fully qualified plumber in two weeks.

[fuzzy]

Oh at least £200 I should think. ACS is a joke anyway it needs to be tightened up e.g closed book and not allowing people to pretty much give the answers. Last time I went there were three council lads there, didn't have a clue but got through anyway one had to go back the next day I didn't think that was allowed.

thats the fault of the centre, not the ACS. dont blame the qual for the cheating centres

 

[GQuigley67]

well they should be regulated then to prevent it happening, and fined heavily if doing so.

So were going to have to sit in a classroom doing gas training every year soon ?

 

[fuzzy]

well they should be regulated then to prevent it happening, and fined heavily if doing so.

So were going to have to sit in a classroom doing gas training every year soon ?

its presumed better to sit a one day assessment every year to ensure your up to standard.

they are regulated internally, but if they are cheats they may cheat this also, and externally once a year full audit, many centres get shut down every year, if they cheat its only a matter of time. best way is to complain, if nobody does its harder for the auditors to pick out the issues

 

[david williams]

plumber in two weeks !! never happens,master plumber 12 weeks total delusion,earn £40k afterwards your dreaming,

 

[fagsanbooz]

The 1 day a year thing has been floating around for years!! One of the major changs i saw proposed will probably be allowing some large companies to assess in workplace but even this has probs when type of work is limited and impartiality could be questionable!

 

[tamz]

Every 5 years or 1 year? We won't have a say. It will just be imposed on us.
At the end of the day ACS is a paper pass the buck excersise. It is not designed to fail, (2 attempts then spear the answer out of you by interrogation) if it was who would do the work? The few who could pass closed book would never be able to cope with the work demand and the powers that be know this. So, they put us through this sham every 5 years, not for the benefit of few, but for the many. You could be brain dead and illiterate and still pass.
Once you have "passed" you are then officially the "responsible person" ie the buck stops with you. It is your call but call it wrong and you will pay the price personally.
The main beneficiaries are the industry built up around training. There will never be a need or call for less training, only more.
In house training will happen as the influence of the big players is too great to resist. Generally the likes of BG are far in advance of smaller companies with their in house stuff as it is.
Transco already do this through Advantica and believe me there is no impartiality on that side. It is a lot more in depth and far stricter.
What they do need to look at is on the job experience tied in to the ACS which i have many opinions on but don't know the answer to, but neither do those in charge.
The whole fast track system is flawed in this respect. How much is enough experience? 10, 20, 30 jobs? who can say. Everyone is different. Only the man giving the practical training knows what that person is like. Some may be quick to learn, some may be slow.
This goes back to a proper apprenticeship. Anyone who has had an apprentice under them knows what they are capable of doing without supervision and let them progress accordingly. Some will take to the gas it in a few months, some will take to other things quicker and may take years to be ready.
As an employer and trainer, i personally know when someone is capable of being let loose as would any journeyman.
I (unlike any training establishments AND the ruling bodies) have a conscience. I could never let a lad loose who didn't know what he was doing even if he thought he could. He would be ready when i decided. If hemessed up then i have too, in my responsibility not only to him but to the public.
Perhaps i may be old fashioned in my thinking but i know any apprentice (trainee if you like) i have ever had, knew what he was doing before i let him do it on his own unsupervised.
Our world is changing and not all for the good but we have little influence over it

 

[ecowarm]

Every 5 years or 1 year? We won't have a say. It will just be imposed on us.
At the end of the day ACS is a paper pass the buck excersise. It is not designed to fail, (2 attempts then spear the answer out of you by interrogation) if it was who would do the work? The few who could pass closed book would never be able to cope with the work demand and the powers that be know this. So, they put us through this sham every 5 years, not for the benefit of few, but for the many. You could be brain dead and illiterate and still pass. Those who fail should be ............well i just deleted that bit..........it wasn't nice..........to them!
Once you have "passed" you are then officially the "responsible person" ie the buck stops with you. It is your call but call it wrong and you will pay the price personally.
The main beneficiaries are the industry built up around training. There will never be a need or call for less training, only more.
In house training will happen as the influence of the big players is too great to resist. Generally the likes of BG are far in advance of smaller companies with their in house stuff as it is.
Transco already do this through Advantica and believe me there is no impartiality on that side. It is a lot more in depth and far stricter.
What they do need to look at is on the job experience tied in to the ACS which i have many opinions on but don't know the answer to, but neither do those in charge.
The whole fast track system is flawed in this respect. How much is enough experience? 10, 20, 30 jobs? who can say. Everyone is different. Only the man giving the practical training knows what that person is like. Some may be quick to learn, some may be slow.
This goes back to a proper apprenticeship. Anyone who has had an apprentice under them knows what they are capable of doing without supervision and let them progress accordingly. Some will take to the gas it in a few months, some will take to other things quicker and may take years to be ready.
As an employer and trainer, i personally know when someone is capable of being let loose as would any journeyman.
I (unlike any training establishments AND the ruling bodies) have a conscience. I could never let a lad loose who didn't know what he was doing even if he thought he could. He would be ready when i decided. If he fkd up then i have too, in my responsibility not only to him but to the public.
Perhaps i may be old fashioned in my thinking but i know any apprentice (trainee if you like) i have ever had, knew what he was doing before i let him do it on his own unsupervised.
Our world is changing and not all for the good but we have little influence over it

I agree totally.

I have come across a fully quallified gas safe installer who wanted £45 p/h and was outraged whin I said £20 was more like it subbing

This person could not solder but when I watched dripped solder onto a fitting , the fitting never reached soldering temp! and then wondered why it leaked?

It had taken this person 7yrs to reach this standard!

Doing a gas fire service forgot to do a spillage test?

This person was in no way suitable to be RGI but was was qualified for everything domestic and LPG but didn't have a clue

In my opinion shouldn't be allowed to fill a gas lighter

 

[tamz]

In my opinion shouldn't be allowed to fill a gas lighter

Met a lot like that Eco and as you say, they think because they have a "qualification" that if we are honest, the dog could pass, they should be on major money! I wish i was on 45 quid an hour with all the guys i have working with me but the reality is i'm £1.32 short (never counted it week to week).
There needs to be a reality check here. Sure you have a responsibility but the main responsibility falls to the employer. You personally mess up but if you are employed the buck will stop with your employer, not you. Some i have seen i wouldn't give minimum wage. They are useless! On ther other hand i have a guy on £18/hr but he does what he does very well.

 

[fuzzy]

i agree most time tamz but im not sure this time. most centres are honest, most people have a conscience, most people wouldnt mind doing their acs every year or every 5. the yearly thing is to stop it taking so long, one day a year, every year.
I am sick of hearing the blame be put on the qual, the quals fine, its a good qual and certainly tighter than many other training schemes. what else can they do? they have a rigorous assessment and a body designed to be a policing authority, tell me what else can be done, and be sensible please. to blame the qual for some bad centres, what next, ban all cars because some people speed, its not the person ts the car at fault!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Guest123]

@tamz. Well said.