PLUMBING GAS ELECTRICAL COURSES NATIONWIDE UK

CITY & GUILDS 6129 NVQ PLUMBING COURSES PART P

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How do I become a plumber? 

Whether it's retraining, gaining qualifications or simply being a late starter, finding the correct route to becoming a qualified plumber can be quite daunting, especially if you don't know where or who to turn to.

 

The traditional route to becoming a plumber has been through Further education colleges who offer recognised plumbing qualifications that you will need, but these days they are mostly over-subscribed and you might find it very difficult to successfully enrol on a recognised plumbing course with one.

Private plumbing training providers like UK One Training Solutions are becoming increasingly busy with an ever growing demand for plumbing training courses. Whilst UK One Training benefit from the inevitable over-spill generated from further education colleges there are other reasons why adult learners choose to take the fast track route to becoming a qualified plumber. 1. speed 2. convenience 3. Tailored Courses

The general perception of privately run centres is that the fast track route to become a plumber will cost a small fortune and to some extent that is probably true. Those that choose to enquire about plumbing course prices from the larger main stream plumbing training providers will soon find out that a City & Guilds 6129 Level 2 course can cost between £5,000 & £6,000 with essential qualifications like water Regulations and Part L Energy Efficiency offered as additional bolt-ons ramping up the steep prices even further.

For the vast majority of people wanting to enroll on one of these courses would mean taking out some sort of finance package to cover the course fees. A few training providers do offer 0% interest with deferred payments for 12 months, but the majority will use 3rd party finance companies to do the lending with interest rates around 19.9% Apr.

Signing up with a course provider with a business based on financing for sales can be risky. During the first part of 2010 there have been several well publicised closures of large plumbing & electrical training providers, such as Access 2 Trade Careers in Kidderminster who operated with a business model similar to this. Closures like this have struck a major blow to the new career hopes of hundreds of students before many of them had even opened a text book or picked up a spanner.

UK One Training Solutions in Halesowen, Birmingham and the Midland Construction College in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire have picked up the pieces and lifted the hopes of many of Access 2 Trade Careers former students offering tailored training courses to keep their dreams alive whilst at the same time offering employment to some of the highly regarded training staff that was also affected by Access 2 Trade Careers closure.

UK One Training Solutions are one of a small number of training providers that do not offer finance packages as a means to securing training course sales. Their unique selling point is simple. You will get more qualifications and practical experience but pay less. UK One Training solutions run the City & Guilds 6129 level 2 course and fees are generally £2995 + Vat and the course does includes the Water Regulations 1999 & Part L Certification at no extra cost. A free high quality toolkit is also included in the course price. Other incentives to enroll with them include discounted Part P Defined Scope Certification at £350. There are also other training providers that offer similarly priced course content and packages.

 

Training Provider Jargon & Things to look out for

Can’t find a plumbing course price list on their website? Why?

  • It’s not an admin error, it’s intentional
  • They might want you to be sitting down when they tell you the price
  • So it can’t be cheap
  • If the price was on show they know you wouldn’t bother picking up the phone to call them.
  • In their defence though, No price maybe, but there is a number to call so you can speak to one of their ‘professional plumbing career advisors’…How thoughtful of them.

 

Plumbing Career Advisor?

  • More commonly known as a Salesperson

 

Definition of a Salesperson?

  • An individual who represents and sells products and/or services for a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer… or training course provider.
  • In other words a person who will make your mind up for you and persuade you to spend all of your hard earned money with them.
  • A Trained professional, who fully understands what makes you tick, says the right things and then reels you in.

 

Units Towards?

  • The training provider probably hasn’t got the resources in place with competent enough staff to have the accreditation from an awarding body to offer the full award.

 

In House Certificate?

  • Probably means the training provider does not have the resources or staff in place to offer the minimum basic elements of a ‘unit towards’ let alone a formal recognised qualification. But you do end up with a colourful downloaded certificate from word 2003 with your name printed at the top. Well done, you were there!

 

No images of real students doing plumbing training on their website?

  • Maybe it’s an admission that rival training centres have far better facilities and are generally doing things far far better. The camera never lies.
  • In their defence though, Image is everything, right? So why would they want to spoil a colourful impressive website full of fake smiley faces with burnt walls and wonky pipe work with camera shy and poorly groomed students in the background?

 

Colourful Glossy Brochures, nice… But were you expecting plumbing course information? Course content and prices? You wanted to see what you will actually get for your money and what you will be doing on the course if you do sign up, Right?

 

So, Beware if the brochure mostly portrays the following theme...

  • Is it full of close-in quirkey angled soft focussed face shots only? With people smiling and smiling and smiling? Oh, that woman, that smiling woman bending that 15mm tube, the one standing next to the other smiling woman soldering... Um, come on, we all know she’s the receptionist..
  • Constant references of £££’s $$$’s and scanned news paper ‘type’ cuttings with constant references to… Career Earnings?
  • Where are the students training?  What do they do? Show me!
  • Pictures of branded tradesmen out and about doing staged jobs?
  • Why is there a picture of a plumber carrying a toolbox up someones garden path? Being led there by any chance?
  • Does it mostly focus on becoming ‘self employed, be your own boss?’…

 

If it sounds to good to be true? Ask yourself a few questions. Where are the students training? Why isn’t everyone a plumber? Why are the plumbing trainers turning up for work on the bus or in a banged up van?