Best route to re-train??

[Engmech]

Morning guys,

I’m looking for some advice on the best route for re-training as a plumber. I have tried finding what i'm looking for in the search but nothing I found was relatable to me. When I left school, I done an apprenticeship in Mechanical Maintenance working mostly on air conditioning units and in plant rooms working on plate heat exchangers, this also involved some plumbing, however I packed this in after I finished my apprenticeship. I’m 27 now and have been a Service Engineer for the last 7 years repairing drain cameras systems for the like of Wessex Water, Dyno Rod etc. I hold a City and Guilds 2800 in mechanical maintenance and a HNC in mechanical engineering.

I would be more than willing to start as an apprentice again but my biggest problem is I have a mortgage to pay for now and can’t afford to drop my 23k wage otherwise I won’t be able to cover my bills.

So I have 10 years’ experience working on the tools and like I said in my apprenticeship I did do some plumbing work (mainly fitting sinks and showers), but I’m definitely no expert in the plumbing field. Problem is I have always regretted packing in the plumbing as it’s something that I have always found enjoyable.

I have seen these 6 week training courses online to become qualified which to be honest I don’t really trust, I can’t believe that you can be fully confident after that short amount of time.

Do you guys think the best route for me is to go back to college in the evenings to get my plumbing NVQ and reach out to local plumbers to work for free to get experience and then hopefully be able to find employment? Or is anyone aware of any adult apprenticeship schemes that pay a bit more than the standard apprenticeship?

Any advice from the experts (you guys) would be much appreciated. Looking at other posts I will say that if you are going to post anything negative please don’t bother as it will just be ignored, I’m have come here for proper advice, not criticism.

Cheers!

 

[SimonG]

The real question is do you want a honest answer or just want to be told what you want to hear?

Plenty on the search function. Your quals make you no better or worse than the other people who ask the question.

You will have to sacrifice something, the 'I want to be a plumber but I have bills to pay wears a little thin'. You can't be expecting top dollar pay when you are learning the job.

Might be better at starting as a plumbers mate, at least you will be getting money and experience.

As for the six week courses, you will still need somebody to complete your assessments.

Good luck.

 

[Engmech]

Like I said i would be happy to take an apprentice wage if I could afford it, I wasn't asking for top dollar.... my current 23k is below the UK average wage.

I'm just seeking advice from people that are in the know and if anyone has had an experience where they managed to find a way to retrain whilst supporting a family.

 

[Stigster]

The wages for a trainee will be nothing like what you earn now. Here in Guernsey at least where wages are generally higher than the UK (with London type living costs) a first year apprentice at 16 years old can usually earn £300 for a 40 hour week. I'm afraid the wages in the UK for a 1st year apprentice are surely going to be less than that.

I would agree with SimonG and see if you can find work as a plumber's mate to begin with. With your age and some experience you may be able to earn better than a teenage plumbing apprentice, learn quite a bit, build confidence and then try to get qualified at night school/college.

 

[quality]

With your mechanical engineering qualifications I would look at a production environment such food or other. You will easily earn more than 23K if your any good

 

[jtsplumbing]

Like I said i would be happy to take an apprentice wage if I could afford it, I wasn't asking for top dollar.. my current 23k is below the UK average wage.

I'm just seeking advice from people that are in the know and if anyone has had an experience where they managed to find a way to retrain whilst supporting a family.

Why ? if your earnings for the type of job that you are doing is below Nat average why have you stuck it for so long ? I am located in the SW and here plumbers (Not Gas) will average 25K but these are guys that have lots of experience someone in your position would be lucky to earn 50% of that