Training to be a Plumber/Tiler/Plaster

xlt_hunter

Okay, its a tall order at the moment - but now approaching 25 years old and I ought to be have some sort of job sercuity. Since moving to the Lincolnshire area some 7 years ago next month, finding settling down in jobs are a real pain and sole detorying and I need some help. In these 7 years I have done:

• Trainee Accountant - no support! & boredom!
• 2 IT Support roles - both made redunent! (sod it - I am brilliant at PC work)
• QA work (Food Firms) x3 - left these due to poor wages in the region of £14k
• HGV driving - sacked 1 (accident), 1 due to bullying on EU/UK rules, other 2 moving on to better pay - as if!
• Now in a IT excel database role - temp contract running out next month
• and have been on JSA twice - its not nice at all!

I have even put out ads in the local paper for 2 months to the tune of £75 to advertist my IT skills in PC repair - and only got 3 paying customers (not enough to cover the advert costs)

So - now I am stuck, I have my IT skills, so I could go back and learn to do website design on php again. I have my HGV License (C and C+E) - but noone will touch me due to the bump and my age/2 year driving rule (due to insurance reasons), I have my Certs in Food Hygiene and HACCP controls (but the food firms are some 30-40 miles away now). But there is nothing in this area that comes anywhere near the local wage average of £26k! (according to the local paper) even in fact everywhere the best wage appears to be only £6-7 per hour and its annoying! and its strecting my budgets (mortgage and loan)

To be honest I am tempted in to get my business head on and try again but with a twist.. I would like to go into Plumbing/Tiling and Plastering (nice little mix) and in the quiet months while I getting underway I can use the HGV license with the agents to get some income in, same for web designing - I can do Tiling (this is easy! - but could do with a advanced aspect to make it more professional, I have done 2-3 bathrooms for friends/family and they are happy with job gone)

I have search around at the plumbing courses out there are to the tune of £3-4k for the courses!! and even some low as £1500 - I am so tempted, but the way things are going I would need to be corgi cert.. so I would like to know what are the current paths to take to aim for corgi cert in plumbing?

Really I would need to get plumbing sorted first, then do Tiling and then look into plastering - but I don't know where to turn to - any advice please!

Help

Nile

Hello xlt hunter

I'll move your thread to the 'Employment and Jobseeking' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

LittleVoice

xlt_hunter wrote: »

. . .

I have my HGV License (C and C+E) - but noone will touch me due to the bump and my age/2 year driving rule (due to insurance reasons)
. . .
while I getting underway I can use the HGV license with the agents to get some income in

How do these two statements work together?


I have search around at the plumbing courses out there are to the tune of £3-4k for the courses!! and even some low as £1500 - I am so tempted, but the way things are going I would need to be corgi cert.. so I would like to know what are the current paths to take to aim for corgi cert in plumbing?

Be very careful in paying for such courses. You need to be sure of a job at the end of it - and a job which pays decently and lasts for more than a couple of months. If a commercial organisation is involved, ask if you can speak with "graduate" of their course.

Contact CORGI regarding any accredited training.
Really I would need to get plumbing sorted first, then do Tiling and then look into plastering - but I don't know where to turn to - any advice please!

You said that you were OK with Tiling. Use that as a way of getting a job with a firm.

Look for local IAG (Information Advice and Guidance) provider. You probably qualify for at least one free appointment with an adviser.

Please see my comments above.

Buster_Danog

CORGI are only for gas really. I believe there is a trade association for plumbers though. I got an apprenticeship at 27 by ringing around the yellow pages, but that was unpaid with only two days working per week. I am no longer doing that by the way.

I don't know what else to recommend, but £6 or £7 seems to be the going rate when you have not worked your way up the ladder in any given job.

Be careful of those courses. A lot of them want you in and out the door in a few months when in fact it takes years to learn a trade. They will throw you in at the deep end and let you drown.

Iffy_Wallet

Have you thought about trained to be an electrician. Due to a change in laws, a lot more elctricians are required.

"Electrical Installation City & Guilds 2330 Technical Certificate" takes two years full time at college. I'd guess that after the first year, you could easily find an employer willing to turn your experience into an apprenticeship.

IT has been dire since 2001, when the government did its best to encourage as much work to get outsourced to Indian companies. Now they are twittering about "watch out for India and China". Pity they didn't think of that in 2001.

Web work is fun, but it you've got php/mysql skills you find some idiot demanding asp skills. get that and they'll demand .net skills. Get that and they'll demand java skills. They'll all demand javascript and Flash skills, and if you have any they'll say where's your Photoshop experience. If you have any, they'll say they want scripting skills, not design skills. And so it goes on. You can develop some great sites using LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL Php), but try telling that to the bosoes in the Human Remains department.

CAT5 cabling can be quite lucrative if you manage to set up some business for yourself. But the quest to get some viable business going can be quite uphill. I suspect that in a few years, if everything goes wireless, cabling may be a dead end. Whereas wiring mains electricity is always going to be "Live" (excuse the pun).

Most companies these days are incredible money grabbers and don't want to invest in apprenticeships. They also seem very quick to offload anybody the minute they no longer need them. And quite a few are tempted to skirt around the edges of redundancy laws to get rid of their more expensive staff, and replace them with 'fresh out of college' kids.

One company that is currently offering apprenticeships is BT:
https://www.bt.com/apprentice

All applications are done online, and the application window on this site is open from 5th February until the 31st May (although don't leave it too late or you might be disappointed).

I'm rushing towards 50, and don't see the fun in the popular myth that "everyone will have about five to ten careers in their lifetime". One you get much past 25, not many companies want to invest time or money in you.

I would suggest getting a trade that you can do with your hands. They are very hard to outsource. And if it involves a certificate, then even better. It gives you a sporting chance of taking yourself elsewhere in Europe in a few years if this country crumbles any more.

You may also have some success with a combination of methods:
eg part time tiling, learn a bit of plastering. Part time college for eg sparky. (I think that Corgi gas status would probably take you 3 years - check it out on Google). And throw in a bit of web work and PC mainting, in your spare time.

Good luck.

As a footnote: The local retraining schemes around here used to run a great web techie course. Then several years ago, the government pulled the plug on the funding and it closed down.

Iffy_Wallet

There is a list of apprenticeships at http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk

unfortunately, even they refer to :

Young people - What next?

Want to find out what Apprenticeships are available in your area? Fill out our form and we'll contact you.

What happens if you're middle aged and want to retrain. (You've had it).

And maybe even xlt hunter is getting "long in the tooth" at 25.

PS: learnDirect offer some links (don't know if any good or not) here

Buster_Danog

Iffy_Wallet wrote: »

Web work is fun, but it you've got php/mysql skills you find some idiot demanding asp skills. get that and they'll demand .net skills. Get that and they'll demand java skills. They'll all demand javascript and Flash skills, and if you have any they'll say where's your Photoshop experience. If you have any, they'll say they want scripting skills, not design skills. And so it goes on. You can develop some great sites using LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL Php), but try telling that to the bosoes in the Human Remains department.

Brilliant post. I have been thinking of graphic and web design, but with all those millions of applications there is just no clear guide on where to even start. Add to that the fact that the bandwagon has left town and anyone trying to get on board will be playing catchup.

By the way, I thought BT was only upto 24 years of age. They usually are.

xlt_hunter

That is a excellent 2 post Iffy_Wallet - yes I am coming close to 25 and have been in so many roles (itchy feet?) I can't hold them for more than 2.5-3 years with a good employer.

PC work is my strong point but as you said its has gone down hill and fast, used to work for two firms (IT roles) that did CAT5e cabling and that was a case of fighting above a over crowded market. And with the new advances towards wireless I think CAT5e will be dead as a dodo in the coming years

I did think about been a sparky... but my problem would be - who is going to take on a 24 year old - and I can't take less than £1000 per month (after Tax/Ni) to cover bills and "Live" In fact it would be £920 after tax/ni so the extra £80 would be for me - shame really. Now I would work god 50 hours aweek in a thing I like - and yes I am a hands on person (did electric engineering work for 3 years - but there is nothing like that up here ) - so BT could be the best route?

Iffy_Wallet

Good luck xlt hunter. Just start an application on the BT site. You'll find out soon enough if there is anything stopping your dreams. Likewise, I think an employer would respect your maturity at 24 for being an electrician so I wouldn't give up. However, I'm sure that training at college part time, and then working as well to earn enough, would take some time and some strong motivation.

Franco78, feel free to send me a PM if you want any tips about getting started with web issues. It might be good fun to learn a bit. However, I wouldn't hold you breath when it comes to getting employment from it.

peter999

Iffy_Wallet wrote: »

Web work is fun, but it you've got php/mysql skills you find some idiot demanding asp skills. get that and they'll demand .net skills. Get that and they'll demand java skills. They'll all demand javascript and Flash skills, and if you have any they'll say where's your Photoshop experience. If you have any, they'll say they want scripting skills, not design skills. And so it goes on. You can develop some great sites using LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL Php), but try telling that to the bosoes in the Human Remains department.

I'm rushing towards 50, and don't see the fun in the popular myth that "everyone will have about five to ten careers in their lifetime". One you get much past 25, not many companies want to invest time or money in you.

Excellent post.
Basically some's up the IT industry, always chasing the next in demand skill.

peter999

peter999

xlt_hunter wrote: »

...I would like to go into Plumbing/Tiling and Plastering (nice little mix) and in the quiet months while I getting underway I can use the HGV license with the agents to get some income in, same for web designing - I can do Tiling (this is easy! - but could do with a advanced aspect to make it more professional, I have done 2-3 bathrooms for friends/family and they are happy with job gone)

I have search around at the plumbing courses out there are to the tune of £3-4k for the courses!! and even some low as £1500 - I am so tempted, but the way things are going I would need to be corgi cert.. so I would like to know what are the current paths to take to aim for corgi cert in plumbing?

Really I would need to get plumbing sorted first, then do Tiling and then look into plastering - but I don't know where to turn to - any advice please!

Your problem doesn't have an easy solution.
Getting a trade was always a good answer, but not anymore with EU migration & cheap labour coming to the UK.

https://www.diynot.com/forums/ is a good website full of trades people/plumbers, if you need good advice.

See following threads.

Fast-track Plumbing Training
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=109362

Training for a trade later in life...
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=393562

peter999