The salaries of Plumbers are often talked about in the national press. Salaries of 30-70k p.a. are often discussed, along with the lack of plumbers within the UK. The question now is – are we being lied to, or is this the truth? To be fair, this wage level is reasonable for the correctly qualified and experienced Plumber. To be fair, the higher earnings of 70-100k p.a. are generally for those working within the self-employed field.
However, working for regular employers often results in the typical hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Salaries of between 15k – 30k p.a. are easily achievable and will include typical benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance – what you’d generally expect from any UK employed status. By working ‘out of hours’ – typically longer than 9am to 6pm Mon- Fri the self employed person can often achieve a higher wage. For example in the domestic sector where clients are often at work during the working day, self employed plumbers are regularly required to work during evening and weekend visits.
Then there is the matter of working for yourself, which agrees with some people more than others. This can involve factors such as getting the basics sorted out and the need to use good ‘business sense’ overall. Similarly, to cover additional elements such as legal and accountancy fees and materials and transport, will require the planning of most self-employed people. Whilst it is expected that the benefits will be high, the costs can mount up though they should always remain a small part of the income overall. And the benefits nearly always far outweigh the downsides!
Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. The need to increase their certifications and accreditations regularly affect the Self Employed Entrant. To be fair it is the ‘domestic’ market which appeals to a large number of self-employed plumbers and not necessarily that of the commercial sector. (At least most of them do)
Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. The issue of NVQ’s (or SVQ’s in Scotland) nevertheless appears to cause some difference.
From the beginning the Student Entrant instead of the Self Employed Entrant is much more reliant upon the NVQ requirements. By calling upon a wider range of qualifications Self Employed Entrants will be able to meet their clients’ needs from the start. The self employed person needs to consider the wishes of their household clients and use the relative domestic-centred qualifications to satisfy them. Once they have covered the core parts the Student Entrant will often carry on their study not dissimilar to an apprenticeship in the workplace (where the NVQ element can be appraised.) Considerable savings potential exists to the Student Entrant by taking on this cheaper form of study. Nevertheless by taking a more commercial viewpoint and gaining qualifications faster than the Student Entrant, many Self Employed Entrants gain greater financial rewards and within a shorter space of time.
It is the required financial rewards that drive the urgency of clear careers discussions, whether they are overall study or certification requirements. It is often the issue of 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work, alongside going back to college that many adults having to look after their family and with say 20kp.a requirements find difficult. Furthermore, many Student Entrants have their studies paid for them whereas the self-employed students fund the variety of course themselves. It is often the course structure and the level of certification that can run into costs of around 3k-10k+.
For the most part the private colleges are the domain of the Self Employed Entrant whereas the Student Entrant is required to study at recognised further-education colleges. Plumbing training companies can offer commercial routes in to reputable training paths that cover the necessary qualifications and skill-sets. This method offers key advantages to Self Employed Students, allowing them to train evenings, part-time or on self-study classes thereby continuing with their existing jobs and maintaining their financial situation. With so many colleges at hand, the key is to secure as many with technical data sources and gather them. 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.
Many plumbing students will increase their ‘marketability’ through the use of further courses. These courses can provide a range of additional certifications in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical. A typically popular route for Plumbers is Gas training, especially as this forms part of the usual commercial and domestic heating system.
Gas Training is considered a dedicated training program with key subjects followed by important NVQ’s. 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 is from this position that many believe the mix of Plumbing/Gas Training is more apt to the mature student. Indeed, for the Mature Student, the path appears to be centred on adopting the core subjects and completely dropping the NVQ elements.
It is from this particular training program that the self-employed professional gains ground. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. This alone can add to their industrial viewpoint, as opposed to relying on sub-contracting core elements to third parties. Sub-contracting can not only reduce the earning potential of a job, but also erode the value in the customer’s eye, as they may have to wait for key stages to be handled by someone else before the final completion of the job. To have a higher value within their client base a Plumber needs to consider their relative skill sets that they offer.
Whilst the Student Entrant has the chance to develop through an established employer a Self Employed Entrant can utilise their skill levels through business skills and develop a broader range of certifications to achieve a higher income stream. Note: This information reflects the needs and requirements for the industry and policies of the UK market alone.
Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Pop over to MatureStudentTraining.co.uk/mmatstr.html or Courses In Plumbing.