Simplifying Plumbing Qualifications - The Best Routes

The figures explaining how much Plumbers can earn is often talked about in the papers. Figures of 30-70k p.a. are touted, alongside much talk of the profound shortage in the number of Plumbers within the UK. So, are we being told a story or is this the genuine picture? For the competent and correctly skilled person, this level of salary is realistic. In fact, earnings in excess of 70 - 100k p.a. are achievable - but that is solely for those who work within the self-employed market-place, rather than those who work within established employment routes.

If you enter the traditional work environment, primarily working for an established employer, then working hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are standard. Furthermore from a UK employer, the usual perks are holiday pay and sickness allowance, as well as salaries of between 15k and 30k p.a. The self-employed person can generally achieve higher incomes than those available from the traditional approach, but would need to consider working 'out of hours' - and probably longer than the typical 9am-6pm Mon-Fri model. This is clear when self employed plumbers have to work evenings and weekends, where their domestic clients are working during the day.

Also there is the factor of self-employment and whether it goes with some people more than others. Finally there is good 'business sense', such as getting the hourly rate correct, advertising and marketing budgets spot on which are all important. Equally, most self-employed people will need to pay additional costs to cover their materials and transport, alongside legal and accountancy fees etc. Although it is expected that these can be relatively small in relation to the earnings overall they can mount up, but then so can the benefits. Plus the profits nearly always beat the odds!

Student Entrants are generally looking for regular employment with a particular employer who can cover most of their working needs and teach them from experience. The Self Employed Entrant on the other hand will need to widen their list of plumbing accreditations and certifications as quickly as possible. That said the vast majority of self-employed plumbers appear to favour the 'domestic' instead of the commercial market. (Not all, just the majority!)

There does appear to be some union between certification relating to each path of Plumbing education and hence the industry. It is when the issue of NVQ's (SVQ's in Scotland) is considered that a considerable discrepancy becomes clear.

From the outset, it is clear that the Self Employed Entrant does not depend as much upon the NVQ's as the Student Entrant. In order to meet their client's expectations the Self Employed Entrant will often need to use a greater range of certifications. Certainly, the self-employed person needs to rapidly gain the key domestic-centred qualifications that will satisfy their typical household-based clients. Once they have covered the core parts the Student Entrant will often carry on their study not dissimilar to an apprenticeship in the workplace (where the NVQ element can be appraised.) Considerable savings potential exists to the Student Entrant by taking on this cheaper form of study. Nevertheless by taking a more commercial viewpoint and gaining qualifications faster than the Student Entrant, many Self Employed Entrants gain greater financial rewards and within a shorter space of time.

It is by covering the study needs along with those of a clear careers discussion that meet the financial rewards. For adults with demands of say a 20kp.a and a family to look after, the prospect of going back to college and spending a further 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work can be very daunting. It should also be remembered that many younger Student Entrants are entering an apprenticeship and thereby have their courses paid for them whereas the mature self-employed students do not. Depending on the level of certification sought and the course itself the costs for people can run into 3k to 10k+.

Self Employed Entrants can consider a wide range of private technical colleges as opposed to the reliance on further-education colleges and that differentiates them from Student Entrants. Often through the use of established training schemes many commercially oriented plumbing courses are now able to deliver the necessary skill-sets and qualifications. This method offers key advantages to Self Employed Students, allowing them to train evenings, part-time or on self-study classes thereby continuing with their existing jobs and maintaining their financial situation. Considering so many options on hand it is clever to gather data from as many sources as one can. To review your options why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and you can come back and review the links and adverts we have provided for you.

Plumbers 'marketability' is often increased through the use of additional courses. It is by training in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical that Plumbers can gain extra certifications. A popular route for Plumbers involves that of the normal domestic and commercial heating system training program of Gas Training.

Gas training in itself is a specific and rigorous training regime, with core subjects followed by an emphasis on NVQ's. This considers ongoing development, especially for those who trained first as a plumber and are seeking extra skills. It could be said that the blend of training covering Plumbing/Gas training is better matched to the mature student. It is by centring on these core elements and dropping the NVQ elements that the Mature Student appears to settle.

The self-employed professional appears to benefit from this distinct training mixture. Without a doubt the appeal is to learn a greater range of skill-sets and at the same time earn money from them. This adds to their overall package rather than having to rely on sub-contraction of key skills to third parties. Of equal concern is the lowering of customer value as they have to wait for essentials to be handled by others and the reduction of the overall earning potential that ensues from sub-contraction. The more professional a Plumber is within their field the more that they have to offer their relative client base.

Finally, whilst the Student Entrant breaks into the industry more quickly the Self Employed Entrant has the opportunity for higher potential earnings, but to do so they need to develop a broader range of certifications and a higher level of business skill sets. Note: This relative information is primarily for the UK workplace and policies alone.

(C) 2009 - S. Edwards. Visit Click HERE or Plumbing Careers.