A Profitable New Career With Plumbing NVQ's & Certification

People will always need the services of qualified plumbers, in good times and bad. Work in the domestic field continues to thrive, despite the setbacks of recession. We constantly hear how difficult it is to get someone to fix a leaking tap or sort out a bathroom toilet. And as fewer people are moving house, more and more choose to upgrade their existing homes with new kitchens and bathrooms. So if it's time to make a change, a closer look at a plumbing career could offer everything you need.

Comprehensive Free E-Book

Once you've learned the necessary skills and understand the systems you'll be working on, the sky's the limit! 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. With so many different companies providing varying standards of training and exams, you'll find the information invaluable.

Give yourself enough time to get up to date with all the facts in the book. And when you're ready come back to this article and look at some of the trainers featured alongside. If you Bookmark this website (press Ctrl D) you'll be able to retrieve it instantly.

Convert To Self-Employment

Something that appeals to many adult re-trainers is the concept of being their own boss. Generally speaking most newly trained plumbers over thirty go for domestic work that they can take care of by themselves. Obviously this makes sense when you think of the level of demand in just about every town in the country.

As time goes on, most of your work should come as a result of recommendations from others - always ask for referrals. Instructors will fill you in on all your plumbing requirements, but make sure you pay attention to your attitude to everyone.

(After all you never know who's considering your services!) Courtesy and respect can go an awful long way.

Commercial plumbers will usually work on weekdays only, typically 8am to 5pm. But self-employed domestic plumbers have a different situation. Be prepared to work later to give householders quotations for home improvements - once they trust you they'll be willing to leave you in their home during the day.

A Good and Secure Income

As a qualified plumber you can have a job for life, which will provide security and a good income for you and your family. There's a lot of job satisfaction - as it's always good to see the end result of a job well done. The fact that you're moving around working in different properties all the time makes the work really interesting as well.

If you're planning to run your own business, you'll need to get a feel for how to do good quotes. So as well as taking your time into consideration, you'll have to think about all your other costs as well. It's often a bit hit and miss at first, but you'll quickly learn by any mistakes! The best commercial colleges should include training on setting up in business.

How Can I Get Started?

City & Guilds certification courses can be studied in both private colleges and state ones. Those looking to train straight from school usually find apprenticeship work where they can take NVQ's as well as City & Guilds.

On the other hand, adult students who are looking to change careers tend to train part time. It's the private training companies that tend to attract mature entrants, because they service their needs better.

Mature students then will generally pay more up front for commercial training courses, but fine-tune their training to suit the work they'll get into.

Additional Skills

Plumbing courses will cover the various skills that you'll need to work on water systems and central heating etc.

You might also consider some ancillary extras so that when you're doing domestic jobs you can cover most things yourself without having to sub certain jobs out. Some plumbers can also do tiling, plastering and some electrical work.

You'll find it easier to build your reputation if you provide some extra bolt-ons. Your work will be more evenly spread all year round. You'll avoid having to fit your work in with other trades people, and present a cleaner more streamlined result for the householder.

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.