People will always need the services of qualified plumbers, in good times and bad. Although it's harder to find commercial work, there's a great deal of domestic business to pick up. 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!
Grab Your Free Plumbing Research DocumentThe money will soon start coming in once you've undergone specialised training and built your knowledge. To get you off to the best start, we've prepared an in-depth downloadable training report that we're making available to you free of charge. With so many different companies providing varying standards of training and exams, you'll find the information invaluable.
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A career change into the plumbing industry is often prompted by the desire to have a small self-run business. Generally speaking most newly trained plumbers over thirty go for domestic work that they can take care of by themselves. This is hardly surprising when you realise how much work is out there, and the kind of money that decent plumbers can make.
A lot of work will come from friends of people you've done a good job for. People like to recommend great service. 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. It's amazing how much work is lost through sloppy attitudes and general discourtesy.
More often than not, plumbers in the commercial environment are employed to work a maximum forty hour week. But if you're going down the domestic route, those hours should be a tad more flexible. 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.
As a qualified plumber you can have a job for life, which will provide security and a good income for you and your family. 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.Self-employed plumbers need to learn how to quote for jobs competitively and profitably. As well as your time, you have to include your overheads and any materials that will be needed. It's often a bit hit and miss at first, but you'll quickly learn by any mistakes! Business management is included in the coursework with some commercial trainers.
Look for industry recognised City & Guilds courses. These are available from both technical colleges and private training companies. Those looking to train straight from school usually find apprenticeship work where they can take NVQ's as well as City & Guilds. On the other hand, adult students who are looking to change careers tend to train part time. This is why the various plumbing training companies offer courses that students can go through in their own time. Commercial trainers have higher fees than FE colleges, but students can progress more quickly if they purely concentrate on the skills needed for self-employed domestic work.
When you do your training course, you'll learn all about common plumbing processes and the key principles you need to know. But if you increase your skill-set you can take on many more roles. Additional skills could be in plastering or tiling, basic electrical work or energy efficiency.
Having additional skills will make it easier to build your name. Everything you take on will be more lucrative. Customers will be happier if they only have you to deal with - it's much more straightforward than trying to juggle several trades.
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.