Any electricians/plumber answer my questions??

Legacy_user

Hi
I'm looking at re training for something else and I'm interested in an electrician or plumber. Already have NVQ in another trade but have an interest in one of these also.
There is so much on the net re these but as usual there is so much and they all offer the world lol!
Can anyone explain where to start, reputable colleges (evening) etc.... I'm based in Colchester so the rough starting point is there. Hope you can help or ideas, I've googled and googled so now looking for real answers:j. Thanks all. :j

fenwick458

the electrical trade is not what it used to be, the wages are not that good anymore and are looking like they will be getting worse. the big contracting companys are de-skilling the trade by paying unskilled labourers to do most of the work, and just getting electricians to sign off the work at the end.
it also takes a long time and alot of money to get trained up (properly) and by properly i mean do a technical certificate at college and work in the electrical industry whilst completing an NVQ over a period of 3-4 years. don't bother with one of those 5 week fast track courses they are a joke, nobody will take you seriously unless you are time served.

Glass_Half_Empty??

I am at college at the minute and you will struggle now to find anyone willing to take you on at college as the new city and guilds course requires you to be in the industry to complete it. I am lucky in that I got on mine before it stopped, and although they have extended the time and you can now go on it I have been told that colleges probably wont bother running it through lack of interest as the government now dont fund anyone over 19. I had to pay for the level 2 and hope to complete it in June/July. Whether or not it will be a worth while step in getting a better life remains to be seen but it's looking like it is going to be more difficult then ever to get my foot in the door even after having the level 2. You can of course do a fast track for thousands and get no real experience and not be respected on completion. There is due to be a new tram and a new shopping centre built in Nottingham in the next few years so I am holding on hope that by the time I have the level 2 and 3 and the other quals I can gain my NVQ while working on these projects but I still dont think the chances are high. Every industry seems to be on its backside but I am only 29 and a HGV driver so even though sparkies wages arent going up they are still considerably more then I am on now and the life will be better for me and my family at the end "if" I make it. That said there are success stories of blokes who have done it in the last few years and are making a good living.
Get yourself over to http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk/ and register, have a read, say hello if you like. It can be pretty grim reading but I hope we arent in a recession forever, and when we recover I may be able to transfer trades and have a crack at it. You need a good understanding of maths to get through the course but its been thoroughly enjoyable so far just wish I had done it 10 years ago
Good luck.

brightonman123

the jobclub i was on had a poster called 'building futures' - hands on training in various trades, with some sort of qual at the end..

think it was mainly aimed at school leavers, though?

fenwick458

i think that because too many people are choosing to be electricians or plumbers as they have heard all the stories of national shortages and earn an easy 50k that its crippling the trades. at my college 18 months ago the stats for the electricians level 2 course were absolutely shocking, something like 50 students on level 2, and then only 10 returning the following year to do level 3 (because you needed a placement to do level 3)
so were are all these extra students that don't have a full time placement that enables them to continue onto level 3? if your keen to be an electrician and optomistic you'd like to think they have given up hope and jumped trades so you might have a chance, but if you are pessimistic (glass half empty?!) then you might wonder if they are all actively seeking work, some of them managing to get a bit of experiance from temporary agency work, or working with friends etc.. and possibly doing extra electrical quals, and then they are all still out there, trying to get onto what is considered the best thing when you are traing as an electrician, an apprenticeship or adult improver scheme(both rare as f***). and they will all be well above you in the pecking order, severely reducing your chances of getting one of these!
at the building firm where i sub contract, the plasterer earns more than the plumber and the joiner respectively. this speaks volumes; because there isn't many plasterers about that are any good, he can charge what he likes. similarly sparks/plumbers are 10 a penny, so it's harder to get good wages

System

WOW!
Thanks for all your honest input. Really apprieciate it. I'll go back to the drawing board, thank you all :0)

brutus1983

if your really interested in becoming an electrician or plumber to get site experience your virtually going have to offer to work for free ive seen sparks with 15 to 20 years experience stacking shelfs in tescoe through lack of work of poor wages

also ive seen sparks jobs offered out for less than 10ph this is where you have to supplie your own van tools and test equipment

im a spark and i want out of the trade with being 28 maybe theres still hope for me

sumguy

Im a plumber and qualified 8 years ago.... I had a stint working domestic plumbing for a one man band whilst I qualified then went on site earning ok money for a while.... but it soon dried up over the years... all the price work wanted you to do a full install from scratch, first fix, second fix and finals.... boiler, 10 rads, bathroom, ensuite.... all pipe work, test and leave in working order all for about 500 quid.... by the time i left the industry last year... gas safe, old corgi registered plumbers wanted by agencies for £8 per/hour. Mental.... now I have a full time job out of the building industry with the one sector that will always have work.... drug abuse!!! Now I just do plumbing part time for spending money.... dont waste your time or money.... do something like engineering.... or be a mechanic. Good look! Chin up and remember.... your dads era had it all.... cheap properties and jobs for life!!

brutus1983

sumguy wrote: »

Im a plumber and qualified 8 years ago.... I had a stint working domestic plumbing for a one man band whilst I qualified then went on site earning ok money for a while.... but it soon dried up over the years... all the price work wanted you to do a full install from scratch, first fix, second fix and finals.... boiler, 10 rads, bathroom, ensuite.... all pipe work, test and leave in working order all for about 500 quid.... by the time i left the industry last year... gas safe, old corgi registered plumbers wanted by agencies for £8 per/hour. Mental.... now I have a full time job out of the building industry with the one sector that will always have work.... drug abuse!!! Now I just do plumbing part time for spending money.... dont waste your time or money.... do something like engineering.... or be a mechanic. Good look! Chin up and remember.... your dads era had it all.... cheap properties and jobs for life!!

the good old days where life was affordable and also a decent wage

6 years ago i was always busy out at 4 monday morning and back home at 11 at night on a friday night virtually every week now i have to count myself lucky if i get 4 days a week the goverment has taken 1 giant dump on the construction agency now parasite scum like has and other schemes especially the nic are now trying to bleed it dry

tigeress289

On the plumbing front, if you are experienced, there is always work. A close friend completed the NVQ course on plumbing and did not have a clue when I offered him work. The joke is that on paper he was more qualified than I am? Unless you combine the course with hands on experience, working on a site or for another plumber, you will not last 5 minutes. Yes the crazy days of high prices and plenty of work have gone, but good tradesmen will always be in work if they want it. Most courses are a total waste of time and the only people who benefit are those running them. The good news is that, the days of the COWBOYS are starting to payoff for the real tradesmen now as their work starts to fall apart. If you want to learn, work with a tradesman. Good Luck

insearchofutopia2

I had a lad who had done a 2yr nvq joinery course. Absolutely useless- the course not the lad, he wasn't even allowed to use machinery at the college so wasn't familiar with any of machines in the workshop! He did pass a section on carrying glass, protective clothing, material handling, and loads and loads of health and safety though. If we hadn't signed him up as an apprentice he was pretty much unemployable other than a sweeper up. Everything he learnt wasn't relevant to actually working with your hands. The course must have been written by some desk jockey somewhere.
I think these courses need a good looking at by the people who will then employ the students. Then the employers can get the people they need and the students aren't given a false impression about what the job entails.
Get some advice from others who have done the courses your interested in otherwise you might end up with the bit of paper that says you can when really you can't