Posts Tagged ‘career’
Explaining Plumbing NVQ and Technical Certificates – Where To Go
To begin with newspapers appear to love discussing what can be earned in Plumbing. Salaries of 30-70k p.a. are often discussed, along with the lack of plumbers within the UK. So, is this really the position or is this basically untrue? To be fair, this wage level is reasonable for the correctly qualified and experienced Plumber. To be fair, the higher earnings of 70-100k p.a. are generally for those working within the self-employed field.
To be fair being with a regular employer often results in working from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm as standard. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. That said it is by working longer than typically 9am to 6pm, Mon to Fri that self employed people achieve higher incomes than those adopting a traditional approach. This is more noticeable when the self employed plumber chooses to work in the domestic market, as result often requiring many evening and weekend visits to suit their clients.
Around which is the question of self employment which appears to fit some people. The inclusion of key elements such as utilising good ‘business sense’, covering areas such as advertising and marketing and getting your own cost-per-hour correct is integral to the picture. Furthermore, additional costs such as materials and transport, along with legal and accountancy fees will need to be paid. 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!
Initially, by searching for standard work a Student Entrant can get the majority of training especially with working knowledge and experience. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. In fairness it is the ‘domestic’ market rather than the commercial sector that attracts the majority of the self-employed workers in the UK. (Whilst not everyone does the majority do!)
Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. The issue of NVQ’s (or SVQ’s in Scotland) nevertheless appears to cause some difference.
From the beginning the Student Entrant instead of the Self Employed Entrant is much more reliant upon the NVQ requirements. In order to meet their client’s expectations the Self Employed Entrant will often need to use a greater range of certifications. Certainly, it is the qualifications aimed at meeting the needs of the typical household-based client base that self-employed persons need to focus upon. Having covered off the key elements of training within the college, the Student Entrant usually then enters the apprenticeship stage within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be assessed. By using this cheaper form of study the Student Entrant can make sound financial savings from the outset. It is often by gaining certifications faster, by being motivated by a more commercial standpoint that the Self Employed Entrant will achieve considerable financial benefits before a Student Entrant.
This shows the necessity of a clear careers discussion, covering the overall study and certification requirements alongside the required financial return. It is often the issue of 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work, alongside going back to college that many adults having to look after their family and with say 20kp.a requirements find difficult. It should also be borne in mind that many young Student Entrants have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships, whereas the self-employed student generally funds the course themselves. The level of certification sought by the student drives the course structure and can result in costs of between 3k through 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. Plumbing training companies can offer commercial routes in to reputable training paths that cover the necessary qualifications and skill-sets. The ability to train in evenings, part-time or in self study classes allowing people to continue with their existing job and maintaining their current financial situation remains one of the key advantages to Self Employed Entrants. With so many training colleges available, it makes sense to gather information from as many sources as possible. We’ve provided links and adverts from several, so why not book-mark this page (CTRL-D) so you can come back later to review your options.
Many plumbing students will go on to consider additional courses to increase their ‘marketability’. Key certificates in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical training can be provided by these courses. Gas training has always been a route for Plumbers to consider, as this forms part of the common domestic and commercial heating system.
It is with its main subjects, alongside added NVQ’s, that result in Gas Training being viewed as a technical program. It also features many options for on-going training, especially for those who trained as a plumber first and are now looking at some extra skills to add to their stable. From this idea the mature student works better with a fusion offered by 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.
It is from this mix of training methods that the self-employed professional appears to benefit. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. The removal of any reliance of sub-contracting key skills of third parties definitely enhances the commercial package. 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 be fair the more talent a Plumber has in their own job then the more they have to offer their client base.
In retrospect, the Self Employed Entrant has the potential to achieve a much higher and more readily available income stream than Student Entrant, but to do so they need to develop both their business skills and achieve a broader range of certifications. Note: This information relates to the UK market, policies and industry requirements alone.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Browse around Plumbing Apprenticeships or Plumbing and Heating Courses.