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I got this post thru another site and through it mite be a good post for here, has we all know there a few companies offering short plumbing courses. So I through is would be nice to post the question and reply on here.
Not to sure if this is the kind of question you pose in this forum, sorry if its not, but ill give it a go anyway.
Im shortly due to leave the army after 22 years service and need to re-trade and plumbing really does take my fancy. Having no plumbing exp whatsoever i have been looking around the net for courses to do, and there are lots of firms out there willing to train beginners. Can anyone help with ths…. If i conducted a 10 week crash compact plumbing course which costs approx £6000 and after successful compleation gained the following quals City & Guilds 6129 technical certificate and City & Guilds 6089 NVQ2
My questions are this
1.what do these quals actually mean in the plumbing world?
2.Would i have enough experiece in plumbing to start working?
3.Would i be employable
4.And the big one…would it all be worth it, by which i mean spending all that cash trying to get qual up – or is it just big firms offering to train people up they take your money and in return you get a couple of certificates that mean in the plumbing buisness absolutely nothing?Any other help or advice woul be greatful.
Ok where to start with this.
City & Guilds 6129 technical certificate and City & Guilds 6089 NVQ 2?
NVQ2 Mechanical Engineering Services Plumbing level 2 6019/02 is the conman one for plumbers, we all did it at college and takes 2 years part time.
A technical certificate is not worth having, it’s just the paperwork side and no practical work.
You have to be careful now, the main problem with the certs is they all changed in 2004, before you just did the NQV 2 and did class work in the morning and workshop in the afternoons 1 day a week at your local Tec college, the rest of the week you worked has a plumbers mate.
I have been told my current trainee/waste of space/ tea boy that all practical tests now have to be done in the work place and few have to been watched an NVQ assessor at £120 ago, the rest have supervise by a plumber and video.
These short courses are ok but unlike the rest of the plumbers you don’t have 2 years work behind you and not learn a few tricks to get you out of trouble.
But I have work with a few people who have done these types of courses and they work has pipe fitters on building sites with pays about £13 per hour. I think its ok for that, all the stuff is new and your not stuck dealing with crumbling walls and non-metric pipes.
I am sure you would not be able to deal with domestic plumbing with only 60 days training.
Them main problem with the training programs is that they always give you up-to-date stuff to fit and when you are facing with ½ inch steel pipes, you don’t have a glue.
Its still easer to do CORGI, all you have to do is prove that you have worked with a Corgi registered plumber for 6 months and then take the test which cost about £3,000.
But before you pay out for this course have a word with JIB and ask them about the certs before you pay for it. If they say that the certs are not good, you can’t get a CSCS card and can’t get onto a building site.
A remember you are still going to need about £300 worth of tool before you can start work.
Hope it helps.
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