Advice wanted

[jase158]

Hi All,

I am starting to feel confident in my wet plumbing and feel I am ready to start on Gas.

I am not looking for a fast track.

But I have spoken to a college, who have said I can do this

1 week Training

1 week work experience

1 week Training

Work experience portfolio to be completed 6-8 weeks full time.

CCN1 assessment

this will be my stepping stone to get on the gas courses,

I will then need to do each appliances as required.

And do manufacturers Courses (voluntarily)

The whole proccess I think will take approxiamately 2 years, before I will do any gas work on my own. (personal choice to know what I am doing before I do it, don't want to end up in prison)

I am asking what you think of this.

Also what would make you want to take me on and give me the experience for the Gas training.

I am looking to approach local plumbers but really want an angle to go with, just being free isn't enough I don't think. As I have very little experience at the moment in Gas, there would be a lot of time teaching me and a lot of paperwork to fill out. what would make you want to do all this.
And if you wouldn't do it, why not?

 

[nickelarsed]

Mate I've been battling with this problem. Because I have nvq 2, I was told I'm what is a cat 2 candidate and would need at least seventy days working with a gsr doing varied work before my college would look at my portfolio for acs. I also did tech cert 3 including gas training at college, or off the job training as they call it. If I wasn't cat 2 then it would have been about 120 days gas work with a gsr (I think).
The only way I found to get intro's with gas men, was to get my merchant to give me an intro, and basically feed him a couple of gas jobs from my own customers. I did the work when he was there , he signed it off and I put it in my portfolio. Because he saw me do a couple of jobs, after that he was happy to let me tag along on his jobs and build my portfolio with him, he got free labour out of it of course. The key was letting him see me work on a couple of my own customers (which he got paid for :32🙂 so that he could see I basically wasn't a muppet. Done this method with two gsr's now and it's the only way I've found to get in with them. although you do feel mugged off basically working fior f all, I have not found another way of getting the hours

 

[WaterTight]

So you were able/confident to do gas work in customer's houses (with a gsr man just watching rather than advising) after doing tech cert level 3?

I always presumed you'd need to shadow someone else first: Hence the problem. Nothing in it for the guy you shadow for a while.

I do like the angle of generating leads which he gets paid for. The trick would be to find a guy who has never done much self-promotion and is finding work short on the ground and the put out thousands of gas business cards and keep phoning him up asking if he wants them.

 

[kay-jay]

i do 2 or 3 days a week with a bloke with a gsr company. i met him down the merchants got chatting told him i was quiet, he said i'll give you some work. mainly installs but some varied gas works also. i do all the things he'd rather not do like scrabbling about beneath floors doing a heating carcass and in return i get 80 quid a day and good instruction on the gas side. competence in these situations is usually assessed by gsr asking questions and being asked to do this and that while being watched.now we alternate between hanging rads/removing cylinder etc and installing boiler.

 

[diamondgas]

I would happily allow anyone to join me in the van as long as it didn't effect my pocket! I make enough just now but an apprentice/work collegue would mean having to generate more income to cover their pay! I'd say cost above all else disuades me from helping someone learn the trade. 🙁

 

[mutley racers]

I like that Diamond gas. Lots of peo[ple these days will work for free. Especially because when there GSR they will earn upto 50k annually. He he. But it is great that there are still people out there wanting to give people a chance.

And wow Diamond, how have you clocked up 3k+ posts in such a short amount of time? Thats amazing

 

[nickelarsed]

Watertight. No they advised too, that was part of the deal. And as I said I already had the nvq, as well as tech cert 3, and had been wet plumbing for a year or more.

 

[mfgs]

Its hard trying to get someone who is going to teach you enough to pass your ACS etc when they are getting nothing out of it themself. Its not like a apprenticeship when you are working for them whilst learning and earning next to nothing for the pleasure. So they are getting work from you and will think you will stay working for them, so it seems a worthwhile investment.

Just going to a local gas engineer and asking to come along and learn is going to be hard, I know I wouldn't want to essentially train someone up in my area to be a competitor to me. I may make a bit of money if they asked to work for me for free on a couple jobs, but I could jeopardise getting future work from having another guy in the are competing for the same jobs as me.

Good luck in your search, but you may find it difficult.

 

[diamondgas]

I like that Diamond gas. Lots of peo[ple these days will work for free. Especially because when there GSR they will earn upto 50k annually. He he. But it is great that there are still people out there wanting to give people a chance.

And wow Diamond, how have you clocked up 3k+ posts in such a short amount of time? Thats amazing

3k+ coz I'm a gas geek! lol ... Only been at this game since 1978. Truthfully though, I like to share my experience and what knowledge I retain. Over the years whilst in employment for others I was one that got the apprentice handed my way. i guess the bosses back then kind of picked me to help train newcommers! Actually my last employer must have also seen something coz they did the same! That was some 5yrs ago now!

If ever some one asked if i could help I would certainly give them a trial! A cupl of years back a guy came out with me for a day. He wanted installation experience though and that I do little of!

 

[dontknowitall]

Why not fast track?

Also find yourself another local plumber who you can join up with for some jobs (both keeping your own business). When you get a gas job (some will be really simple once you've done the courses) you go and do those jobs. Where more experience/technical know how is involved (e.g. installing a new boiler) give the quote to the customer for the job and contact this "other plumber" and arrange for the both of you to install the boiler.

Then, hopefully, when he gets a boiler installation he'll help you out.

It takes trust, but I do this with another chappie (for my oil boilers) and we get on really well. I've been his assistant for three gas jobs now (even though I'm not interested in the gas side). We might not see each other for a couple of months but then get a run of jobs where we help each other out.

This way you get to keep your customers, have another plumber you can call on if you get too busy (he might be able to sort out one of your customer's taps if you can't make it that day), etc.

Just a thought.

 

[jase158]

Why not fast track?
QUOTE]


1. I do not believe what they are doing is right, putting people on Gas course who have no experience of plumbing
2. I do not feel confident enough on Gas to go out and fix boilers with 10 days at a fast track centre, and only a limited amount of time experience, working with somebody is much more interesting, more experiencing and better by miles
3. I can not afford £3500

 

[PlumbBobBob]

how refreshing having someone wanting to go the right way about training

 

[jase158]

would you believe me if I said I wouldn't steal the work from you,

I am thinking of moving once I have gas and rebranding business to be more about gas rather then water.

my business is currently all water based and the whole business is edged towards this.