Opinions on tile training course needed please

[madtrowel]

Hi there

I'm not currently in the construction industry and am thinking of a career change and doing a course in wall and floor tiling. There seem to be lots of training companies out there who offer intensive courses and I've narrowed it down to two who offer 6-week residential courses; Step to Training who have a course in Cardiff and Bentleys who are in Dunstable. They're both around the £4k mark but Bentleys request the full amount up front and state they don't refund.

Obviously I'm a wee bit cautious about parting with so much money without a bit of research so I'm wondering if anyone out there has experience of either or has heard anything about them?

I'd really like some full and frank opinions, but if that would be deemed inappropriate for the board
Many thanks!

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[worpler]

The courses by PITT seem to be the best respected....one includes about 700 quid worth of tools too....they run a tiling forum too

tileforums.com

 

[madtrowel]

Many thanks for the reply.

To be honest I've already visited the PITT centre and found that they really weren't offering what I was after. I'd think they are probably good if you've never tiled in your life but I'm already a pretty competent DIY tiler and was really after a course that would teach more complex techniques and allow practice with tricky materials (marble, slate, terracotta etc). Also it seems pretty pointless to include tools as part of the cost. It's always wise to shop around for tools because you can pretty much guarantee that training centres do not offer the cheapest price...they merely offer convenience.

 

[Zampa]

Look on the CITB (construction industry training board) web site or ring them and ask for your local college who do tiling.....youl find its much cheaper some are free.

When I worked for them we ised to send trainees to Cardiff....

There are only a couple of places in the UK that do it...I think Birmingham is one.

Full and Frank opinion on the courses and prices you have been quoted....ok..... they sound like they are taking the f!!king p!ss if you ask me!.

I would steer clear of those type of courses myself.