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Best Part-time route to become a plumber

Hello all,

I have highlighted my questions within the body of this post

It may sound mad, however after going through university and having a few years in the field earning >£200 per day as an IT contractor in my mid 20's, I am questioning whether i want to pursue my career in IT or to become a qualified plumber - which I wanted to do when i left school but ended up going down the academic route!

My problem is that I am used to having enough money to get by comfortably and the obvious route of an apprenticeship would only bring in ~£150 per week - which isn't enough to cover my bills.

As such, realistically, i'm going to have to study at nights and weekends. I have been told by one college that i'd also need to work on-the-job to be qualified - If so, would me volunteering to do this on a Saturday be enough whilst I study?

I have phoned around many local colleges but I keep receiving conflicting information regarding the best route to go down, to become a fully qualified plumber.

I have read many articles stating that the 6 week courses are in fact a scam, and they do not give you the necessary qualification to be deemed a fully qualified plumber.

One route I believe I could go down is:
L2 Diploma (40 weeks) > L3 Diploma (40 weeks) > L2 NVQ > L3 NVQ

However i'm unsure about the time it'd take to pass the NVQ's and if that is the best order to take the training/NVQ - does anybody know?

There may even be a better route that would be suited?

What does the NVQ comprise of?
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