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Let me put our experience simply.

We only do renewables, we don't do gas, oil, or lpg. Looking to the future, we are going to need more and more experienced heat pump (Ground and Air Source) and air con people.

You'll still need plumbing / heating basics - water regs, heating and G3, then add in Heat Pump and f-gas qualifications and in 5 years time you'll be choosing which employers to turn down 🙂
 
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Benjamin
First you need some certification which I am sure you are aware off, next you need employment which will enable you to use it.
You ELC will fund a number of courses to provide training with resettlement funding. All you need is the determination and lots of luck. Best of that you will need plenty as this industry is saturated
Try C&G 2399
 
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Hi quality, thanks for the advice, I get £2500 from ELC and resettlement so have to pay around £4000 myself, which is obviously better than the full £6700
 
Let me put our experience simply.

We only do renewables, we don't do gas, oil, or lpg. Looking to the future, we are going to need more and more experienced heat pump (Ground and Air Source) and air con people.

You'll still need plumbing / heating basics - water regs, heating and G3, then add in Heat Pump and f-gas qualifications and in 5 years time you'll be choosing which employers to turn down 🙂

Thank you for the advise, I will definitely look into that after I complete this course
Again thank you
 
I know everyone says the industry is saturated but it is in a lot of industry's, if you put the hard work in and are determined you can get a job in any saturated industry, there is a lot of luck and right place right time involved, but the more you try the more the percentage goes up. I am fed up with my job and have always been interested in this trade. I have thought long and hard about it and wouldn't give away a £37000 PA wage without been pretty sure I could make it work
 
F gas, Heat pumps is where you need to look.
To even think about about earning a gas safe engineer your looking at 2 - 3 years
 
You gotta weigh things up, a 20k a year job can be gotten without having to put yourself through hardship of training up as a plumber. You gotta take a hit in terms of low wages and the years you will throw at this trade. Unless you enjoy plumbing immensely there is little logical reason to make that sacrifice.
Hammers mentions bricklaying worth a think - quicker to master, quicker returns

Nothing is impossible the world is your oyster best of luck to you Ben!
 
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F gas, Heat pumps is where you need to look.
To even think about about earning a gas safe engineer your looking at 2 - 3 years

So would I not be gas safe after this course? It says on completion I would be? Surely they can't say that if it's not true? This provider has been doing this for the military leavers for 10 years and must be legit as they are still doing it?
Getting confused now
 
Being gas registered and gas qualified are different . Ones the governing body overlooking how we work so to speak so that we are safe.
 
You gotta weigh things up, a 20k a year job can be gotten without having to put yourself through hardship of training up as a plumber. You gotta take a hit in terms of low wages and the years you will throw at this trade. Unless you enjoy plumbing immensely there is little logical reason to make that sacrifice.
Hammers mentions bricklaying worth a think - quicker to master, quicker returns

Nothing is impossible the world is your oyster best of luck to you Ben!

Thanks, if I wanted any job though I would stay in the marines on £37k a year but I have to enjoy a job so yes I could get a job for £20k easily but I want a challenge, as long as I'm getting a wage that pays the bills extra money doesn't matter that much to me at the minute
 
Thanks, if I wanted any job though I would stay in the marines on £37k a year but I have to enjoy a job so yes I could get a job for £20k easily but I want a challenge, as long as I'm getting a wage that pays the bills extra money doesn't matter that much to me at the minute

It may not matter much just now ! but losing 20K a year is a lot of money when your back in civey st, I am assuming your not married, not got a mortgage, and maybe going to move back in with parents, Trying to live on £400 a week (20k) pay for accommodation , food, running a vehicle suddenly 20K is not a lot and that is if your clearing 20K, single guy earning 20K after deductions will be lucky to take home 15K
 
In five years you'll be a professional.
Hi all thanks for the response, to clarify I am not the kind of person to think that I could do an 18 week course and then set up a business, my plan is to get 5 years experience under my belt before I even think about that, just want a change in career and not expecting £40k a year I'd be happy with £20k - £25 and I'm sure I could get that with my attitude towards work.
 
HIBen
ex RN here, started plumbing in my 40s now 56 and knees failed, wrist broken and back beggared. Be very aware the short course will teach you the same as a 4 year college course, but without the ability or time to get practical experience. A 6 week placement, if it happens and lots never do wont give you a lot, so what small or large plumbing firm will want to take you on?

I did 4 years day release at college, so around 100 days training and exams so a bit more than your course but the benefit of time to put things into practice and I did that through running a property development/renovation business for myself. then I also had some rents coming in to allow me to build my customer base. No one would have taken me on locally, so my only choice was to get out there on my own, plumbing initially, then gas, followed by oil and lpg. Specializing in AGAs and rayburns was another string to my bow. So now net some £50k plus after parts/appliances removed but before fuel, and other costs. Live happily on that myself but costs of van tools etc isnt cheap.

the fact your about to be an ex cabbage head gives you a great work ethos discipline etc, but that wont get you a job, folks want experience, knowledge and skill to make you worthwhile to them. You would be best to hit BG to see if they would train you up for free. I wouldnt bother with brick layer but I wsould look at airconditioning, as my cousin is now sitting pretty on millions as he got in there as computers needed cooling, and still do.

You can probably get into plumbing if your determined but just be aware we need more kit and tools than any other trade and everything about our choice of work seems to cost more than everyone elses 🙂
 
HIBen
ex RN here, started plumbing in my 40s now 56 and knees failed, wrist broken and back beggared. Be very aware the short course will teach you the same as a 4 year college course, but without the ability or time to get practical experience. A 6 week placement, if it happens and lots never do wont give you a lot, so what small or large plumbing firm will want to take you on?

I did 4 years day release at college, so around 100 days training and exams so a bit more than your course but the benefit of time to put things into practice and I did that through running a property development/renovation business for myself. then I also had some rents coming in to allow me to build my customer base. No one would have taken me on locally, so my only choice was to get out there on my own, plumbing initially, then gas, followed by oil and lpg. Specializing in AGAs and rayburns was another string to my bow. So now net some £50k plus after parts/appliances removed but before fuel, and other costs. Live happily on that myself but costs of van tools etc isnt cheap.

the fact your about to be an ex cabbage head gives you a great work ethos discipline etc, but that wont get you a job, folks want experience, knowledge and skill to make you worthwhile to them. You would be best to hit BG to see if they would train you up for free. I wouldnt bother with brick layer but I wsould look at airconditioning, as my cousin is now sitting pretty on millions as he got in there as computers needed cooling, and still do.

You can probably get into plumbing if your determined but just be aware we need more kit and tools than any other trade and everything about our choice of work seems to cost more than everyone elses 🙂

Thanks for the info, everyone has to start somewhere, I will take this on board and have a look at options, I would love to go the BG route but if I don't get it then I'd be abit stuck, so need to do a course in the meantime
Thanks
Ben
 
A Royal Marine with no sense of humour wont make a good tradesman................

I've got a sense of humour, it's just there's a time and a place for it, that's not when someone comes on to here to get important info to make a decision on there and there family's future, I've also worked in the building trade before and got on just fine.
 
Air con is more expensive on start up tools (£3k will get you a basic set to attend your first job) however quicker to learn and qualify in. The challenge with air con / heat pumps is the sever lack of maintenance / fault finding courses, so you'll need to piggy back an experienced air con guy.

If starting out now I would take serious look at heat pumps / air con as the way forward. - We've already got 7 heat pumps booked in for the beginning of next year. The courses run by the big suppliers (panasonic, mistubishi, samsung and daikin) are all worth attending, you'll need a heating background first hence my comments above.
 
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All you are interested in are the good points and knocking anybody warning you. Take off the rose tinted glasses for a start and listen to the negatives as well as the positives.

Otherwise what is the point of coming on here and asking for opinions?

You might want to make contact with one of the members on here, Armyash, he's been there through all the ups and downs and doing it for a living now.
 
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