Fast tra k.Gas engineer training. Yes or no

[Andy40]

Hi guys....iam new to this forum. Iam after some advice please. I leave the Fire service in just shy of 2 years. I am keen on retraining and have looked at both plumbing and gas engineer. My options probably involve a fast track course. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pickwickpick]

Have you got any experience plumbing or anything along those lines?

 

[townfanjon]

Andy , loads of threads on this , try the search box .
You will be in the middle of a mine field pal

 

[Andy40]

Andy , loads of threads on this , try the search box .
You will be in the middle of a mine field pal

Cheers pal

 

[Andy40]

Have you got any experience plumbing or anything along those lines?

No mate. I left the marines, straight in the fire service. I have no associated skills. My concern is gaining a qualification of sorts and then falling flat on my face

 

[BYP]

I would say take your time and learn. It’s best to build your experience as much as possible, even going on to other side courses in the future. If you need help in training you will always have someone to talk to. When you’re on the job at Mr smiths and you’re unsure of something, it’s not always going to be the case.
Is the any specific reason you’re looking at fast track courses?

 

[Andy40]

I assumed that was my best option. Im going to contact southport college as they have gas courses. As i said previous iam not entirely sure how to move forward with this. The easy thing would be to crack a HGV class 1 and back my pension up but i would really like to work for myself and learn something new. Iam more than willing to start at the bottom but its how to get on the ladder when im competing with chaps that already have all the quals

 

[Scott_D]

Why plumbing / gas out of interest.
Is it that fact you can do a short course or the high earning potential?

 

[Pickwickpick]

Your problem isn't going to be that you up against people with qualifications, it's that you're up against people with experience. You stand a high chance of getting caught in catch 22 of not being able to get employed as you have no experience and not being able to get experience as you can't get employed.

The problem with these fast track courses is they don't give you any real hands on experience. What practical stuff you do is based in unrealistic scenarios in the training centre work shop and even that you don't do much of.

They can be ok if e.g. you already have hands on experience with plumbing but want to move over to gas so need qualification. But even then you'll still need to try and do the various manufacturer courses afterwards to get more knowledge and ideally also spend some time helping out someone already in the trade (the really difficult thing if you don't have personal contact) and you're still realistically looking at going into self employment which is really hard work, not much security for first few years while you're setting up.

 

[Andy40]

Your problem isn't going to be that you up against people with qualifications, it's that you're up against people with experience. You stand a high chance of getting caught in catch 22 of not being able to get employed as you have no experience and not being able to get experience as you can't get employed.

The problem with these fast track courses is they don't give you any real hands on experience. What practical stuff you do is based in unrealistic scenarios in the training centre work shop and even that you don't do much of.

They can be ok if e.g. you already have hands on experience with plumbing but want to move over to gas so need qualification. But even then you'll still need to try and do the various manufacturer courses afterwards to get more knowledge and ideally also spend some time helping out someone already in the trade (the really difficult thing if you don't have personal contact) and you're still realistically looking at going into self employment which is really hard work, not much security for first few years while you're setting up.

 

[Andy40]

Ok mate cheers...in that case what advice would you give. Iam lucky as i will have a fire service pension so the pressure to get employment straight away isnt so bad. Do you think basic plumbing / building courses would be more beneficial. Iam only after 2 or 3 days work a week

 

[Andy40]

Why plumbing / gas out of interest.
Is it that fact you can do a short course or the high earning potential?

 

[Andy40]

Why plumbing / gas out of interest.
Is it that fact you can do a short course or the high earning potential?

Its not the high earning potential mate although thats obviously a factor. The main reason is to get a qualification and hit the ground running. I only intend working 2 or 3 days a week as i have my fire service pension.

 

[Stephen Legge]

Hi guys....iam new to this forum. Iam after some advice please. I leave the Fire service in just shy of 2 years. I am keen on retraining and have looked at both plumbing and gas engineer. My options probably involve a fast track course. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi mate, I asked the same question a few days ago

Fast Track courses what's the truth? Ex Military, needs advice.

May have some good advice there for you... I am confused though, with the amount of time off fireman get off you could have done a full apprenticeship whilst still a hose monkey?

 

[Andy40]

Hi mate, I asked the same question a few days ago

Fast Track courses what's the truth? Ex Military, needs advice.

May have some good advice there for you... I am confused though, with the amount of time off fireman get off you could have done a full apprenticeship whilst still a hose monkey?

 

[Andy40]

Yeah cheers for that

 

[Deleted member 32524]

To be honest it not really a 2 or 3 day a week thing. When you are only working 2-3 days your overheads are still about the same and you will be making very little money. Tools are not cheap and FGA need annual calibration then replaced again at some point. why not look at tiling and work alongside a plumber/s who do bathroom installs. Tiling a full bathroom takes 2-3 days dependant on size and tool outlay is under 100. I do my own tiling now because I could not find a reliable tiler. They all wanted 250 a day and seemed to get it, the walls fully pre-paired and all materials on site apart from their adhesive and grout. Don't even need a van.

 

[Andy40]

Cheers mate. Appreciate your help.