H
Heat Kent
Hello All.
Just a quick courteous introduction before I get active onthe rest of the forum… I’m a “career change” plumber, so I know lots ofexperienced guys will be rolling their eyes, huffing and puffing about me (andthat’s just the ones I’ve met face to face). That being said I don’t expectwork to fall in my lap and I am putting in the hard graft with a 20+ yearexperienced plumber to learn the trade properly before I go off pretending tobe a proper plumber myself.
I’m 30 years old and based down in Thanet, Kent.I come from an insurance background having been both a loss adjuster and acommercial underwriter. My wife and I then set up a small bar and I also havean entertainment company, which I’m still running on the side. Plumbing hasbeen something that has interested me for some time, but unfortunately I wasone of those teenage parents so earning good money to support my family tookpriority over spending years as a low paid apprentice. My son’s 11 now, my wifehas a good job in Londonand we’re comfortable, so we figured now’s the time to get re-training. I alsowant to give my son some options when he finishes school in 5-7 years, so it’sjust enough time for me to get experienced, qualified and established.
I’ve been doing site work for just over a year now and canbe left to my own devices with most aspects of the job. Things I do include:gas carcasses, first fixing, all sanitary ware, radiators, cylinders, boilers(hanging, flue and piping up – I don’t touch gas yet), kitchen sinks, outsidetaps, piping up solar, filling up and pressure testing. Obviously I’m under thesupervision of my friend/boss, so we either work in adjoining units or togetherin the same unit and he does all of the gas work.
Training wise I have had the mother of all headaches with Canterbury College, if you’re not a kid on a fundedcourse with a conventional apprenticeship they are about as useful as a chocolateradiator! This has meant I have had to dig deep and pay £3,000.00 for my level2 at Able Skills up in Dartford. I start my 6week course on 4 March, so fingers crossed it goes ok. I am planning on doingmy level 3 and gas by the end of the year, which comes in at a whopping£7,000.00 in total. I would be interested to hear opinions on these adultcourses as I know they get mixed reviews in the trade…
With my business experience and my bosses trade experiencewe are considering joining forces and setting up as a partnership once I havefinished all of my training. I’m looking at web design, quoting software,advertising and overall company image i.e. sign written van, logo work wear andthese kind of things. I’m also hoping to invest in new up to date equipmentsuch as flue analysers, power flushing machines and perhaps training up on renewables.This is really why I’m here, in the hope that some of you will have experienceand advise for me, with a bit of luck I might even be able to contribute a bitmyself ;o)
Anyway, that’s me in a nut shell, perhaps not such a quick introductionafter all, but well done if you kept reading all the way to the end :dizzy2:…
Paul
Just a quick courteous introduction before I get active onthe rest of the forum… I’m a “career change” plumber, so I know lots ofexperienced guys will be rolling their eyes, huffing and puffing about me (andthat’s just the ones I’ve met face to face). That being said I don’t expectwork to fall in my lap and I am putting in the hard graft with a 20+ yearexperienced plumber to learn the trade properly before I go off pretending tobe a proper plumber myself.
I’m 30 years old and based down in Thanet, Kent.I come from an insurance background having been both a loss adjuster and acommercial underwriter. My wife and I then set up a small bar and I also havean entertainment company, which I’m still running on the side. Plumbing hasbeen something that has interested me for some time, but unfortunately I wasone of those teenage parents so earning good money to support my family tookpriority over spending years as a low paid apprentice. My son’s 11 now, my wifehas a good job in Londonand we’re comfortable, so we figured now’s the time to get re-training. I alsowant to give my son some options when he finishes school in 5-7 years, so it’sjust enough time for me to get experienced, qualified and established.
I’ve been doing site work for just over a year now and canbe left to my own devices with most aspects of the job. Things I do include:gas carcasses, first fixing, all sanitary ware, radiators, cylinders, boilers(hanging, flue and piping up – I don’t touch gas yet), kitchen sinks, outsidetaps, piping up solar, filling up and pressure testing. Obviously I’m under thesupervision of my friend/boss, so we either work in adjoining units or togetherin the same unit and he does all of the gas work.
Training wise I have had the mother of all headaches with Canterbury College, if you’re not a kid on a fundedcourse with a conventional apprenticeship they are about as useful as a chocolateradiator! This has meant I have had to dig deep and pay £3,000.00 for my level2 at Able Skills up in Dartford. I start my 6week course on 4 March, so fingers crossed it goes ok. I am planning on doingmy level 3 and gas by the end of the year, which comes in at a whopping£7,000.00 in total. I would be interested to hear opinions on these adultcourses as I know they get mixed reviews in the trade…
With my business experience and my bosses trade experiencewe are considering joining forces and setting up as a partnership once I havefinished all of my training. I’m looking at web design, quoting software,advertising and overall company image i.e. sign written van, logo work wear andthese kind of things. I’m also hoping to invest in new up to date equipmentsuch as flue analysers, power flushing machines and perhaps training up on renewables.This is really why I’m here, in the hope that some of you will have experienceand advise for me, with a bit of luck I might even be able to contribute a bitmyself ;o)
Anyway, that’s me in a nut shell, perhaps not such a quick introductionafter all, but well done if you kept reading all the way to the end :dizzy2:…
Paul