Increase Your Income Via Plumbing NVQ's & Certification

No matter what industries are declining or prospering, we can't do without plumbers. Although it's harder to find commercial work, there's a great deal of domestic business to pick up. We're always hearing of people who've had challenges finding a professional to sort out their plumbing emergencies. And as fewer people are moving house, more and more choose to upgrade their existing homes with new kitchens and bathrooms. So if it's time to make a change, a closer look at a plumbing career could offer everything you need.

Comprehensive Free E-Book

Whatever your starting point, once you've picked up the skills you need and got the appropriate certifications, you can start to make money. But to avoid any confusion about what you need or don't need to know, we recommend you go through our detailed FREE Plumbing Research Booklet. The information in it will help you to compare what's on offer from the different training colleges.

We'd suggest you give yourself some time to read and digest the contents. Then log on to this webpage again and request information from any of the colleges listed here. (By typing in 'Ctrl D' you can Bookmark this page for easy reference.)

Become Your Own Boss

The idea of self-employment is what attracts many men (and women for that matter) into the plumbing industry. In reality the bulk of new career plumbers enter the domestic market working predominantly by and for themselves. Obviously this makes sense when you think of the level of demand in just about every town in the country.

Try to build a good rapport with your clients - they're more likely to speak well of you to others if you do. You'll learn your industry skills through a training college, but it's equally important to learn how to deal with people. Getting along well with just one person may lead to many lucrative contracts. Treating customers respectfully and courteously will always reap rewards.

Employed commercial plumbers normally do an eight hour day, weekdays only. If you plan to work for private customers though, your hours can be much more varied. It can be quite difficult for some people to stay at home during the day waiting for a plumber, which means they're sometimes prepared to pay more for evening call-outs.

A Good and Secure Income

There's always work available for plumbers and heating engineers. Once you've got yourself trained and certified, you need to get good at promoting yourself. There's a lot of job satisfaction - as it's always good to see the end result of a job well done. There's also a lot of variety, as you work in different homes with different clients. Plus you get to choose to work you take on.

To be competitive but still make decent money you'll need to get good at quoting accurately for jobs. As well as your time, you have to include your overheads and any materials that will be needed. You'll get into the swing of things once you've done a few. Some of the commercial training centres will give guidance on this.

The Best Training For You

Whether you opt to attend an FE college full-time, or study part-time with a commercial company, you'll need to qualify in certain C&G certifications. Those looking to train straight from school usually find apprenticeship work where they can take NVQ's as well as City & Guilds.

But adult career movers usually keep their old jobs whilst they study evenings and weekends on the new one. So the more flexible courses offered by specialist companies tend to be more geared towards adult re-trainers. Their fees will be higher, but in the long run they're more cost effective for the person looking to work for themselves in a predominantly domestic environment.

Useful Add-Ons

With a basic qualification you'll be able to work on a range of plumbing jobs. It's also worth thinking about taking some extra courses so you can do more of a job yourself. You could get qualified to work on unvented hot water storage systems or water regulations or gas. If you have a broad ranging skill-set you'll be more in demand. You can service more clients' needs, and make more money each month. You won't have to work around plasterers or electricians timetables if you can do small jobs yourself.

To round up, if you're looking to work for yourself in private housing the most effective route will be via a specialist plumbing training company.