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Nitrous

Hi,

I was taken for a ride by BTSC in Chessington like many others. I went there with the aim to get into gas, they led me along the C&G Level 2 plumbing route..

I want to become a gas engineer & it looks like a minefield of potential ways of becoming qualified. Many courses with many different qualifications. I have already been taken for many thousands & don't want to make the same mistake again. I have a gas engineer pal & he said to do a BPEC foundation in gas & if I get enough supporting evidence I could the apply to take my ACS certs, is this correct & would you advise this is a good way of getting to ACS level ? is this really possible & what would I need to look out for.

Any providers of course that you would recommend ?

I have seen my local college are running the EPEC Foundation on a part time basis in January, it's 1 day a wk for 1 yr and cost about £1295. What would I need to do alongside this to gain enough supporting evidence to apply for ACS ?

Many thanks in advance

Nitrous
 
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I've trained about 100 or so people through the Bpec gas foundation course, you need to do the theory in college and then build a portfolio of relevant practical real gas work with a gas contractor,
One day a week at college is obviously a max of 52 days, but probably less due to holidays,
If you have a relevant qualification you will be a CAT 2 ( approx 8 weeks full time theory) if you have no relevant quals you are a CAT 3 which is 13 weeks full time theory
Then you need to do your portfolio, as a CAT 3 it's usually approx 13 weeks for portfolio but it depends on the type and amount of jobs you can log
The biggest hurdle with going the course is getting a placement, I've trained it in 3 different places all guarantee a placement, I know of others who guarantee to help you look for a placement, NOT the same thing, so before you pay for anything get a written statement of what you are guaranteed to get for your cash, I think the price you quoted will only get you the theory so be careful
One piece of advice I give anyone considering doing the course is to realise what you are getting, once qualified you have limited experience so you have to think through what you intend to do, or what experience you already have,
One guy who springs to mind ran a building firm and was hacked off getting treated badly by a succession of gas guys who thought they were worth a lot more than they actually were so he took time out to do the course, passed and now has an additional string to the business bow, he does a lot of kitchens so mainly does hobs, but from that he's had boiler renewals, he knows little of repairs so passes that to someone who is better, it's all about knowing your limits and working hard
Gas isn't hard to learn and I can say that from experience, I can teach most people the basics and the theory but 10 yrs later they still struggle to repair, but they are as competent as any at installing and servicing
 
Hi kirkgas,

Thanks for a great response!

It seems such a minefield out there, but I think i'm getting it..

Could you recommend any courses that actually GUARANTEE the placement ?

I really want to be a gas engineer (fitter, service & repair) what would be the minimum certs I would need to get before I could apply for my Gas Safe ? Would it be CCN1, WAT1, CPA1 & CENWAT. I have been baffled by all the different certs available!

I hear what you are saying about the repair, this must be the hardest part to master! Most people would rather install a new boiler, than spend the time fault finding the actual problem & having the time to try & repair it, I guess this also has it's pro's & con's depending on the situation.. possibly an old lady who can only afford the part that needs replacing, or a job miles away from home that you don't want to be going back to when the next part in the boiler fails & fitting a new system knowing (hoping) this will be good for years (hopefully)

The local college is government run & I think they only provide the theory side, could I actually do the portfolio on my own ? covering the criteria with my pal if he would be happy for me to do this ? How would I go about doing this on my own ?

It seems like there are various governing bodies who can say i'm competent to apply for my ACS certs BPEC & Logic being 2 that I know of. Isn't it possible to go direct to ACS do I need a governing body to say i'm competent enough to apply ? if so which is best ? I have heard BPEC require lots more evidence than LOGIC but does this carry more weight or not ?

Again, thanks for a great reply!
 
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Hi kirkgas,

Thanks for a great response!

It seems such a minefield out there, but I think i'm getting it..

Could you recommend any courses that actually GUARANTEE the placement ?

I really want to be a gas engineer (fitter, service & repair) what would be the minimum certs I would need to get before I could apply for my Gas Safe ? Would it be CCN1, WAT1, CPA1 & CENWAT. I have been baffled by all the different certs available!

I hear what you are saying about the repair, this must be the hardest part to master! Most people would rather install a new boiler, than spend the time fault finding the actual problem & having the time to try & repair it, I guess this also has it's pro's & con's depending on the situation.. possibly an old lady who can only afford the part that needs replacing, or a job miles away from home that you don't want to be going back to when the next part in the boiler fails & fitting a new system knowing (hoping) this will be good for years (hopefully)

The local college is government run & I think they only provide the theory side, could I actually do the portfolio on my own ? covering the criteria with my pal if he would be happy for me to do this ? How would I go about doing this on my own ?

It seems like there are various governing bodies who can say i'm competent to apply for my ACS certs BPEC & Logic being 2 that I know of. Isn't it possible to go direct to ACS do I need a governing body to say i'm competent enough to apply ? if so which is best ? I have heard BPEC require lots more evidence than LOGIC but does this carry more weight or not ?

Again, thanks for a great reply!

It's down to the actual place providing the training, not the certification body who run the scheme to sort out a placement, as that's part of the contract with the client, as long as the client does a relevant portfolio then it's fine, so as long as you have a detailed chat with the training provider and clarify in writing what is required in your portfolio to allow you to sit the ACS, and you document that then you must be allowed to sit the ACS, some places are less scrupulous than others, ( haha I can hear the troops saying most are unscrupulous but that's opinion and there are many many registered firms who will rip off their customers just like the dodgy centres who rip off candidates like you) so choose carefully and wisely
Once you have in writing what you need it's perfectly acceptable for you to organise it on your own, if they cannot guarantee it, do it in conjunction with the college and keep things updated and checked as you go, there's no point in waiting 5 months to be told the portfolio is mince,
So sort a portfolio provider, confirm the details to the college, confirm they are happy with the firm, do ongoing updates with the college on your portfolio and when you have met the minimum requirement you will then sit the ACS
When qualified you will do whatever work you can get, whether it's servicing with a bigger contractor, installing or last resort repairing, some firms only install so it's ideal to get a job with them rather than with a repair firm cause you won't survive there as you will spend too much time and money on parts trying to fix boilers, that needs to be built up over time
Re applying to gas safe for registration, technically once you complete your CCN1 you can apply, but you can only work on the categories you hold tickets for, and although CCN1 is core and all about safety, it will only let you install pipes and do visual inspections, you cant work on any appliances
CENWAT covers boilers and water heaters,
CKR1 covers hobs and cookers
HTR1 covers fires
CPA1 covers flue gas analysis ( but is now incorporated in CCN1 for initial guys)
DAH1 covers warm air ( very limited areas to work on warm air, but still needed by lots of guys)
MET1 covers exchanging and moving meters

I'm very familiar with bpec portfolio, but not so much others, but contact the certification bodies office and ask for info on their portfolio, I can't see it being too much different between places
You must get experience on the types of appliances you want to do ACS on, however one way round this is to do CCN1 and CENWAT concentrate on doing boilers for portfolio, once qualified it's acceptable to return to the centre and do other elements as a Cat1 so less training required before assessment and no portfolio, this route could be hazardous as you will have limited experience, your choice, depending on how hard you will try to do things properly
I'm based in the west of scotland and train and assess in places that run the courses they only book the amount of candidates on courses that they have placements for via their network, if you are in this area contact me via PM and I will supply you contact names, if you aren't up here it's not really worthwhile discussing actual places,
 
Thanks kirkgas for another very informative reply!

Unfortunately i'm based in Kent! so many miles from you..

You have given me some great food for thought, although I still need to wade my way through all crappy centres/portfolio providers to find 1 that delivers & suits my needs. All the centres I have called today have pretty much said the same things, forget the BPEC Foundation, we have our own training schedule.. this worries me..

So I am possibly on the hunt for a fast track BPEC college in Kent or more likely I will do the years course at my local government college, I think the latter may work best for me.. I have spoke to my gas pal & if I can generate some work for us he is happy to work with me.. I think if I did the part time course I could try & build my port folio at the same time. So now I need to find a decent portfolio provider.

Thanks for you're fantastic advice!
 
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