plumber apprentiships

[Mirinjawbro]

hello

have mentioned a few times before but have now made my mind up. i've spent 15 years behind a desk and the last 5 sat alone WFH doing maybe an hour or 2 of work a week (yes really)

time to change career and although i'm going to take a huge paycut i don't really care anymore as i'm losing my mind

can anyone point me in the right direction to start ?

are working on the job starter wages liveable being older? ideally id like to work / earn on the job so i can quit IT for good.

i have 0 skills in any of these areas as my whole 15-20 years has been IT based,

thankyou all

[Mirinjawbro]

did have a contact call me yesterday.

i guess 5k ish is the usual amount?


Thank you for your enquiry into training with us. I have pleasure in sending you the following dates
and pricing information for your training:
Quote Total: £4,796.00
Saving: £1,199.00
Professional Plumbing Weekend Course - Plumbing - Essential Plumbing Course,
Welwyn Garden City (Welwyn Garden City training centre)
16/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 1 - H&S and Communication
20/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 2 - Cold Water and Hot Water
25/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 3 - Hot Water and Pipework
27/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 4 - Scientific Principles and Electrical Systems
02/10/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 5 - Drainage Systems and Central Heating
TBC Plumbing - Homework and Formative Tests
TBC Plumbing - Theory Module - Week of Theory Exams
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - Weekend Practical Training
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - Practical Training
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - 2 Weeks of Practical Assessments and
Work on Course Folder
Professional Plumbing Weekend Course - Plumbing - NVQ Level 2 Assessments
Course - EAL Diploma, Welwyn Garden City (Welwyn Garden City training centre)
TBC NVQ Webinar
TBC Plumbing - NVQ Induction - EAL Diplom

[Gooose]

I’m thinking about going in your job direction, years of crawling around in lofts running pipes might get old as well mind!

I’m looking forward to wfh in front of a computer lol

[4Q]

Be wary about the validity of that course. A few webinars with a couple of weeks assessment leading to NVQ level 2 will be worthless when trying to find work, you will be competing with people who will have done a full 3 year apprenticeship along with real world work experience.
You will not be able to register on any competent persons scheme without at least a level 3 plus a few other qualifications like unvented, WRAS, etc. so you won’t even be able to change a hot water cylinder for an unvented one.
Have you tried plumbing work to see if you like it? The sort of work you’ll be doing without a gas qualification will be bathrooms and kitchens and you’ll need other skills like tiling to find work.
I don’t want to piss on your chips but if you can be a plumber/electrician/etc, with a few weeks training why on earth did others waste many years learning?

[Driver101]

Like most trades it takes a lot of time to develop your skills. A quick course will unlikely bring you up to standard you'll require to be at.

I also think courses need to be in person. A webinar doesn't sound like a good way to learn or acceptable for near £5000 worth or training.

[Alickadoo]

Mirinjawbro said:

hello

have mentioned a few times before but have now made my mind up. i've spent 15 years behind a desk and the last 5 sat alone WFH doing maybe an hour or 2 of work a week (yes really)

time to change career and although i'm going to take a huge paycut i don't really care anymore as i'm losing my mind

can anyone point me in the right direction to start ?

are working on the job starter wages liveable being older? ideally id like to work / earn on the job so i can quit IT for good.

i have 0 skills in any of these areas as my whole 15-20 years has been IT based,

thankyou all

You want to train to be a plumber?

I would enquire with the various local building companies, see if they have a plumber/plumbing section, see if they would take you on as a trainee. Likewise with plumbing firms.

You are probably to old to get an apprenticeship.

I am not sure anyone would want to employ you in preference to a 16 year old straight from school.

Where is this going to lead? Do you want to be a jobbing plumber doing jobs for private customers? Or working on new build?

[Mirinjawbro]

thankyou all for the replies, lots to think about.

regarding WFH - its great for a while but for the last 5 years sat home alone 99% of the time ( data analyst) it gets to you in the end.

i want a job where everyday is as different as possible, out and about, meeting people. i did look at pest controller but the wages are poor.

ideally id like the quickest way to get there - i guess itll still be a few years but something i can work towards.
thankyou all

[Gooose]

I worked on the water board before and we had a pest guy on a contract, seemed to be doing quite well tbh! And just out and about dropping sticky rat pads and poison down!

Have you thought about being a council ranger?

What about utilities operator, they just drive around checking sites mostly, taking samples running the plant, quite easy and seeing a few people a day, not the best pay but a nice job if you can switch off the ambition

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

If you are only doing 2 hours a day, then you could start a business you can run from home. Then you can do both at once.

[goldar]

With a level 2 qualification you might be able to get a labouring job for a plumbing firm whilst you work towards level 3. Wages will be less than £30k. You'd have to speak to some firms to see if they would be willing to take you on with a level 2. It's not impossible, I had an electrical labourer on a job who was previously a chef, he was knocking on mid 30 to 40 years old.

A level 3 qualification will take a couple of years to achieve. An advanced apprenticeship can be 4 years.

The other thing to consider is whether you'll be cut out for the physical labour. You're no spring chicken.

[Alickadoo]

Mirinjawbro said:

did have a contact call me yesterday.

i guess 5k ish is the usual amount?


Thank you for your enquiry into training with us. I have pleasure in sending you the following dates
and pricing information for your training:
Quote Total: £4,796.00
Saving: £1,199.00
Professional Plumbing Weekend Course - Plumbing - Essential Plumbing Course,
Welwyn Garden City (Welwyn Garden City training centre)
16/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 1 - H&S and Communication
20/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 2 - Cold Water and Hot Water
25/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 3 - Hot Water and Pipework
27/09/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 4 - Scientific Principles and Electrical Systems
02/10/2023 Plumbing - Webinar 5 - Drainage Systems and Central Heating
TBC Plumbing - Homework and Formative Tests
TBC Plumbing - Theory Module - Week of Theory Exams
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - Weekend Practical Training
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - Practical Training
TBC Plumbing - Practical Module - 2 Weeks of Practical Assessments and
Work on Course Folder
Professional Plumbing Weekend Course - Plumbing - NVQ Level 2 Assessments
Course - EAL Diploma, Welwyn Garden City (Welwyn Garden City training centre)
TBC NVQ Webinar
TBC Plumbing - NVQ Induction - EAL Diplom

I certainly wouldn't spend the best part of £5k on this.

[Mirinjawbro]

after reading more into it i wont either.

i'm sure the spam calls will begin shortly.

thankyou everyone

[megaphone]

How much do you need to earn?

[Mirinjawbro]

outgoings in new house will be around £1k a month all in.

mortgage + bills + food + fuel

atm i need £2700 just to break even...

[ChocolateFrog]

Chainsaw Rebuild said:

If you are only doing 2 hours a day, then you could start a business you can run from home. Then you can do both at once.

2 hours a week.

Wouldn't need to give up the day job.

[Defcon5]

If you only work 2 hours a week, can’t you do the training whilst you are supposed to be doing your current job? It will take them 6 months to sack you once you tell them you are going through a transition and need to sort your plumbing out before becoming the new you

[megaphone]

Mirinjawbro said:

outgoings in new house will be around £1k a month all in.

mortgage + bills + food + fuel

atm i need £2700 just to break even...

So you need £3k per month after tax? So say £4.2k gross. That's £50k a year, you need to do some research and see how many plumbing jobs pay £50k. If you go self employed you will need to earn probably £75k or even more to cover your costs and holidays etc.

[Mirinjawbro]

megaphone said:

So you need £3k per month after tax? So say £4.2k gross. That's £50k a year, you need to do some research and see how many plumbing jobs pay £50k. If you go self employed you will need to earn probably £75k or even more to cover your costs and holidays etc.

yep. this is the problem

but sitting home alone for 5 years means i'm willing to take that hit not to lose my mind

[Mirinjawbro]

Defcon5 said:

If you only work 2 hours a week, can’t you do the training whilst you are supposed to be doing your current job? It will take them 6 months to sack you once you tell them you are going through a transition and need to sort your plumbing out before becoming the new you

naughty but yes this is the plan, just need to decide what.

plumber
pest controller

who knows

[3GGy]

I quit my desk job at 30 and went to college full time to study engineering. Didn't know what I wanted to do, but had to get out. Just went for a subject I was broadly interested in.

Advanced apprenticeship options became available through the college. Employers & training providers came looking near the end of the year. Suddendly options appeared, so I took an apprenticeship.

Got my head down and finished the apprenticeship early and life's been dandy ever since.

Progression seems good in engineering, if you're interested. I'm just over two years out of my trade and I've moved on to something else.

Hardest part was selling up (including my car ) and getting the monthly DDs down for a year of college and min. wage. After that the wage was doable, and O/T became available.

I am in Scotland though, where tuition is funded by the government and bursurys are avaiable to help you through. Not sure it's the same where you are in the UK?

Edited by 3GGy on Thursday 24th August 17:16