A Career As A Plumber - Plumbing Apprenticeships & Qualifications

There will always be a nationwide demand for qualified plumbers and heating engineers. Commercial work might be harder to find, but householders easily make up for the shortfall. Everybody knows of someone who's had difficulty getting hold of a plumber when they needed one. Plus people change their bathrooms and kitchens more often than they used to, which provides a constant supply of work for certified plumbers. Consequently if you're considering a career change, you might well find that becoming a professional plumber fits the bill!

Free In-Depth Information

Once you've learned the necessary skills and understand the systems you'll be working on, the sky's the limit! To help you gain a better understanding of the different training paths available, we've written a very useful e-book that you can access without charge. You'll find it helpful when trying to differentiate between the various courses that training companies offer.

Click now for your free e-book, and get a balanced view of what's needed. Then get back onto this website and go to any of the retraining sites that appear on this page. A shortcut if you want to bookmark the page is Ctrl D.

Run Your Own Business

Many people train as plumbers so that they can join the ranks of the self-employed and have more control over their lives. It's true to say that just about all those who enter the industry as adults start working for themselves very quickly. It makes a lot of sense when you look at how much work is available, and how much money can be made when you've built your reputation.

As time goes on, most of your work should come as a result of recommendations from others - always ask for referrals. Working for yourself means getting on well with everyone around you. You just don't know where the next job's coming from... It's amazing how much work is lost through sloppy attitudes and general discourtesy.

Commercial plumbers will usually work on weekdays only, typically 8am to 5pm. Domestic plumbers are best not to restrict themselves too rigidly though. Many working people can't afford to take time off work, so plumbers who will visit outside working hours can often get much better business.

Rewarding Work For Years To Come...

Skilled plumbers with the right certifications are set for life - people will always need your services. The work is very satisfying, as you're either seeing a job through from beginning to end, or solving problems for people when emergencies occur. The fact that you're moving around working in different properties all the time makes the work really interesting as well.

Plumbers who work for themselves must get to grips with doing quotations that win contracts at the right price. You can either charge a daily rate, or a price for the job. Whichever you do, make sure you've included all your expenses. It's often a bit hit and miss at first, but you'll quickly learn by any mistakes! Private training companies sometimes feature a course on working for yourself.

The Right Course For You...

Both Further Education colleges and private training companies should feature basic plumber training in City & Guilds certifications. Young trainee plumbers in their teens tend to go for work experience as well as college to get practical NVQ certifications as well.

Older students generally enrol on part time courses and study around their existing commitments. It's the private training companies that tend to attract mature entrants, because they service their needs better. Even though students in commercial colleges train part-time, they can gain knowledge quickly by focusing on the level of training needed for the domestic work they'll be doing.

Ancillary Training

When you do your training course, you'll learn all about common plumbing processes and the key principles you need to know. You might also consider some ancillary extras so that when you're doing domestic jobs you can cover most things yourself without having to sub certain jobs out. If you take Part P for example you'll comply with the regulations for domestic electrical work.

The more skills you can offer the better business you'll have. You'll attract a bigger customer base and keep more of the profits for yourself. There'll be no waiting around for bathroom fitters or tilers if you can do the work yourself - and the customer will be much less inconvenienced.

Ultimately, if you're an adult looking to retrain for a new plumbing career, your best route is probably via a multi-skill set of courses with a private training company.