Should i train to be a plumber with OLCI?

[Cainan]

£10? Can't be true. I charge £60. I wouldn't bother being self employed for that kind of money

 

[village idiot]

£10? Can't be true. I charge £60. I wouldn't bother being self employed for that kind of money

A regular customer asked me to provide her with a Landlord Gas Safety Cert. I told her £60. She rang me the following day. ''I need two done on same day. How much will you charge for each?''

How far apart are they, I inquired? ''Two doors from mine'', says her.
£50 each was my response. Two hours later, she sent me a txt message. ''My neighbours plumbah says he will do it for £40 each. If you can match that, the jobs are yours''.

I sent her a reply saying it makes economic sense to get the neighbours plumber to provide the Certs. I would rather stay at home watching TV than play this matching games landlords and other customers are embarking on

 

[cr0ft]

To the op. I actually trained with OLCI to get my C&G 6129 Level 2 Domestic Plumbing Course. Realistically at my age it was the only way I could get into the plumbing industry.

Boy did I have a very, very steep learning curve when I left. Unable to get a job due to not being able to work for free (I had a mortgage like many do my age) I was forced into self employment basically before I was ready.

It took me around 5 years before I would say I was totally confident as a plumber and even then I (like all of us with a bit of experience) still get jobs that take much longer than expected.

The first year of self employment in this situation was probably the most stressful year of my life to date, and it affected my family and myself. I earnt £8,000 profit between wages and profit in year 1, which, with my lack of experience, I gather was actually pretty good.

Without a fantastic wife who supported me through it I would have packed it in to be honest.

Now, business is brilliant, I am earning a decent wage (which I work very hard to get).

It can be done but believe me when I say it is very, very hard to do through the fast track route.

 

[A1P]

I was talking to my Area gas safe inspector on wednesday last week. He was telling me there are GSR's in my area (Bradford) doing cp12's(boiler and cooker) for a £10.00 he was as gob smacked as i was but he swears it's true as he's been inspecting them . he was saying they are doing 6 - 8 day to get £300-£400 a week. he was saying most of his inspections now are new registrations and a lot of them are struggling to find work as they just dont have the experience to get gainful employment.

No wonder I am not getting any of this work round here.If this was their sole area of work each one would be doing 1500 to 2000 a year!!!! I know we all have to compete but do they not realise £40 a pop is competitive.I learnt very early on this forum about the 'busy fool'.I was aware when getting started a slightly lower rate might help me get work but this is ridiculous.
We are not giving the OP much to cheer him up.

 

[julesverne]

No wonder I am not getting any of this work round here.If this was their sole area of work each one would be doing 1500 to 2000 a year!!!! I know we all have to compete but do they not realise £40 a pop is competitive.I learnt very early on this forum about the 'busy fool'.I was aware when getting started a slightly lower rate might help me get work but this is ridiculous.
We are not giving the OP much to cheer him up.

i reckon i do 20 cp12's a year in bradford if im lucky because I charge £50 min if people want to work for peanut's they can it doesn't bother me. if you chase low end work that's all you will ever get.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Every year, when we run our labour rate survey, we get a few very low figures. But the vast majority of responses are in sensible territory, which suggests that the £10/hr blokes are not actually that numerous.

 

[Info Seeker]

We are not giving the OP much to cheer him up.

Lol. I'm swaying towards not doing the training and becoming a bank robber instead.

 

[A1P]

i reckon i do 20 cp12's a year in bradford if im lucky because I charge £50 min if people want to work for peanut's they can it doesn't bother me. if you chase low end work that's all you will ever get.

I agree.I tried to get landlord/estate agent work when searching for new work.Estate Agents especially are often a pain .They are price driven especially if they are adding their cut.Even working direct work for landlords comes down to price most of the time.They are often not interested in whether you do vital safety checks thoroughly.How much? or HOW MUCH! is usually a common phrase.These numpties just encourage this trend.Remember once you have taken your tax allowance amount from your profits,up to 40/50% disappears from the rest.
The OP will be ready to jump in the canal!!

 

[leek]

Sorry mate, really am trying hard not to come across negative, but I think these fast track courses are not great for the people do them, or the industry. Nice earners for the companies putting them on though.

I have done a lot of work for big firms in London, and if you can maybe even get a labouring job on a site helping a plumber, then do day release college, you may find those who are really willing to help you. I am always happy to teach those who put the effort in.

But when the agencies send out plumbers who have been 'fast tracked' they are often more hassle that they are worth. I have to watch every single move they make, teach them how do do things which a qualified plumber should be able to do no problem, and the amount of work that then has to be ripped out, costing more time and money is really frustrating. I am really wracking my brains to think if I have even met one fast track plumber who has been good enough even to keep for more than a few weeks, and just cant.

I suppose in continuing with the training would be an expensive gamble with the only hope of getting a plumbers mate job at the end for less pay then? I suppose it may work out and it may not.

 

[Worcester]

Hi Info Seeker,

Alana here from OLCI Construction Training.

I would like to offer you some reassurance that our plumbing and electrotechnical NVQ courses have been running for over 6 years now and we continue to train and support students who successfully achieve their full NVQ qualifications with us. If you have any questions or queries about our plumbing course then please don't hesitate to give us a call on 0800 316 8100. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] with a phone number and suitable time to call you back.

Best wishes,

Alana Fox

Alana, I know OLCI very well, and of course you guys sponsor this forum, so some honest answers please (and I know every student is different)

1) What percentage of your students complete the course?
2) What is THEIR starting weekly wage when they have finished?
3) Those that finish, how long is the average time to completion?

 

[tamz]

Ha i thought of asking some questions too.

4. If you track their progress, what is the percentage who are still in the industry a year down the line.

 

[TBServices]

Fast track courses are a shambles tbh. Very few make it out the other side to be successful. I wouldn't employ you, and I wouldn't have you anywhere near my property if you'd had 6 weeks training.

The reason the builders are "crying out" for plumbers, is they want to pay you a third of what they charge for you. I don't bother with builders at all, and neither do the majority of plumbers with half a brain.

 

[SimonG]

.....and the thread takes an interesting twist. Be nice to see the answers to the questions.

 

[Alana Fox]

Hi Worcester and tamz,

We will of course do our best to answer your questions. I will ask my colleague to give you a call, please would you email me on [email protected] with a phone number and suitable time to call you back.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,

Alana Fox

 

[TBServices]

It would be more helpful to just answer the questions here.

 

[leek]

I was thinking the same as TB above.

Think it would be great to provide a little bit more info for those who are trying to work out if this is the best way to go. I am sure for some it must work out well, but I have yet to meet many!

 

[PlumbersMate]

Come on Alana don't cop out, and no sales pitches just honest answer

 

[Ermintrude]

She may have good intentions but whole business of paying to train is pure shister. Not many real tradesmen will take an apprentice on.
That's the problem. That's why these rse holes make millions from flogging half cracked courses to desperate people. Wonga of the careers market

 

[cr0ft]

TBH I trained with OLCI like I said. I definitely wouldn't recommend them based on my experience to be honest. Quality of the trainers at the London centre was average at best. Trying to speak to someone and getting them to take responsibility for handling a complaint was a nightmare.

If I knew then what I did now that I would only be able to start up a business after this course (and not have a chance of getting a job) I would have gone and read up about plumbing and bought some materials to practise soldering/pipe bending and pocketed the rest. I would have learn't as much as I did on this fast track course.

Everything is easy with hinsight, I would say I wasted over £5,000 on this course but at least I've made it work for me.

 

[Ermintrude]

Croft always thought you were a lanny driving jumper wearing hands like shovels 299 years in the trade bloke. Shows what thought did.