Best Strength

We often read in the press of the salaries that the Plumbing trade is achieving. The lack of Plumbers in the UK has led to salaries of 30-70k p.a. being exhibited. 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. In fact, earnings in excess of 70 – 100k p.a. are achievable – but that is solely for those who work within the self-employed market-place, rather than those who work within established employment routes.

If you are working for a traditional company within the UK, then the hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are normal. Furthermore from a UK employer, the usual perks are holiday pay and sickness allowance, as well as salaries of between 15k and 30k p.a. That said it is by working longer than typically 9am to 6pm, Mon to Fri that self employed people achieve higher incomes than those adopting a traditional approach. This is more noticeable when the self employed plumber chooses to work in the domestic market, as result often requiring many evening and weekend visits to suit their clients.

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. To be fair most self-employed people will have to prepare for additional costs including those relating to legal and accountancy fees as well as those of transport and material usage. While these costs can mount up, so too do the benefits, however the costs should always remain a smaller part of the income generated. And the positives virtually always beat the downsides!

Often customary work from employers attracts Student Entrants especially if it meets their needs training in working knowledge and experience. Equally the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list of qualifications within a reasonable time frame. That noted the main drive of self-employed workers is towards the ‘domestic’ market and not that of the commercial sector. (Well the majority do at least)

With reference to education in Plumbing, there is a likeness needed by each part of the industry in relation to the certification elements. The issue of NVQ’s (or SVQ’s in Scotland) nevertheless appears to cause some difference.

At first, the Student Entrant does appear to depend much more on the NVQ structure than the Self Employed Entrant. The Self Employed Entrant will regularly employ a range of certifications in order to meet the needs of their client’s requirements from the beginning. Without a doubt the self employed person needs to quickly gain the core domestic- centred qualifications to satisfy their typical household-based clients. The Student Entrant, once they have covered the key fundamentals, will carry on their study in a way similar to an apprenticeship (within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be assessed.) The Student Entrant can also make financial savings at the start, as it is a cheaper form of study overall. However, in relation to the Student Entrant the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster and therefore achieve substantial financial gains in the long term.

This clearly demonstrates the need for talk about careers, covering the certification and study required along with the expected financial rewards. For adults with demands of say a 20kp.a and a family to look after, the prospect of going back to college and spending a further 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work can be very daunting. It is by having their courses paid for them that many Student Entrants can submit to the courses, simply put the more mature self-employed students have to pay for their education themselves. Depending on the level of certification sought and the course itself the costs for people can run into 3k to 10k+.

Whilst the Self Employed Entrant can consider a wider range of education forms including private colleges the Student Entrant is limited to known further-education colleges. Commercially oriented plumbing course companies will provide an established path of training which ultimately leads into recognised skill-sets and qualifications. In the current climate the ability of Self Employed Entrants to maintain their current financial situation and job, whilst at the same time as training in the evening, part-time or on self study classes remains one of the advantages of this system. From this it makes sense to gather as much detail as you can especially with so many training options available. Why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and then you can come back and review your options from the links and adverts we have provided for you.

It is through the use of bonus courses that many plumbing students want to increase their ‘marketability’. Areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical training can offer additional qualifications to Plumbers. 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. For those who trained as a plumber these schemes offer many options for further development and can clearly seen to add additional skills to the table. It could be said, from that viewpoint, that a hybrid of Plumbing/Gas training would be more suited to the mature student. Indeed, the path for the Mature Student seems to be to drop the NVQ elements and to focus on the core subjects.

The self-employed professional appears to benefit from this distinct training mixture. There is a great empathy for earning money whilst learning a wider range of work skill sets. It is by removing the reliability on third party sub-contraction that results in the increase of the industrial package. Sub-contraction needs to be handled carefully as the erosion of customer satisfaction by having to wait for key work to be completed by third parties can result in a serious reduction in potential earnings. To be fair the more talent a Plumber has in their own job then the more they have to offer their client base.

In retrospect, the Self Employed Entrant has the potential to achieve a much higher and more readily available income stream than Student Entrant, but to do so they need to develop both their business skills and achieve a broader range of certifications. Note: This information relates to the UK market, policies and industry requirements alone.

Author: Scott Edwards. Look at Click HERE or Plumbing Training Courses.

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