Plumbing Courses - Any good?

[FredFlintstone]

Morning all,

I'm about to be made redundant and figure it's the perfect opportunity for a career change. I've had enough of the office environment (and working for others, lining their pockets) and renovating my house over the last few months has made me realise how much I enjoy such work.

I did a one week plastering course a few months ago, not so I could become a plasterer but so I could tackle plastering jobs in my own home at my own pace. It taught me skills that I could have learned through trial and error but in a much shorter time and I now know I have the right skills to do a decent job but I'm not fast enough to make a proper living out of just plastering and would also like to diversify my skills. The speed will come with practice but practice takes time, which is something I don't have a huge amount of.

So what I'm wondering is, are the two / four week plumbing courses any good? Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting to come out of a course with enough knowlege to tackle any job. I know there is a limit to how much can be taught, with the rest coming from experience. I know there'd be jobs I look at and think it's wrong for me but what I'm wondering is whether these courses can teach enough to allow someone to become self employed in the real world?

I'm a very quick learner with a practical approach. I've tackled some plumbing tasks such as adding radiators to a CH system, moving radiators, moving water and waste for a kitchen sink and fitting a bathroom suite. All of the above was done with no previous experience, just research and logic. I've used end feed, yorkshire and compression fittings.

What I'd be hoping to get from a course is additional knowlege on tasks along with tips and advice on the best way to tackle tasks and working practices etc. Whilst I may be able to do some plumbing tasks, tips from those with experience is invaluable and I feel that an intensive course may be able to help with this and teach me things that could save me time on jobs.

I figure that by diversifying my skills I can then start out on my own, building up business (which I know won't happen overnight) and gaining experience in both skills.

I know that many may advise against such courses because there's no substitute for experience and that apprenticeships are the way to go. However, that's difficult for someone with a family and financial commitments. So to anyone with such views, your opinions are welcomed but I'd ask that you bear in mind that I'm not expecting miracles, I'm just after more knowlege to give me the confidence to tackle small, simple jobs to start with in order to earn a modest living with a view to gaining more experience and eventually aiming for G&G and NVC qualifications.

Anyone who has done such a course and loved or hated it or found it useful or useless, please let me know.

It should also be noted that I'm not after earning a fast buck. I know the skills shortage is no longer and I know that it's hard work but I am genuinely interested in learning a trade and earning a modest living working for myself.

Cheers in advance for your opinions.

Fred.

 

[wonderb0y]

Why not..

i know several guys who started off doing a 4 week course and now booked up until march with new bathroom installations. if you have a bit of diy in you and are confident then go for it.

obviously like youve said you wont have the experience but you will have a better understanding and confidence, if its going to get you some basic qualifications then go for it.

then you could try and work along side an experienced plumber and gain some experiance on how jobs are tackled.

also if you do a short course you can always play around with what youve learnt at home, take rads off, play with taps, and ask your friends if they want any small jobs doing... instant experiance as every job is differant as all these guys can tell you.

 

[holty]

you ask any plumber and they will tell you, there still always learning the trade. the one thing about this trade is knowing what to do when a problem arises, for instance. i was knocking tiles off the wall with an sds and the towel rail that was being used as a heat leak off a direct cylinder suddenly decided to explode on the seems due to bad corrosion tried to turn the rad valves off guess what, both heads snapped, then the stop tap wouldnt work.but due to having an apprentiship and gaining experience i knew what to do but im sorry to say someone off a 4-6 week coarse will be running around like a headless chicken.just start off with little jobs for a while and dont throw yourself in the deep end. theres two books students use, heinnmann and r.d treloar.may be worth a while looking at these first to get a better understanding off what c&g teach from

 

[Mcfly1]

Yeh, go for it- I did a 4 week course and then went on my own (through not being able to get on with another plumber) my diy skills were non existent really because id never really done any. It can be hard work at the beginning but theres always an answer and after a few months figuring things out for yourself you'l be condifdent you can fix anything!

 

[kevplumb]

and after a few months figuring things out for yourself you'l be condifdent you can fix anything!

aye cos the customer is paying for your cock ups it's pratts like you that get the trade a bad name

 

[bster]

I cant possibly see how a 4 week course would prep someone enough to start up on there own straight away. Maybe on the cold water side and thats about it. IMHO

but good luck and try and get hold of the JTL plumbing NVQ 2 and 3 books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plumbing-NVQ-Technical-Certificate-Level/dp/0435401947

 

[corgiman]

if something seems to good to be true

then it probably is

 

[Nige F]

consider a franchise if you`ve got enough redundo £..........lining others pockets is not the prerogative of the white collared

 

[holty]

i think what people are saying is it takes the p@ss out of apprentices and plumbers who have had to do it the hard way. if everyone could do it in 4 weeks there will be no point in an apprenitiship. theres no quick way, like kevplumb said about mcfly1 its people like him who give decent plumbers a bad name thinking they know all about the trade in three months. bet you wouldnt try to pass yourself off as a sparky after four weeks.

 

[corgiman]

to be fair there are some aspects of the trade that can be learnt in four weeks

ballvalve changes etc

but if you are looking to be employed by someone or go on to the more lucrative areas of the business then save your cash cos these courses wont deliver

there is a good reason that CORGI, APHC IPHE ets label them ROGUE TRAINERS you know

 

[wilhelm]

correct corgiman "caveat emptor"

 

[FredFlintstone]

Thanks all for your comments.

I nice broad range of views there which is good.

I'm just completely undecided as to what I should do. Redundancy may or may not be decent £££ - I'll find out on Tuesday. I've got sod all liquid assets so if payment is poo then my only option will be to find another job. If it's reasonable then I can afford to take a bit of time off for training. But this really will only be a bit of time.

i think what people are saying is it takes the p@ss out of apprentices and plumbers who have had to do it the hard way. if everyone could do it in 4 weeks there will be no point in an apprenitiship. theres no quick way, like kevplumb said about mcfly1 its people like him who give decent plumbers a bad name thinking they know all about the trade in three months. bet you wouldnt try to pass yourself off as a sparky after four weeks.

Thanks Holty. Yeah, I figured that but IMHO it doesn't take the p!ss at all because ultimately I KNOW, for a fact, that a time served plumber or new plumber who's served an apprenticeship will be ultimately more knowlegeable than I would be after a short course. I would keep that thought with me and only tackle simple jobs to start, building up experience and effectively building up my knowlege slowly and with experience, possibly even working with other plumbers on larger jobs where I can do some of the simpler tasks and learn from others on larger ones.

Thanks again all for your replies.

Fred.

 

[noseall]

yeah go for it fred. take no notice of all these wrench monkeys, they all think they're some kind of demi-gods with magical powers.

if you can p*ss, you can plumb.

just be prepared for a few sleepless nights thats all.

 

[wonderb0y]

i think what people are saying is it takes the p@ss out of apprentices and plumbers who have had to do it the hard way. if everyone could do it in 4 weeks there will be no point in an apprenitiship. theres no quick way

I don't think anybody has said you will learn everything in 4 weeks, the courses are purly aimed to give a wide range of knowledge and then basically let you discover the rest either through trile and error or doing no more than capable.

everybodys going to make mistakes if you don't make mistake's you won't learn.


just remember righty tighty lefty loosy

 

[wilhelm]