Compared – NVQ Plumbing – What’s Needed

To begin with newspapers appear to love discussing what can be earned in Plumbing. Figures of 30-70k p.a. are touted, alongside much talk of the profound shortage in the number of Plumbers within the UK. So, are we being told a story or is this the genuine picture? For an experienced Plumber, this amount of salary is both realistic and feasible. So whilst those working in the self-employed role can get incomes of 70-100k p.a., those working in more conventional employment routes often find it hard to achieve this salary.

The normal working week is pretty standard for those who join an established company. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. A self-employed person can earn more money than this traditional approach, but will often need to work outside of the Mon- Fri, 9am to 6pm example. This is especially the case where self-employed plumbers have opted to work in the domestic market, where their clients are at work during the day – requiring evening and weekend visits.

Also there is the factor of self-employment and whether it goes with some people more than others. The inclusion of key elements such as utilising good ‘business sense’, covering areas such as advertising and marketing and getting your own cost-per-hour correct is integral to the picture. Equally, most self-employed people will need to pay additional costs to cover their materials and transport, alongside legal and accountancy fees etc. Generally the payback outstrip those of the costs, to the extent that these charges should always be a small part of the earnings overall. Certainly the downsides are virtually always beaten by the income!

Often customary work from employers attracts Student Entrants especially if it meets their needs training in working knowledge and experience. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. That said the vast majority of self-employed plumbers appear to favour the ‘domestic’ instead of the commercial market. (Whilst not everyone does the majority do!)

There does appear to be some union between certification relating to each path of Plumbing education and hence the industry. There is considerable divergence though when the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) comes into play.

From the outset, it is clear that the Self Employed Entrant does not depend as much upon the NVQ’s as the Student Entrant. In order to meet their client’s expectations the Self Employed Entrant will often need to use a greater range of certifications. Certainly, it is the qualifications aimed at meeting the needs of the typical household-based client base that self-employed persons need to focus upon. In a similar way to an apprenticeship the Student Entrant will, once the core learning tools have been learned, enter the workplace and be able to carry on the NVQ element of their study. By using this cheaper form of study the Student Entrant can make sound financial savings from the outset. It is fair to say that long before the Student Entrant the Self Employed Entrant can gain financial benefits through establishing certifications faster and by being more commercially motivated.

This clearly demonstrates the need for talk about careers, covering the certification and study required along with the expected financial rewards. It is often the issue of spending time at college and then having to go back to an apprenticeship for up to 3 years that proves difficult to many adults especially those that have a family to look after. Equally, many self-employed students fund the courses themselves whereas the Student Entrants often have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships. The level of certification sought by the student drives the course structure and can result in costs of between 3k through to 10k+.

Student Entrants will in the main study at further-education colleges, the Self Employed student however has the option to consider the increased scope of private commercial colleges. Often through the use of established training schemes many commercially oriented plumbing courses are now able to deliver the necessary skill-sets and qualifications. The situation whereby Self Employed Entrants can continue with their current job and maintain their financial position remains one of the core advantages of training in evening, part-time or self study classes. With the high number of colleges it makes sense to gather as much technical data as you can. We have provided adverts and links from several to allow you to come back and review your options, so why not book mark this page (CTRL-D).

By going on added training programs many plumbing students seek to increase their ‘marketability’. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. Forming part of the common domestic and commercial heating system, Plumbers have often opted for Gas Training.

With core subjects followed by NVQ’s, Gas Training is a thorough and exact training program. This considers ongoing development, especially for those who trained first as a plumber and are seeking extra skills. It could be said, from that viewpoint, that a hybrid of Plumbing/Gas training would be more suited to the mature student. By reducing the NVQ parts the Mature Student appears to be able to allow the focus on the core subjects.

The self-employed professional appears to benefit from this distinct training mixture. The opportunity to earn money whilst at the same time gain a wider range of skills is certainly part of the attraction. This further enhances their commercial offering, instead of sub-contracting key skills to a third party. Of concern is the reduction in customer’s value as they have to wait for jobs to be completed by others that in turn can lead to a reduction of the earning potential of a job. The more professional a Plumber is within their field the more that they have to offer their relative client base.

Finally, whilst the Student Entrant breaks into the industry more quickly the Self Employed Entrant has the opportunity for higher potential earnings, but to do so they need to develop a broader range of certifications and a higher level of business skill sets. Note: The above information is solely relative to the UK market, industry requirements and policies.

(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Visit FindingANewCareer.co.uk/hfaneca.html or Plumber Apprenticeships.