plumbing courses

[neilbowley]

hi, i am new at this so i will just ask away i guess. i am neil by the way.

i am trying to get set on my career path and seeking all options open to me and whats the best way about it. i am looking at plumbing training courses and came across trade qualified. have had information sent threw the post and spoke to the guy and all seems good.
but is it i think to my self?
is it all truth? will the training i do able me to go out and be a plumber on my own, self imployed as well as with a company?
one of the things that i was told was that you do not need a n v q to be a plumber just cirtian cirtificates that the course provides.
can someone give me the answers?

 

[bob the builder]

Hey, I am also new to the site and am also considering a new career in plumbing. The trouble is there are no decent colleges locally which can offer me flexible study study as I am currently in full time employment, thereofore my only option may be to consider one of these training centres who charge a small fortune.

From what I understand you would ideally be aiming for the C&G 6129 with the added NVQ C&G 6089. The questions I would like answered are:

1. When qualified what are the actual chances of finding decent work, I assume you would need to go self employed as no one wants to recruit someone who has no experience?

2. Has anyone on here actually gained the NVQ without doing an apprenticeship and found work ok when they qualified.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am unsure about wasting several thousands of pounds to end up as a failed plumber a couple of years down the line

Cheers

Jim

 

[oldplumber]

most local colleges offer night classes for plumbing and you can do 2 evening sessions instead of 1 day session. However the technical certs level 2 and 3 are to be superceded although this seems to have been put on hold. to get an nvq you need to be working as an apprentice, with a firm or self employed to get the modules signed off. one point to note, you dont have to be qualified at all to call yourself a plumber which is rather sad as a lot of those out there do just that. however to get an understanding of what you should be doing, training is the only real answer and you can pay a large not small fortune to private companies to do so. colleges are cheaper and i would reccommend that route, and if your brave enough work for yourself and get your nvqs that way. if you want to do gas work its better in my mind to be able to plumb things in well first before attempting to qualify for gas work. it can be done you just have toget out there and do it. but its not easy and there seems to be far to many out there having a go at present and theres not enough work to go round seemingly, so some people are falling by the wayside and its cost them a lot to do so!

 

[mani]

I to was going to go down the fast track route at a cost of nearly £6000. But decided against this, i have just finished my level 1 City & Guilds 6217 plumbing course took me about 6 months to finish, cost me £320, this has built the foundations and in September i am going to go college to do 2 days a week for level 2 City & Guilds 6129 certificate, cost will be £690 this should take me no more than 9 months to complete. Once qualified im going to take the water regulations course cost about £120, i think thats one day and then become self employed( have to be careful of what jobs i take on, until my confidence goes better) and take the NVQ course, as being 40 i've got no chance anyone taking me on, even for free. So for under £1200 i will become a plumber, and having done level 1 and 2, saved my self over £8000 as if i did a fasttrack course i would have had to miss work and pay for accommodation.
So to sum up college is deffinetley the best route, it may take slightly longer but there are no short cuts and you can absorb information better.
I was working as a bus driver, but now work as a taxi driver just so i can complete my plumbing course.
Whatever you decide good luck.

 

[oldplumber]

most 6129 courses are based over 2 years, 9 months isnt normally an option best check your college syllabus to be sure you can do it in 9 months

 

[tackleburger]

The minimum for 6129 is 10 full weeks. So short courses doing it in less must be questionable. This alone will not give you enough knowledge to trade succesfully as a Plumber. By all means do it as it looks like value for money bt get in with a Plumber and train on the job. Expect low wages or even work for zip for a while. You have saved a lot of money on training here so think about your next step before you potentially blow it.

 

[mani]

The 6129, at 1 day a week will take you 21 months to be precise.
At 2 days per weeky, September start and June finish you will complete the 6129 certificate.
If you wanted to do 2 evenings a week again it will take you 21 months.
I will be doing the full time 2 days a week which hopefully by next June will have completed my level 2.

 

[hiretools]

i did my 6129 at a training course and it cost me 3500 plus they threw in my water regs my part L and my c/h design all in 3500 if ur talkin about 8k i wouldnt bother i can get my gas safe for a grand so all in gas safe 6129 plus the rest 4500 ..... 8k tell them its a recession and negotiate ur pants off better in ur pocket than theirs m8.... also why do 2 years to get the same quali... pay the cash and get urself out on your own even if it takes six months to get ur money bvack for the course which is doable as im doing it and ur still be ahead of the game with the collage route especially as you stated ur 40 and im not at that age yet not puttin down collage just think thats a route for the younger chaps... hope this helps and good luk pal....

 

[lisa2010]

Hi im lisa i am doing the t4ts plumbing training course at the mo, they said that it would give me all the qualifications i needed to become a plumber but i read somewhere that it doesnt so i have contacted them and just waiting for a reply, the course is costing me £3,995 so very expensive.

 

[tamz]

It may come as a shock to some but you don't need any qualifications to declare yourself as a plumber.
It is advisable though to spend your money instead on a fast horse.
At least then you will be able to stay in front of the competition, for a while, until you are found out

 

[oldplumber]

did my 6129 level 2/3 and nvq 2/3 at college along with acs quals. college paid fees for 6129 and got euro grants for nvqs and 50% all short course quals, total less than 2K. cant think why you would want to pay more. took longer 4yrs but allowed me to gain experience at a reasonable pace and develop network of other plumbers etc. short courses in my humble and limited experience produce people with limited skills to work successfully in the real world ( im not tarring everyone with the same brush who've done short courses) but those who i've come across shouldnt be holding anything related to a spanner let alone a gas torch. (there will now be a short intermission before this grenade detonates and causes lots of mayhem)

 

[hiretools]

I think the point is in ur last statement old plumber mate as u said it took 4 years some of us that are nearing or even over the 40 mark cant be doing a four year course its about getting the basics and learn how you go i think the 4 year route should be left to the under 30's as previously stated.... no critisism meant....

 

[oldplumber]

I think the point is in ur last statement old plumber mate as u said it took 4 years some of us that are nearing or even over the 40 mark cant be doing a four year course its about getting the basics and learn how you go i think the 4 year route should be left to the under 30's as previously stated.... no critisism meant....

why so ageist, i was 45 when i started and it didnt cause me any problems, at present you cant afford to shell out thousands on training that doesnt guarentee any work at the end of it. better to invest in your new business and do things slowly, as you may not have noticed it but competition out there is so intense at present that newbies wont be earning a lot initially and any money saved is fairly important to keep them on the level until they have a customer base established.
your going to have to work into your 70s soon before you can retire so it doesnt really matter what age you start. Seems to me that everyone wants everything now doesnt matter whether or not you can afford it or do the job you purport to be trained at

 

[REDSAW]

wake up the train has left the station

 

[bob the builder]

Thanks for all your responses, it's much appreciated. However my career might never actually take off as im colour blind and i didn't realise this would have been a problem initially, I worked as a HGV mechanic for 6 years with no problems but has anyone has a similar experience with plumbing? Am I wasting my time even thinking about a plumbing course? Thanks

 

[hiretools]

Why the bold writing Old plumber u have always given me top advice as for the not guarenteed to earn through fast track i agree but who is guarenteed to earn if you go down the 4 year route as u said it is already a flooded market so in 4 years every 1 and their mum will be callin themselves a plumber any whoi am doing ok got 5k worth of work guarenteed and i did the fast track and 1 other bloke out of the 4 who were on my course is absolutly chocker block with work (he lives in melton mowbray mind lol) but seriously though where is the market gonna be in 4 years time i bet when u did ur course the market wasn't as full as it is at the moment thats the point i was trying to make...
its just an alternative opinion not a fact..... sorry to have upset u old boy just thought i would give my opinion and at the end of the day it's just that a opinion.....Hiretools.. if it helps and is good then who cares...

 

[oldplumber]

because i couldnt find my glasses and it was easier to see.
as for colour blindness, let the sparkies do electrics and you should be ok , imho, and as far as tracing wiring if you can do it on vehicles, you can in a boiler

 

[gravytrain]

hi i did my 6129 and finished in sept 08. i finished on a wednesday and had my first job to go to on thursday, i've been working steadily since then as a self employed plumber with my own business. i didn't know any other trades when i started, even through this grim recession enough work has come in to keep me going.i have never honestly thought i would like to be back in my old job. all i would say is you need A LOT of strength and determination. you will have no reputation or customer base so you will need to spend a lot on advertising, a couple of cards in the post office won't do the trick. also i was 45 when i started, this had a massive benefit as all cutomers think i've been at it for years.. just go for it and don't give up !!