Help Starting of in the Trade Advice plz

[SamR]

Hello guys.
So i'll get to the point im 30 years old have 3 kids and a wife.
iv just been made unemployed.
im looking for a new path to take and plumbing is were the paths taking me before i was unemployed i
was going to take a 3k loan out and do a course up to NVQ-2.
now my problem is i cant afford to take out a loan ><
my question is im going to start driving around and approaching some local plumbers face to face handing them cv's
out and explaining


.......im wiling to work on min wage ..........
.......make teas clean up.............
.......save my own cash and study, learn and take courses to up my game.....
i fully understand that the above wil be your rules :vanish:


if i was to bump into you and handed my CV to you and explained the above would you appreciate that more then me giving my cv and walking away
or would you think sod him he can jog on his not calling the shots..


Could i please have your opinion on this and advice on how to approach this and maybe have a chance i'll be starting from the ground up and im willing to work hard
i dont expect things to be handed to me either

Thanks sam

Please go easy

 

[chris watkins]

Go for it you never know until you try but please promise me one thing DO NOT take out a loan and don't waste £3K+ on a plumbing course you will just be following a very long line of people who wasted their money by not understanding what is required to become a plumber.

Good luck Sam

 

[Last Plumber]

I don't envy you at all here Sam !

My advice to you would be to get work in the building trade as a labourer.
Go at it that way. There aren't many plumbers I know who want a labourer or an apprentice your age tbh.

That is obviously my opinion and I am only able to talk about plumbers from my part of the world who I know personally. The tale may be different elsewhere !

Good luck, I hope it works out well.

 

[Last Plumber]

In addition,
Chris Watkins is right about that too, be careful who's advice you buy !

 

[SimonG]

Plenty of advice already on here with regard to the 'older' starter.

The only bit I can add is don't expect as much as minimum pay in first year.

 

[woodsy]

All above is sound advice - unfortunately the trade in most areas is saturated with 'plumbers' and the going rate for an apprentice is probably half minimum / living wage. I wish you all the luck in the world but with three kids and a missus, I'd be looking at another career path as very few small plumbing firms have any apprentices, never mind one that needs minimum wage.

 

[joni os]

Leave out "make tea and clean up" It suggests you expect tea breaks. Substitute :- General labouring and hours necessary for completion of work.
Don't waste money on plumbing courses, other than at local education college.

 

[mfgs]

What has made you decide on plumbing? What sort of work were you doing previously?

It is a difficult position you are in, but not the worst. Some companies will look at your age and situation as a bonus, as man with a wife and kids to feed is much more likely to put the effort in than a 16 year old kid. You are also more mature, and hopefully you would have a bit more common sense too. The downside is the cost of training for your employer compared to someone younger.

 

[shyguy2005]

I'd try putting a notice up at plumb centre (obviously ask staff there first) Seen a few do that round our neck of the woods.

 

[CatAdelova]

How about a part time course at your local technical college? It costs a lot less than £3000 and you can pay termly if you want.

I'm 34 with 2 kids and go to college 1 day per week. On the other days I work as a Housekeeper for minimum wage. I also spend 1 day a week with a local plumber helping out for free. She has seen my passion and enthusiasm and is keen to work together once I'm qualified.

My whole class at college is made up of guys the same age who are retraining. All are working other jobs whilst studying and helping other plumbers/building firms for free at the weekends/evenings.

When I first made the decision to go back to college I wrote to every plumbing company in my area offering to help out for free and only one replied (the plumber who I mentioned above), the rest didn't even respond. If you want them to pay you a wage I really can't see that happening.

Hope this helps! Good luck

 

[KingDoey]

What are your reasons for choosing plumbing because if its for the money forget it! Long days and waking up some days feeling crippled its not all its cracked up to be...

That said if your serious you might enquire with your local council. They tend to prefer more mature apprentices...

 

[JCplumb]

Students on their second year are offering to work for plumbers for free to get their portfolios up, I personally wouldn't take someone on with no qualifications/experience and pay them minimum wage, sorry to be blunt mate but I doubt many people would.
If you're determined maybe get any old job and do an evening course, that's how I started - 2 years of college from 6-9 on Mondays and Tuesdays and the odd weekend plumbing job for very little money, infact I used to charge the cost of the tool that I would need for the job. First rad I did in 10mm paid for the microbore bender, first outside tap paid for the drill bit etc. By the time I qualified I already had most of my tools. I was about your age too and also had a Mrs and 3 kids.

(I wrote this an hour ago but the site went down temporarily so had to redo it)

 

[SamR]

Students on their second year are offering to work for plumbers for free to get their portfolios up, I personally wouldn't take someone on with no qualifications/experience and pay them minimum wage, sorry to be blunt mate but I doubt many people would.
If you're determined maybe get any old job and do an evening course, that's how I started - 2 years of college from 6-9 on Mondays and Tuesdays and the odd weekend plumbing job for very little money, infact I used to charge the cost of the tool that I would need for the job. First rad I did in 10mm paid for the microbore bender, first outside tap paid for the drill bit etc. By the time I qualified I already had most of my tools. I was about your age too and also had a Mrs and 3 kids.

(I wrote this an hour ago but the site went down temporarily so had to redo it)

Blunt is what i need mate i need to hear it from a Pro that's doing the work day in day out. Alot of ppl i speak to are like its easy just get loan get nvq 2
away you go but they dont seem to know what lays ahead the problem i have is iv been in dead end jobs and fed up now 3 years ago i was made redundant
i said im going to make some think of my self i never did then i went and got another deadened job because its easy but i cant / wont do it this time.
i no il have 2 get a part time job to keep cash coming in and train the days im off as you said im going to offer work for free if thats the case
im going to have a look see were about's in southeast kent were i can pick up a college course..
Thnx for reply

 

[SamR]

iv only ever done warehouse work .
iv refitted my bathroom and kitchen not so long ago and i had to do all the pluming then yer was only few
STRAIGHT COUPLINGS and some isolation values bath sink taps toilet i just really enjoyed doing it.
The downside is the cost of training for your employer compared to someone younger.
Thats were i was going to try cover that my self getting NVQ2 but with the way things went iv got no hope in doing that.

MFGS

 

[SamR]

I'd try putting a notice up at plumb centre (obviously ask staff there first) Seen a few do that round our neck of the woods.

I was this evening having a look around for more plumbing shops to travel to and ask if im ok to leave few cvs with em

 

[SamR]

Go for it you never know until you try but please promise me one thing DO NOT take out a loan and don't waste £3K+ on a plumbing course you will just be following a very long line of people who wasted their money by not understanding what is required to become a plumber.

Good luck Sam

Thnaks Chris im not so sure on the loan my self but really need to something behind me knowing how hard it is out there seems the only
way to get a head start in life.
The one thing thats in me is if i enjoy what im doing i pick things up super quick and have drive to learn more just taking each day as a new day and learning more on the way

 

[mfgs]

What area are you based in? You may find someone on here who could help out.

 

[SamR]

What area are you based in? You may find someone on here who could help out.

Im in Medway Kent

 

[Radioman]

Good advice given from the guys here. My twopenneth, can't speak for Kent but here in Herts, Beds and Bucks there is very stiff competition from Johny Foreigner working for wages well below a decent income. Of course there are well established businesses who have been around for many years but most of them have a USP such as commercial only, heating only, solar, etc etc. For example I have a very good friend who has a 20 year old established business, a high street top end bathroom showroom and all the correct qualifications. But not enough work to even keep his son on the books. When it gets busy he can find enough trades out of work to buy them in on a day rate less than he would have to pay his own boy.

His 25 year old son, who is qualified in his own right, cannot find enough well paid retail jobs to survive on his own. Every job he estimates for is cut to ribbons by "odd job men" operating from a cost base well below a "proper" qualified tradesmen. We have all seen them in Wickes, working out of the family hatchback with tools in a Tesco bag.

He has taken the steps of working for outfits that do 24 hour emergency and insurance work. He may wait weeks to get paid but it fills the diary.

Another issue is the cost of operating as self employed in this enlightened age. Tot up the cost of buying and running a vehicle, tools, liability insurance, accountant, provisions for tax and NI, pension, and don't forget to factor in those days when you have no work.

I appreciate this all sounds negative but its based on local knowledge and experiences. My advice would be to try and become multi skilled, don't focus on one particular skill unless you can see a huge gap. At one time in my working life my chosen career of 25 years just ended. So I do know a bit about re invention. It's never easy, especially when you have hungry mouths to feed. In my case I picked up a job at my local church repairing a leaded window. ( old trade skill of working with lead learnt during "proper" apprenticeship). The vicar was pleased and referred me to the Diocese, the next thing I was all over the county fixing leaded windows, good little earner.
Moral of the story, try and use a skill you have got to open the door.

 

[chris watkins]

(From above) And therein lies the troubles with this industry & trade, I know one thing however much I still love it I would not join again if I had my time over.

Best thing I did was to get out a couple of years back.

 

[Radioman]

SamR, years ago I was taught a process called a SWOT analysis which I still use today as a method of decision making and Blue Sky Brainstorming. Basically make 4 columns and title them Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Now, with your idea, plan, question, decision, whatever in mind use the columns to analyse it.

For example you may try to decide "what the hell can I do to earn a living based on my skill set". By Just use the columns you will hopefully come to conclusions. For example in the S column you may have: physical strength, cheerful personality, driving licence, fork lift certificate etc. In the W column you may have: no savings, disability, no driving licence etc. And so on. At the finish you will be able to focus your efforts more accurately. Hope this helps

 

[jtsplumbing]

I'm in the south west and we are over-run with plumbers, the rates are rubbish possibly the worst in 20 years, I only do odd days now , would I consider doing this job if I had my time over again ? 'NO' when you brake it down , poor working conditions, long hrs. some times no work, not the best paid job, what do you finish up with, poor health, back & knee problems, If your thinking of taking out a 3k loan for plumbing 'DONT' you would be better spending it on a HGV driving course .

 

[shyguy2005]

I'm in the south west and we are over-run with plumbers, the rates are rubbish possibly the worst in 20 years, I only do odd days now , would I consider doing this job if I had my time over again ? 'NO' when you brake it down , poor working conditions, long hrs. some times no work, not the best paid job, what do you finish up with, poor health, back & knee problems, If your thinking of taking out a 3k loan for plumbing 'DONT' you would be better spending it on a HGV driving course .

Would you really recommend driving HGV for a living?? That could be long hours and most of it sat in traffic! Mind numbing that!

 

[jtsplumbing]

Would you really recommend driving HGV for a living?? That could be long hours and most of it sat in traffic! Mind numbing that!

Well your working hrs. are set by the Gov., sat in traffic ? so does everyone, and its Proberly better paid ! seems to be a shortage of class 1 drivers, may be worth looking at !

 

[shyguy2005]

Well your working hrs. are set by the Gov., sat in traffic ? so does everyone, and its Proberly better paid ! seems to be a shortage of class 1 drivers, may be worth looking at !

I suppose it's always greener on the other side. If there's a forum for HGV drivers there know doubt complaining about their jobs lol

 

[gasmanrob]

If you're still looking get in touch if you have a cscs card that'll help if you have ipaf ticket and a cscs card I could potentially start you next week!