Fancy Learning a Trade Skill? Why Not Try a Plumbing Course?

There will always be a nationwide demand for qualified plumbers and heating engineers. Although it's harder to find commercial work, there's a great deal of domestic business to pick up. How often do we hear about the trouble someone had finding a plumber to mend their heating system? And as fewer people are moving house, more and more choose to upgrade their existing homes with new kitchens and bathrooms. Consequently if you're considering a career change, you might well find that becoming a professional plumber fits the bill!

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Whatever your starting point, once you've picked up the skills you need and got the appropriate certifications, you can start to make money.

We've put together a very comprehensive free E-Book that will tell you everything you need to know about the different training routes into industry. There are many training companies offering plumbing courses in the UK, so you'll find the information really useful when comparing the benefits of each one.

Give yourself enough time to get up to date with all the facts in the book.

And then return to this page to refer to any of the training companies offering plumbing courses. If you Bookmark this website (press Ctrl D) you'll be able to retrieve it instantly.

Run Your Own Business

A career change into the plumbing industry is often prompted by the desire to have a small self-run business. In reality the bulk of new career plumbers enter the domestic market working predominantly by and for themselves. This is hardly surprising when you realise how much work is out there, and the kind of money that decent plumbers can make.

Try to build a good rapport with your clients - they're more likely to speak well of you to others if you do. A training college will cover all your trade skills, but your attitude and manners will be down to you. You just don't know where the next job's coming from... It's amazing how much work is lost through sloppy attitudes and general discourtesy.

Commercial plumbers will usually work on weekdays only, typically 8am to 5pm. But if you're going down the domestic route, those hours should be a tad more flexible. If you're willing to work some evenings and weekends on emergency jobs and quotations, householders will soon get to know you can be trusted.

Ongoing Security of Income

s a qualified plumber you can have a job for life, which will provide security and a good income for you and your family. Emergency work makes you a hero, and everybody loves a new bathroom or kitchen so each job can be really satisfying. You won't be bored with repetitive work that just becomes the same old thing. Each day will present you with new and interesting challenges.

Plumbers who work for themselves must get to grips with doing quotations that win contracts at the right price. So as well as taking your time into consideration, you'll have to think about all your other costs as well. Once you've done a few, it will all become very routine. Some of the commercial training centres will give guidance on this.

What's The Next Step?

Whether you opt to attend an FE college full-time, or study part-time with a commercial company, you'll need to qualify in certain C&G certifications. Teenagers straight out of school usually aim to combine a technical college course with commercial employment to complete NVQ certifications.

Older students generally enrol on part time courses and study around their existing commitments. This is where the private training companies score best, as they offer flexible programmes with courses that will cover the needs of the domestic plumbing market. Even though students in commercial colleges train part-time, they can gain knowledge quickly by focusing on the level of training needed for the domestic work they'll be doing.

Ancillary Training

Plumbing courses will cover the various skills that you'll need to work on water systems and central heating etc. You'll also be able to qualify in supplementary skills which will allow you to take on bigger jobs yourself. You could get qualified to work on unvented hot water storage systems or water regulations or gas.

You don't have to take everything at once, but add more skills as you go along. You'll attract a bigger customer base and keep more of the profits for yourself. You won't have to work around plasterers or electricians timetables if you can do small jobs yourself.

Ultimately, if you're an adult looking to retrain for a new plumbing career, your best route is probably via a multi-skill set of courses with a private training company.