmatic in your approach that you’re not instantly going to be making serious blucks, but rather you have focused on getting a good knowledge capital under your belt. Not trying to run before you can walk. I think practicality is a huge issue here as you’ve been lucky enough to have a sensible mentor that has obviously brought you along at a sensible pace whereas in the real world unfortunately people are too busy to train properly. It’s sad but it’s true.

 

[Bibbs118]

Success story right here! Been qualified 2 years with no previous experience! Skills now valued enough to have an apprentice with company!
I did my quals with Birmingham metropolitan. My dad was my "mentor", he strongly advised against the training centre. I paid 2700 for fires cookers meters boilers and CPA. The course was 10 months. It was good, think that was largely down to the tutors, but far too much information to retain in a short period if time! In my opinion, having watched others that I went to class with, if the mentor and tutor are crap then there's very little chance of success!
It all comes down to the person learning being able to understand the responsibilities involved BEFORE opting for a career within the industry and finding a mentor that's happy to spend a little time to mould a future engineer!

10 months!!! Lot longer than 8 weeks, and then seems to think he is "quite good with gas".

I can't see these training centres turning many engineers in reality, I suspect the original posted will be paying his mentor to be nothing more than a cab mut (labour).

 

[Pitty]

When I done my course it was 22 weeks in the class room and then I spent the next year 2-3 evenings a week with a GSRI
Yes it was hard work and people said you want manage it blah blah blah.
Not everyone does an apprenticeship and when you get older doing an apprenticeship isn’t an option but that should not mean you can’t do it , it means it will be more difficult getting into a job but should not mean you can’t!
I’m now 3 years gas safe registered and work as an installer and my company have been very supportive because they saw the hard work I put in.
You can’t knock people for trying

 

[Alastair Davis]

Hey all. Firstly thanks to all the contributors here, very informative and interesting.

I start a 9 week course in June, and have managed to find a couple of local companies willing to take me on for completing my portfolio (approx. 120 hrs is the minimum required), FOC. It wasn't easy and in the end I had to send non-generic, interesting and slightly wacky emails to grab their interest.

The company I've chosen have then offered a couple of months (non paid) work experience when I've completed my ACS exams, where i'll be paired with an old boy engineer (30+ yrs experience) who's retiring next year. If i can impress with my knowledge, skill and dedication/hard work who knows.

I'm spending countless hours each week prior to the course getting as much study in as poss. On the course i'll make sure i smash it. I'll take in everything the old boy says on my work experience and i'll have the right attitude throughout...what more can you do!?

I appreciate what you guys are saying...there is no substitute for experience, in anything you do. And partly why I've chosen this career is because i want to always be challenged, and always learning.

Despite some negative (if not realistic in some ways) messages here i'm optimistic and plan to smash this. PMA man!

 

[Bibbs118]

Wacky funny emails will help get you noticed for sure, I've used them in the past with various company's but never looking for a job etc.

Brave, glad it's worked for you.

 

[Alastair Davis]

Wacky funny emails will help get you noticed for sure, I've used them in the past with various company's but never looking for a job etc.

Brave, glad it's worked for you.

I literally wrote about 30 normal, business type emails looking for someone to take me on for my portfolio and got nothing. Felt dejected, sad, and with nothing to loose decided to be myself, and sent 3 more emails but with a little (regulated) humor, honesty and sincerity and ended up getting two replies from two different companies within days.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not there yet, have a long way to go, shi*t can still happen, and reading this forum i'm well aware that i'm gonna need a bit of luck (among other things) to make it past the first year so we'll see how it goes!

 

[Bibbs118]

Sounds about right, we are businesses, we are business men just like the guys that wear suits, but as a general rule we love a good laugh.

It's a great trade, good luck and enjoy it. None of us ever stop learning.

 

[Lord_lucan]

Man this is all too familiar ....

I’m also a newbie who’s just become gas safe. However I struggled to do my portfolio at the time and as a mature student I used my age (37) and sheer determination to leave my feet in a few doors.

Eventually whilst working full time I managed to get experience with a company. Eight months later they took me on after I was qualified.

It couldn’t have worked out better! However it was not easy leaving an office job to go into a trade but it’s been a journey.

As for you mo you have to understand your limitations. It takes years to understand this trade. I’m a service engineer now for a gas company and it’s not easy!

Just wish you all the best

 

[Bibbs118]

Man this is all too familiar ..

I’m also a newbie who’s just become gas safe. However I struggled to do my portfolio at the time and as a mature student I used my age (37) and sheer determination to leave my feet in a few doors.

Eventually whilst working full time I managed to get experience with a company. Eight months later they took me on after I was qualified.

It couldn’t have worked out better! However it was not easy leaving an office job to go into a trade but it’s been a journey.

As for you mo you have to understand your limitations. It takes years to understand this trade. I’m a service engineer now for a gas company and it’s not easy!

Just wish you all the best

This post is spot on, I got lucky with my training, but starting on services is (as I did) is the only way to learn how to fix boilers.

Installing in my opinion is a different trade, I've installed a few and it's physical hard going, fixing boilers for the first 2 or 3 years is mentally hard going, either way it's not easy.

 

[Lord_lucan]

This post is spot on, I got lucky with my training, but starting on services is (as I did) is the only way to learn how to fix boilers.

Installing in my opinion is a different trade, I've installed a few and it's physical hard going, fixing boilers for the first 2 or 3 years is mentally hard going, either way it's not easy.

And that’s the thing. I’ve never installed on my own but with mates helping out etc. But I don’t have the confidence to yet.

However I have just done a manufacture gas training course on a particular boiler and it made me realise.... training training training !!