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Becoming A Plumber
What is the work like? • Plumbers work on sanitation, heating, hot and cold water systems and fitting weather–proof materials to the inside and outside of buildings. • For example: they install systems for hot and cold water, heating and waste disposal; fit pipework to baths, toilets, sinks and central heating boilers; and iinstall domestic appliances like showers and washing machines. • You could work in a number of areas, including heating and ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning, gas fitting or kitchen and bathroom fitting. • Plumbers work both inside and outside, often in cramped conditions. • You might work for building contractors, engineering services contractors or public sector organizations. • About 80% of plumbing businesses in the UK are self-employed traders What Skills will I need? • Plumbers need technical knowledge and expertise. For example they need to be able to follow drawings and plans • You need good practical skills • You need to be good at problem-solving, with a methodical approach to your work • Reasonable fitness and normal colour vision • An awareness of safety issues and legal regulations • Good customer care skills What do Plumbers earn? • Starting salaries for newly qualified plumbers are between £16,500 and £21,000 • Experienced plumbers in London might earn anywhere between £25,000 and £50,000 a year • Self–employed plumbers negotiate their own rates of pay Do I need Qualifications? • Because plumbing is a technical job you will need to be qualified. It will usually take at least 3 years to become fully qualified. • If you have only recently passed school age, you could try to get a place on an apprenticeship scheme. This allows you to spend part of your time learning alongside an experienced plumber. For information on apprenticeships see apprenticeships.org.uk • If apprenticeship is not open to you, you could look at starting with a college course. The college is likely to first give you a test to check that your level of maths and English is of sufficient standard • A first stage would be to take the City & Guilds (6129) Technical certificates – Level 2 Basic Plumbing Studies and Level 3 Plumbing Studies. These do not prove that you are a qualified plumber (only the full NVQ qualification can do this) but they do cover the theory and some of the practical skills you will need before you move on to the NVQ. • If you are currently on benefits, you can study part-time (up to 16 hours a week) but not full time for the technical certificates. For more about this see Study or Training and Benefits • The full qualifications for a registered plumber are the NVQ levels 2 and 3 in Mechanical Engineering Services: Plumbing (Domestic). To get these you will have to have some on site experience with an employer. You will usually have to find the employer yourself. If you can find an employer, the way it usually works is that you come off benefits, receive a training wage from the employer, and have day release to a college during the working week. • If you have a plumbing qualification from outside the UK, contact the Joint Industry Board for Plumbing for information about how to register as a qualified plumber. You will need to give your qualification details from your home country. Where can I Learn in London? Colleges Some of the colleges in and around London which run plumbing courses are: Barking College — barkingcollege.ac.uk Bexley College — bexley.ac.uk City of Westminster College — cwc.ac.uk Croydon College — croydoncollege.com Hackney Community College — tcch.ac.uk Lambeth College — Lambeth.ac.uk Lewisham College — Lewisham.ac.uk College of North West London — cnwl.ac.uk For lots of information about how to get onto a college course go to Could I Learn at a College Private Training Courses • You might see different organizations advertising short courses, some involving home-study. You should check carefully whether these courses are industry-recognised before signing up. Many are just short introductory courses. • These private courses can also be very expensive and you should get a clear idea about the costs involved. • An organization which has been running plumbing courses for a number of years is OLCI. They run workshops which support home study. They are recognised by City & Guilds as running courses which can lead to qualifications. Can I afford to Learn? Colleges • If you are on benefits, you will usually qualify for a special ‘concessionary’ rate on course fees. Often this will mean you do not have to pay any course fees at all. Sometimes you will have to pay a reduced rate. • Nearly all colleges will require you to pay a one–off college registration fee, whether you are on benefits or not. This will usually be in the range of £15 to £30. You will probably have to find this yourself. • For some courses there might be extra expenses involved, such as for books or materials. You might also have travel costs to the college. In these circumstances, you might be able to get help from special college funds, often called ‘Access Funds’ or ‘Learner Support Funds’. The college will give you the forms to claim if you ask. Private Training Courses For help that you might be able to get paying for a private plumbing course see our section Private Training Courses Contacts for further information |