A Guide To Plumber Apprenticeships
The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national press. It is this need for trained Plumbers that has led to salaries of 30-70k p.a. being advertised. The question now is – are we being lied to, or is this the truth? Without a doubt, a fully experienced Plumber can command salaries of such levels. So whilst those working in the self-employed role can get incomes of 70-100k p.a., those working in more conventional employment routes often find it hard to achieve this salary.
The normal working week is pretty standard for those who join an established company. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. However, if the self employed person is willing to work longer than the normal working hours then more money can be earned. This is especially the case where self-employed plumbers have opted to work in the domestic market, where their clients are at work during the day – requiring evening and weekend visits.
Then there is the matter of working for yourself, which agrees with some people more than others. By using \’good business sense\’, including getting your own cost per hour correct, items such as advertising and marketing can also be worked out. To be fair most self-employed people will have to prepare for additional costs including those relating to legal and accountancy fees as well as those of transport and material usage. 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. And the positives virtually always beat the downsides!
From the outset it\’s the double offer of teaching them from experience and covering most of their working needs that Student Entrants are looking for in employment. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. To be fair it is the \’domestic\’ market which appeals to a large number of self-employed plumbers and not necessarily that of the commercial sector. (At least most of them do)
There does appear to be some union between certification relating to each path of Plumbing education and hence the industry. The issue of NVQ\’s (or SVQ\’s in Scotland) nevertheless appears to cause some difference.
To begin with, the Student Entrant appears to rely more heavily on the NVQ structure than the Self Employed 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. The Student Entrant, once they have covered the key fundamentals, will carry on their study in a way similar to an apprenticeship (within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be assessed.) Considerable savings potential exists to the Student Entrant by taking on this cheaper form of study. It is fair to say that long before the Student Entrant the Self Employed Entrant can gain financial benefits through establishing certifications faster and by being more commercially motivated.
It is the required financial rewards that drive the urgency of clear careers discussions, whether they are overall study or certification requirements. 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. It is often the course structure and the level of certification that can run into costs of around 3k-10k+.
Student Entrants will in the main study at further-education colleges, the Self Employed student however has the option to consider the increased scope of private commercial colleges. Commercially oriented plumbing course companies will provide an established path of training which ultimately leads into recognised skill-sets and qualifications. In the current climate the ability of Self Employed Entrants to maintain their current financial situation and job, whilst at the same time as training in the evening, part-time or on self study classes remains one of the advantages of this system. With so many training colleges available, it makes sense to gather information from as many sources as possible. 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.
Many plumbing students will go on to consider additional courses to increase their \’marketability\’. Indeed it is through the added training provided that certification in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical can be gained. Forming part of the common domestic and commercial heating system, Plumbers have often opted for Gas Training.
With core subjects followed by NVQ\’s, Gas Training is a thorough and exact training program. For those who trained as a plumber first and are now looking at extra skills this also offers many options for their on-going development. In review it is often felt that the mature student responds well to the blend of Gas/Plumbing training. The path of focussing on the core subjects and at the same time dropping the NVQ\’s seems to favour the Mature Student.
From this, the self-employed professional appears to suit the variable training schemes. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. This further enhances their commercial offering, instead of sub-contracting key skills to a third party. Whilst sub-contracting can reduce the earning of a particular job perhaps more important is the deterioration of the value in a customer\’s eye as they have to wait for jobs to be handled by others before completion of the overall task. To have a higher value within their client base a Plumber needs to consider their relative skill sets that they offer.
In conclusion, the Self Employed Entrant can enjoy a much higher (and more quickly achieved) income than a Student Entrant, but they would have to work at developing a broader range of certifications (and consider the business side of things too.) Note: The above information is solely relative to the UK market, industry requirements and policies.
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