training for the reccently unemployed

lellypants

Hi all,
My Fiance lost his job the end of October last year but has only been claiming job seekers for 2 weeks (the company he was working for kept promising work would be coming in soon)

He'd love to train to be a plumber and has seen courses advertised in the local college that means you can train in heating and plumbing in a week but it costs £1.5k.

Because he hasn't offically been unemployed all that long he's not entitled to any grants that we are aware of and there is no way we can afford that.

Oh I forgot to mention that he's 30, some grants seem to be age orientated.

Any body know of anything that may help?
Thanks
Lesley

LittleVoice

lellypants wrote: »

Hi all,
He'd love to train to be a plumber and has seen courses advertised in the local college that means you can train in heating and plumbing in a week but it costs £1.5k.

This doesn't sound like a reputable college. £1.5K for a one-week course!!!!! You might learn how to fix a washer and clear a U-bend in that time but you wouldn't be in a position to make a living as a qualified plumber!!!

bookduck

There is another recent thread about wanting to be a plumber on this site.

Personally spending £1.5k is expensive and I would question how much I would learn in 7 days compared to 2-3 year course one day a week and supervised throughout the years by a qualified plumber.

BigSteveLondon

There's lots of info online about changing careers, but I also spoke to various people, including a Learning Advisor from DirectGov that was excellent.
I think the price you have been quoted is a bit of a con.

Info on courses all over the country + any funding available:
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/

Info on grants etc:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/FinancialHelpForAdultLearners/DG_10033133

Hope some of this helps.

Fishcakes_2

Would you like someone to fix your heating system who had only just spent one week in college? This is crazy and basically sounds like a complete scam. He'd be better off asking to work for free (funding himself to the tune of £1500) with a local plumber for a few weeks to shadow him and see if he likes the job and he'd probably learn a lot more in the process.