fully qualified plumber in two weeks.

[Blake]

YES - Friday night used to be fish n chip night, now its a pot noodle or spam sandwich.

 

[tamz]

I'd have to say, in the main yes.
Serving your time is not only about learning how to be a plumber or how to pass an exam. It is about learning a whole multi trade skill set which is (or never has been) taught in a classroom.
1st year apprentice (quick learner)

Btw

he has to have the right mental attitude as well as the skills.

I had a right mental attitude when i was younger (especially on the sites and renovations) but the fuse takes longer to burn as i get older.

 

[Dannypipe]

Course you're not qualified to call yourself a plumber after 2 weeks. Silly question really. Or 2 months, or two years.

In the US you have journeymen and master tradesmen, I don't know if they have a grey are in between, or if they wake up one day and they're no longer a journeyman but a master!?

Anyway in this business you never stop learning, the minute you think you know it all, Karma will come and bite you on the ars*.

But after TWO poxy weeks, I wouldn't let you change the water on my kids goldfish, let alone come swinging in my home with a wrench and a blow torch. Yeeehaaa!

Abridged: Yes - NVQ Lvl 2 - plus various gas qualifications, solar, ground & air source, unvented, few other random quals too. Served my aprentice time working for time served plumber/heating engineer (my darling father!)

 

[kirkgas]

yes (for a 2 week course)
time served to advanced craft

 

[tiling spread]

Im a plasterer 8 years in too the trade this year and im still lerning each day.
i spent years working hard with a plasterer kepted my nose clean and head down studied
started as a tea boy.
and some of the work iv seen from the TWO week courseers well im still going.
i still get thrown back now and then as I bet some of you plumbers do
well after i failed my induction test the uther week (for my plumbing course)
im getting my nut down and getting on with it as i have one more chance at it.
well when i put my tattoo gun away LOL
im in the plumbing game for the long run and im going too do it TOO

 

[tamz]

time served to advanced craft

I actually got 3 distinctions for that (still pride of place in a frame in my ma's front room alongside the 3 inter collage shields lol).
1st ever in the collage. Fk knows how cos i never read a book or carried a pencil until my time was out
Think i just had a good memory and a major hunger to make cash (married at 18).
1st solo heating job at 17 making twice the money of most by 19 (with a day off for collage)
Went to collage until i was 24 -5 because i liked a 4 day week and had a desire to learn

 

[kirkgas]

I actually got 3 distinctions for that (still pride of place in a frame in my ma's front room alongside the 3 inter collage shields lol).
1st ever in the collage. Fk knows how cos i never read a book or carried a pencil until my time was out
Think i just had a good memory and a major hunger to make cash (married at 18).
1st solo heating job at 17 making twice the money of most by 19 (with a day off for collage)
Went to collage until i was 24 -5 because i liked a 4 day week and had a desire to learn:D

or because you kept getting held back cause you couldnt finish the work!!!!!!

 

[Harveys1]

Yes they are damaging the industry
I have been an employer of over 10 staff for over 15 yrs and in our 30yr of trading and have always had 1 or 2 aprenrances at a time and still do.
They I am gad to say have all been a credit to me but I employed them for 1 yr before putting them into collage then after thier time I upgraded them to a plumber improver although some moan then 1yr later to a plumber
They need the exeriance, there is no classroom that can replace hands on
The classroom is great but only alongside the hands on

 

[kay-jay]

yes - but only some of them! as said before it depends on the individual. i was a fast tracker but i wasn't about to let anything get in the way of achieving my goals. i have nvq 2 and 3 and unvented ticket and i'm now self employed. i know there is no substitute for experience and i recognise that there are gaps in my skill set but i know what my limitations are and certainly won't undertake any work that i'm not competent to do.

i suppose i'm one of the lucky ones because i work one day a week with a time served plumber and heating engineer and i'm builing my portfolio of gas work experience ahead of the acs. this also gives me the opportunity to take on bigger and more complicated jobs myself as i can get advice and assistance when required.

i would have preferred the traditional apprentice route but it wasn't an option for me. i am however getting the required experience albeit quite slowly.


KJ

 

[GQuigley67]

YES - through apprenticeship and gas qualified learned my trade at a good company with some good tradesmen who taught me alot of stuff mostly worked on commercial though, now I'm out on my own mostly the domestic market n its a all new so needing to read up on regs etc so I'm out of my comfort zone basically but the money is better and I'm competent so all's good I believe we don't get payed enough for the work you do when you work for a company so that's why I went self employed.

I know that I am still inexperienced but I know alot of good plumbers so any big jobs I get like heating systems etc I can get someone in to help me who is more experienced.