Acs exam

[PlumbersMate]

Start my acs training on 1st October do I need to buy any books or manuals or will I receive these on my course?

 

[kirkgas]

So experience works for you but not the student!

i dont really know what you mean, but good candidates who go through the gas foundation with no gas and/or plumbing background can be very successful in gas as they bring their other strenghts to the table while they learn about gas, the ACS is just a starting poing for us all and only concerned with safety, everything else has to be added to that just as a driving instructor and examiner get you ready for the road, who amonst us would give a ferrari to a 17yr old who has just passed his test, although they are as qualified as us they havent the relevant experience and once they build the experience and have the right attitude to respecting the ferrari they will be ok, its the same with gas, and i have assessed loads of people who are time served and crap because they dont care enough to do a good job, "because the price is crap", " because the customer is a nightmare" etc etc never their fault

 

[kirkgas]

Start my acs training on 1st October do I need to buy any books or manuals or will I receive these on my course?

any decent place supplies all training material in the price, when we take a deposit for a course we give the candidate the book away with them to have a look over

 

[PlumbersMate]

Very good angle to look at things there kirk. There's a guy I know who is gas safe who I asked to cap a pipe feeding a fire for me at a customers of mine as I'm not GSR and he didn't even test gas before or after I had to ask him to do it! Lol obviously paying him £50 wasn't enough!

 

[PlumbersMate]

any decent place supplies all training material in the price, when we take a deposit for a course we give the candidate the book away with them to have a look over

Would like that as would like to have some idea of stuff before I start

 

[PowerFlusher2]

At the end of the day the method of getting your certificate of 'gas competence' is irrelevant and you have to love the approach of the Gas Register when replying to a telephone query I made about a year ago - "the gas safe certificate you receive is to confirm that the installation was done by a gas safe registered engineer, nowhere on the certificate does it say that he did the job properly!"

 

[chris watkins]

i dont really know what you mean, but good candidates who go through the gas foundation with no gas and/or plumbing background can be very successful in gas as they bring their other strenghts to the table while they learn about gas, the ACS is just a starting poing for us all and only concerned with safety, everything else has to be added to that just as a driving instructor and examiner get you ready for the road, who amonst us would give a ferrari to a 17yr old who has just passed his test, although they are as qualified as us they havent the relevant experience and once they build the experience and have the right attitude to respecting the ferrari they will be ok, its the same with gas, and i have assessed loads of people who are time served and crap because they dont care enough to do a good job, "because the price is crap", " because the customer is a nightmare" etc etc never their fault

The gas side is no different to the plumbing you will find good & bad people working in all areas. I know from the posts on here that there are a lots of plumbers who know there stuff having not come through the apprentice system & I too know apprentices that after four years I would not let loose on a WC let alone a heating system! but which route produces the majority of the gooden's & which the baden's & it is by a high percentage as well. Its not rocket science that working along side experienced tradesman for 4 years while attending college at the same time leads to somebody who, when they are finally out on their own makes fewer mistakes, knows more about what they are doing etc. etc. Prior knowledge or unrelated skills, although useful, are no substitute for working & learning at the same time, of course learning continues right through your working life but we should never give the impression that the ACS assessment is the starting point. The ACS is there to assess the competence of an engineer to work safely with gas at that point in time, it can do nothing more of less. Just as with your 17-year-old Ferrari driver, if they have passed there driving test (assessment of there driving skills on that day) then they can Legally drive it on any roads they choose. As to whether I would give them my Ferrari to drive well that’s a different matter!!!!

 

[kirkgas]

Would like that as would like to have some idea of stuff before I start

ask them, but do them and you a favour, dont get too far a head of yourself and ask them questions everyday on this and that from the later part of the book that you and the class havent covered yet, you wont understand it by reading the book thats what the trainers job is, its a balance between having the boo to get a feel of the content and format but too far to always be ahead of the class, ive had this a couple of times where the guy just wanted to appear clever by "knowing" what was being discussed

 

[PlumbersMate]

ask them, but do them and you a favour, dont get too far a head of yourself and ask them questions everyday on this and that from the later part of the book that you and the class havent covered yet, you wont understand it by reading the book thats what the trainers job is, its a balance between having the boo to get a feel of the content and format but too far to always be ahead of the class, ive had this a couple of times where the guy just wanted to appear clever by "knowing" what was being discussed

Thanks kirk I see what you're saying. Tbh i don't want it to get ahead and look smart, if anything I just don't want to get left behind. I'm sure I won't as I feel I am intelligent enough and committed enough to get through the course properly but as it's a big expense and a potentially dangerous line of work to be in I don't want ti take any chances anywhere

 

[Sudburys]

who are you doing the course with Plumbersmate?

 

[kirkgas]

Thanks kirk I see what you're saying. Tbh i don't want it to get ahead and look smart, if anything I just don't want to get left behind. I'm sure I won't as I feel I am intelligent enough and committed enough to get through the course properly but as it's a big expense and a potentially dangerous line of work to be in I don't want ti take any chances anywhere

ive highlighted where i see you might have a problem, if you are intelligent you will be the exception if you join gas

 

[brooks73]

Just done the BPEC hoping to sit ACS in Jan 12 any advise.

 

[chris watkins]

Just done the BPEC hoping to sit ACS in Jan 12 any advise.

Yes, read right through the whole 5 pages of this thread.
If you don't get the info you require,at least it will be very good practise for finding info in the British Standards !!!!!

 

[hammers4spanner]

Its about time they done real world scenarios on these courses for when you end up doing the inevitable tennant llsc's
When you go into the test bays it should be like bay 1, no access / bay 2 has old lady with six cats , cat food on floor and cooker and cat asleep on top of boiler , bay 3 has two large agressive dogs but according to tennat in bay they are harmless along with boiler/cooker and fire covered in thick layer of ten years of grease n slime, final bay has been turned into a cannibis growing operation so unable to see or test appliances .
pass this and you will be o.k for future gas works

 

[chris watkins]

Its about time they done real world scenarios on these courses for when you end up doing the inevitable tennant llsc's
When you go into the test bays it should be like bay 1, no access / bay 2 has old lady with six cats , cat food on floor and cooker and cat asleep on top of boiler , bay 3 has two large agressive dogs but according to tennat in bay they are harmless along with boiler/cooker and fire covered in thick layer of ten years of grease n slime, final bay has been turned into a cannibis growing operation so unable to see or test appliances .
pass this and you will be o.k for future gas works

You do work in some interesting places hammer ??

 

[PlumbersMate]

Brilliant hammer! Lol Chris do you teach mate you seem to know certain stuff inside out

 

[Orry Clayton]

final bay has been turned into a cannibis growing operation so unable to see or test appliances .

Would failing to notify the appropriate authorities be a pass/fail?

 

[Destroyer2813]

You doing it at skills plumbers mate, if so they will give you all books etc you need

 

[brooks73]

Yes, read right through the whole 5 pages of this thread.
If you don't get the info you require,at least it will be very good practise for finding info in the British Standards !!!!!

Doing it through RF training need to do my portfolio the i can take the ACS.

 

[Sudburys]

anyone on or completed a gas course in or around London that they can recommend?

 

[brooks73]

anyone on or completed a gas course in or around London that they can recommend?

Try met uk mate.

 

[Sudburys]

will have a look at them, thanks.


hmmm Corby - still 2hrs away from me in North London

 

[kirkgas]

Doing it through RF training need to do my portfolio the i can take the ACS.

apologies if im slating the wrong company here (someone keep me right again) but is that company not subject to a major disaster at the moment?

 

[chris watkins]

will have a look at them, thanks.


hmmm Corby - still 2hrs away from me in North London

How about InTAPlumb LLP at Dartford just around M25 ?

 

[Sudburys]

Am waiting for intaplumb to get back to me with some info...have decided to look again at ATL in the meantime. i know its blended learning but its also 7 weeks practical which is as much as most of the other courses ive seen. they also want 140 days of portfolio building, on the job work so i figured il learn a lot that way too.

1 question, does anyone know if you can do a conversion course once qualified to enable you to work on oil heating? It's a possibility I may move to jersey in a few years and that is all that's used over there.

Thanks

Suds