VIY Plumbing Training

[Phil]

iv told u this earlier lads ( raises up leg onto table thrusting balls into unlucky guy who sits at front ) the answer was 15mm.... no 22mm.... no i mean 1and 3quarter inches, hahahahahahaha ring any bells?

What kind of nonsense is this? it doesn't make sense.

 

[ProffesorPlumb]

Lol, funny though

 

[wrecked_24_7]

Have just completed my VIY course and have to say was a really good experience, all the tutors were very helpfl, especially in the workshop, no expenses are spared when in there, maybe apart from the tools you are issued. You can bend, solder as much copper as you like, and same with ead. All the assignments i really enjoyed and everything seemed to click once you get in the workshop. My only worry is , now that im qalified I have been looking for work, ringing around all the plumbers in local yellow pages, and no is willing to take me on at the moment, i would put this down to the current state of the industry/credit crunch/time of year etc, but am starting to worry i may need to earn cash some other way so can pay start to pay off the career develepment loan i took out for the course. Registering as self employed etc is all good, but when the state of the industry is as it is, i have some REAL doubts wether sufficient work would come in, even 6 months down the line. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thankyou

 

[fuzzy]

sorry to hear that wrecked, its an all too familiar story. you are really sold these courses under the impression that you will be garaunteed a job, only to find its not the case after paying out £8k on qualifications.

Can i ask which qualification you got? 6129 0r 6089, level 2 or 3?

most plumbers wont touch anyone with a 6129, they do not recognise the qualification in industry

 

[John Cotton]

IF you go on a C&G course I assume that you could go on to do gas qualifications at a later date.
However, if you do the Chase NOCN course, does this allow you to then get on a gas course, or would this ONLY be possible after getting the C&G ??

 

[daveyk]

IF you go on a C&G course I assume that you could go on to do gas qualifications at a later date.
However, if you do the Chase NOCN course, does this allow you to then get on a gas course, or would this ONLY be possible after getting the C&G ??

also intrested in this

 

[johnmcginty]

Hey Chris don't worrry mate just be patient ! I know what you are capable of just keep trying. What about going it alone teaming up with tiler or something , maybe do tiling aswell ...I did and have 2 bathrooms and a kitchen booked in allready. For anyone who is thinking of re training in to plumbing right now just hold your horses and dont just yet! I have spent near 11 grand on everything. Though viy is top notch it is just city and guildsthat are old fashioned ... maybe that useless week of lead burning and bossing could have been tiling...seems more relevant nowadays. Let us know how you get on though mate.

 

[John Cotton]

Whats an ACCREDITED course mean - how does it differ to non-accredited.
Could you do the Chase course and then go on to do ACS or does this firstly require a C&G/NVQ ?

 

[johnmcginty]

Mate getting gas is very tricky if you are over the age of consent ... you need to be working with a gas installer and have a minimum of NVQ level 2 and you can only get nvq 2 if you have city and guilds 6129 tech ....(in your circumstance .) to get nvq2 you have to transferr over evidence from 6129 tech cert to your 6089 cert this will now be about 80-90 % done to finish off then you need onsite visits and still document everything you do with photos and write ups. when you complete 6089 then you are awarded the nvq level 2 . Obviously if you can find work or be self employed ....This should be your main worry and objective. hope this helps pm me anytime for some more info. john

 

[fuzzy]

IF you go on a C&G course I assume that you could go on to do gas qualifications at a later date.
However, if you do the Chase NOCN course, does this allow you to then get on a gas course, or would this ONLY be possible after getting the C&G ??

whats a chase NOCN course? something they made up?

 

[wrecked_24_7]

so far i have only the 6129, but need a couple of on site assesments which cost like £150 each to get the assesors to come out, then i will have my 6089. I have been trying all week to find some work, and so far no joy, even though the 1 plumber who said he'd see me from 100 letters i sent out before the course, cant offer me any work, he went on the VIY course, and he now runs his own firm , which seems to be ticking over, the only difference was he started it up about a year and a half ago before the credit crunch and i guess before so many people jumped on the "bandwagon." But this in itself shows that it is possible, so even though there is no one really willing to take me on, apart from an interview i have with a recruitment agency for a plumber,(£8 hmmmm) i am looking into speaking to princes trust and business links to see if there is any help they can give me.

Hey Chris don't worrry mate just be patient ! I know what you are capable of just keep trying. What about going it alone teaming up with tiler or something , maybe do tiling aswell ...I did and have 2 bathrooms and a kitchen booked in allready. For anyone who is thinking of re training in to plumbing right now just hold your horses and dont just yet! I have spent near 11 grand on everything. Though viy is top notch it is just city and guildsthat are old fashioned ... maybe that useless week of lead burning and bossing could have been tiling...seems more relevant nowadays. Let us know how you get on though mate.

so true about the tiling bit mate, i know personally i wont be touching lead, besides id assume most roofers would do it. Am pretty lucky really mate, cos one of my mates went on a months tiling course while was on the VIY course. He photocopied the book they gave him for that course which has all the info on it which is really helpful, think am going to have some practice in my own bathroom first though, as it is one thing reading it, but another doing it. But if worse comes to worse i guess i could ask him to do the tiling for me, only thing is he's just got a job, which hiopefully he may be able to get me in there with the plumbers, as this factory actually builds rooms believe it or not, then they get transported to the sites, ie/universities, hotels etc. Really dont know how they do it, but this is what he tells me. But yes mate i agree, VIY was very good, but now is DEFINATELY not the time to be thinking about going on the course. I rang round EVERY plumber in the yellow pages and ALL were saying the same thing, on how bad the industry has been hit, and as the construction sites are slowing/closing down, the bigger firms are now having to look elsewhere and take on the jobs that the would have once turned down, hence taking a portion of the "smaller mans" pie.lol. Sad business.

 

[fuzzy]

but wrecked you have to do alot more than jsut 2 on-site visits to get the 6089? if you have had no work how have you got all the evidence required?

 

[johnmcginty]

Fuzzy , about 90 % of the 6089 can be transferred from the 6129 as I have done myself...some of the other stuff can be done in your own house or mates houses believe it or not like changing taps and simpler jobs you just need photographic evidence. looking back in heinsight I would have probably done the tiling course first as it is a fraction of the cost and actually gets you out there working building up a client base!

 

[wrecked_24_7]

Fuzzy , about 90 % of the 6089 can be transferred from the 6129 as I have done myself...some of the other stuff can be done in your own house or mates houses believe it or not like changing taps and simpler jobs you just need photographic evidence. looking back in heinsight I would have probably done the tiling course first as it is a fraction of the cost and actually gets you out there working building up a client base!

yes the VIy course covers most of 6089, its just transferring evidence which i am lil unsure about, but am under the impression we can get away with 2 on sight assesments if we carry out the assignments correctly. John, are you 100% sure what to do with transferal of evidence?? and chek ur inbox message plz mate. speek soon

 

[ProffesorPlumb]

whats a chase NOCN course? something they made up?

Lol, it's not made up.

They are now City & Guilds courses for domestic plumbers anyway.

John Cotton, you need to go the 6129 / 6089 route (level 2 & 3) to get your gas quals. Or train to become a 'gas fitter' where you will bypass the usual 6129 route, but only be qualified in piping up gas to appliances - nothing more.

Either way, to get gas quals, you need to have work experience in order to get CORGI registered.

 

[fuzzy]

Fuzzy , about 90 % of the 6089 can be transferred from the 6129 as I have done myself...some of the other stuff can be done in your own house or mates houses believe it or not like changing taps and simpler jobs you just need photographic evidence. looking back in heinsight I would have probably done the tiling course first as it is a fraction of the cost and actually gets you out there working building up a client base!

No you dont 'transfer' evidence as such. the 6129 is the bulk of the 6089 course but you still need 4 on-site visits, if you read the nvq port folio it shows you that certain things must be assessed on-site. There is quite alot of write ups to do also.

If a photograph looks 'set up' the assessor should be questioning the authenticity of the evidence.

you can do a direct 6089, you would still need to do most of the 6129 but you would only get one cert.

 

[johnmcginty]

Thanks Fuzzy ,Yes you are right about the photos , I am taking about 15 photos on every job I do from start to finish. I only meant to say "transfered" as I physically did it in about an hour to my 6089 portfolio . You are also right about the write ups though it just reminds me of school homework as it were so not too difficult. However it is I am about 99% sure only two onsite assessments which covers all the work to be signed off, I belive two bathroom suite installation so long as all the pipework is new and first fix replaced , as I had a lecture on exactly how to do it. Any NVQ assessors out there want to input please ?

 

[fuzzy]

a lad on site did his nvq last year and needed 4 visits, maybe it depends on what they see, i suppose they could say 1 visit was am and one pm?

if your taking 15 photos per job you will well have enough, shouldnt be too much. i got the lad to put in extra witnes statements and drawings, he had a strong PF when finished

 

[wrecked_24_7]

Hi Im looking into starting my own plumbing business, but am having problems with the cashflow forecast. With any business , judging possible earnings etc is very difficult, I was wondering wether anyone had done a cashflow forecast of their own, and if possible I could have a look at it, or any info to help me would be great. Obviosuly work isnt going to roll in immediately so I do believe the first months will be quiet , but if there are any educated guess on cashflow forecasts or ANY ANY ANY help of info please please get in touch

 

[secret squirrel]

if you send me a private message with an e-mail address i will send you a cash flow forecast. I did it for people on my course and they thought it was very good

 

[david williams]

i take issue with your suposition that most of us old plumbers would have trouble with all the new regulatins and new technoligy we are still in the game because we never stop learning.that is what a good plumber does.most fast track plumbers go self employed because plumbing companies will not employ them because you do not know enougth about plumbing.about 50% of my work is going round putting other peoples work right.the training companies are only intrested in your course money they know you will strugle for work when you leave

 

[malc]

someone mentioned earlier `direct 6089` is there such a thing ?
can you get nvq2 without going through a training center if you got 6129 level2 ?