Anybody know anything about or have experience ofthe Open Learning Centre International Plumbing Courses? Depending on your requirements you can achieve C & G Level 2 with the option of taking it forward level 2 NVQ. Is it worth it, will it teach me anything I don't know already (basic knowledge) and will it compromise Part P for any related electrical work carried out on any work I do?
Looking for new direction with a view to leaving current employment. Not interested in the tosh written recently in the press re big earning potential. Just being forced to retire at 55 and will need to continue working till I drop dead (according to the government).
Am I having a laugh thinking about 'retraining' ? Any comments or suggestions much appreciated.

Hello Charlie Pie

I would steer well clear of these type Plumbing Courses,my old mate is a Mechanical Engineering (plumbing)lecturer at our local poly,he looked into these "Become a Plumber Fast Track courses ",they are all run as just one thing to cash in on the money in trainees pocket , most of the course is all "Watch as the Trainer/old plumber quickly shows you the skills in a bay ",
its all rushed to get you in an through it all .......an on too the next lot of novice plumbers...

IMHO If I was you I would think very hard at throwing your money at these rip-off courses ...
I say this because with the option they mention of the NVQ2,its totally unrealistic ,as you need on site /work experiance working with a plumber already , an getting a start with a PROPER plumber is like finding rocking horse sh*t......most plumb firms only take on daft young 17/18 yos for labour/donkey work ,some do get put on the training /NVQ courses ...

I would think very hard before you do anything,
what do you want to do at your age in the plumbing industry ,if you want to work for a local plumbing firm ,your best bet is to ring a few an ask if they need labour ,day work
you may get an odd day with some plumber, an if you show willing Im sure the guy will give you more days ,til one needs full time ,also ask in your local plumb merchants for plumbers needing labour ...

IF no luck above

an you fancy self employment why not concentrate on one area of plumbing , jobbing /repair work (broken/blocked toilets /leaks/washing machines etc )

bathroom suite fitting (supply an fit /or just fit the DIY shed suites)

full bathroom suite fitting , (supply an fit suite tile wall an floors )

Mr Jingles

Charlie Pie wrote:
Anybody know anything about or have experience ofthe Open Learning
Centre International Plumbing Courses? Depending on your requirements
you can achieve C & G Level 2 with the option of taking it forward
level 2 NVQ. Is it worth it, will it teach me anything I don't know
already (basic knowledge) and will it compromise Part P for any related
electrical work carried out on any work I do?
Looking for new direction with a view to leaving current employment.
Not interested in the tosh written recently in the press re big earning
potential. Just being forced to retire at 55 and will need to continue
working till I drop dead (according to the government).
Am I having a laugh thinking about 'retraining' ? Any comments or
suggestions much appreciated.

depending on your level of knowledge you ought to be able to advertise and
get work without formal qualifications. if you know any gassy plumbers you
can pass over any gas work to them. 99% of people who phone a plumber
don't have a clue about what most jobs entail and if you do a good, honest,
job for a competitive price you'll be snided with work. if you come across a
job that you can't handle simply say so, it's beyond your scope, but say it's
due to time constraints rather than it looks a 'mare of a job.

oh, and 'don't have owt to do wi' poo' as my mate says.



RT

[news] wrote:
oh, and 'don't have owt to do wi' poo' as my mate says.

On t'other hand, most 'poo' related work seems to be accomplished with
twirly springs, rods or a jet hose, and is usually an in-and-out
unblocking job, for which the punter with crossed legs is willing to pay
a minimum of an hour + call-out fee.

General plumbing runs the danger of getting embroiled in a mire of
dripping taps and other small jobs which end up being unprofitable.

Owain

Charlie Pie wrote:


Anybody know anything about or have experience ofthe Open Learning
Centre International Plumbing Courses? Depending on your requirements
you can achieve C & G Level 2 with the option of taking it forward
level 2 NVQ. Is it worth it, will it teach me anything I don't know
already (basic knowledge) and will it compromise Part P for any related
electrical work carried out on any work I do?
Looking for new direction with a view to leaving current employment.
Not interested in the tosh written recently in the press re big earning
potential. Just being forced to retire at 55 and will need to continue
working till I drop dead (according to the government).
Am I having a laugh thinking about 'retraining' ? Any comments or
suggestions much appreciated.

"Open Learning Centre International" certainly sounds like a down-to-earth
bunch of seasoned hands-on plumbers ready to share their knowledge and
experience with the willing learner, doesn't it?

Not.



Can you do plumbing and d-i-y stuff competently around your house? For
friends & relations? (Have you followed this group for a while? How do you
rate yourself?)

Can/could you: change tap washers, change taps, repair or replace a ball
valve, plumb in a washing machine, fit an outside tap, drain and remove a
radiator, replace a rad valve with a TRV, replace a WC syphon, replace a WC
suite ...

Can you do soldered copper pipework, compression joints and use plastic
pipework and push-fit?

Can you get floorboards up, make holes large and small in walls, patch up
and make good (filling, painting and a little tiling)?

If you can do some or all of these things and learn fairly quickly as you go
along you could make some sort of living as a jobbing plumber (and general
odd-job person, if you're not fussy about doing only plumbing). There's
plenty of work available for someone who's competent (and knows their
capabilities) conscientious and house-trained. You'll probably have to do
it off your own bat unless you can find a local independent who'll take you
on, and it's hard work just running your own business as a self-employed
person, but it beats hanging out at the dole and SS offices :-)

There's more to it than that of course: registering as s-e with the IR,
doing your books, advertising and getting work etc; and clueing up on
building regs, standards and so on, getting tools, materials & transport.
You can get further advice on this group. (Maybe material for a sort of
uk.non-diy FAQ perhaps?)


OTOH if you really want to pay lots of money to someone to Make You Into A
Plumber(TM) please contact me off-list ;-)

Fair comments all, thanks.
Yes I can or have done a lot of the work mentioned. However it's like learning anything...experience counts. That's why some people are prepared to part with some serious dosh to condense the experience into a shorter period of time that would otherwise take years.
Best place to start is on your own home and use this forum to ask questions which is what I have done in the past and very useful the advice has been too.
Trouble is as you pick up said experience you come up against problems that if it were any other skill you were trying to learn you'd pay someone to help/teach.
I shall continue with bathroom/shower downstairs loo and take it as far as I can.
Cheers.