Adult Career Training With UK Plumbing Courses
Increase Your Income By Becoming a Certified Plumber
Whatever the state of the national economy, people need good plumbers. Construction sites may offer fewer opportunities, but domestic work is as buoyant as ever. How many times do you hear about the number of calls someone had to make to find a plumber who was free to stop their shower from leaking?
There's also loads of work to be had putting in downstairs loos, new showers, en-suites etc. as people are moving less and up-grading more. So if you're looking for adult retraining, a plumbing course could be just the thing for you.
Grab Your Free Plumbing Research Document...
Whatever your starting point, once you've picked up the skills you need and got the appropriate certifications, you can start to make money. To help you gain a better understanding of the different training paths available, we've written a very useful e-book that you can access without charge. It will make sense of all the course features offered by the various plumbing trainers.
We recommend you download the book first and take time to get to grips with its contents. And then read this feature again, and visit some of the college websites listed here. If you Bookmark this website (press Ctrl D) you'll be able to retrieve it instantly.
Control Your Destiny...
A lot of people decide to get into plumbing so they can become self-employed and control their own destiny. Generally speaking most newly trained plumbers over thirty go for domestic work that they can take care of by themselves. It makes a lot of sense when you look at how much work is available, and how much money can be made when you've built your reputation.
Try to build a good rapport with your clients - they're more likely to speak well of you to others if you do. Your training will give you the technical know-how, but it's also important to use good people skills whenever you're around others. You just don't know where the next job's coming from... It's amazing how much work is lost through sloppy attitudes and general discourtesy.
As a rule, those working for commercial plumbers will put in around 37-40 hours, Mon-Fri only. But if you're going down the domestic route, those hours should be a tad more flexible. Householders are often out at work themselves, and plumbers who are prepared to work some evenings and weekends can significantly boost their income.
A Good and Secure Income
If security and a decent income are high on your agenda, you must have skills that everybody needs. Good plumbers fit that bill. Emergency work makes you a hero, and everybody loves a new bathroom or kitchen so each job can be really satisfying. No two days are the same - you're not stuck in the same place day in day out, and if you don't want to take a job on, you don't have to!
To be competitive but still make decent money you'll need to get good at quoting accurately for jobs. Naturally this means budgeting in all your own costs as well as labour and materials. You'll get into the swing of things once you've done a few. Some of the more commercial plumbing courses will teach you about business practices.
Which Is Best For Me?
You can take City & Guilds training for various plumbing courses in both further education colleges and commercial colleges. Students leaving school will typically go to college full-time followed by work experience and NVQ's. However, those who are a little older usually prefer to do their training part-time alongside their current job.
This is why the various plumbing training companies offer courses that students can go through in their own time. Mature students then will generally pay more up front for commercial training courses, but fine-tune their training to suit the work they'll get into.
Supplementary Skills
Your basic training will cover aspects such as hot and cold water systems, sanitation, health and safety and central heating. It's also worth thinking about taking some extra courses so you can do more of a job yourself. Popular courses cover domestic electrical work, tiling and plastering, unvented hot water storage systems, kitchen fitting, bathroom fitting, energy efficiency, water regulations and of course gas.
You don't have to take everything at once, but add more skills as you go along. Your work will be more evenly spread all year round. You'll avoid having to fit your work in with other trades people, and present a cleaner more streamlined result for the householder. If you're looking to change careers and want reliable, well-paid on-going work, this could well be the right choice for you.
