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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. Is this really a fib – or is this in fact accurate? To be certain, for the correctly qualified and experienced plumber, this level of salary is achievable and indeed attainable. Whilst salaries of 70-100k p.a. are possible, it remains chiefly for self employed people, rather than those working in the customary routes.

To be fair being with a regular employer often results in working from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm as standard. 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. 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 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.

On a personal level remains the issue self-employment, something that does not become everybody. This can include getting to grips with advertising & marketing, getting your own cost-per-hour correct and the need to learn and use good ‘business’ sense. Furthermore, additional costs such as materials and transport, along with legal and accountancy fees will need to be paid. 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. Certainly the downsides are virtually always beaten by the income!

Initially, by searching for standard work a Student Entrant can get the majority of training especially with working knowledge and experience. On the other hand, the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list plumbing credentials as soon as possible. In fairness it is the ‘domestic’ market rather than the commercial sector that attracts the majority of the self-employed workers in the UK. (Not all of them, but the main do!)

Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. It is when the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is considered that a considerable discrepancy becomes clear.

From the beginning the Student Entrant instead of the Self Employed Entrant is much more reliant upon the NVQ requirements. Therefore many Self Employed Entrants will meet their clients’ needs through the use of a wider range of certifications. Without a doubt the self employed person needs to quickly gain the core domestic- centred qualifications to satisfy their typical household-based clients. 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.) By using this cheaper form of study the Student Entrant can make sound financial savings from the outset. But the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster (motivated by a more commercial viewpoint) and will therefore be achieving considerable financial reward long before the Student Entrant.

This shows the necessity of a clear careers discussion, covering the overall study and certification requirements alongside the required financial return. 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. It should also be borne in mind that many young Student Entrants have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships, whereas the self-employed student generally funds the course themselves. The level of certification sought by the student drives the course structure and can result in costs of between 3k through 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. It is the lead into familiar skill-sets and qualifications that commercially fixed plumbing course companies offer as part of their training paths. 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 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).

To increase their ‘marketability’ many plumbing students will go on to utilise extra courses. These courses can provide a range of additional certifications in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical. Forming part of the common domestic and commercial heating system, Plumbers have often opted for Gas Training.

Gas training in itself is a specific and rigorous training regime, with core subjects followed by an emphasis on NVQ’s. This considers ongoing development, especially for those who trained first as a plumber and are seeking extra skills. In review it is often felt that the mature student responds well to the blend of Gas/Plumbing training. Indeed, for the Mature Student, the path appears to be centred on adopting the core subjects and completely dropping the NVQ elements.

The self-employed professional appears to benefit from this distinct training mixture. The opportunity to learn a wider range of perceived skill-sets (whilst earning money from them) becomes the attraction. Instead of having to rely upon third parties to complete certain skill-sets, this adds to their commercial viability. Whilst sub-contracting can reduce the earning of a particular job perhaps more important is the deterioration of the value in a customer’s eye as they have to wait for jobs to be handled by others before completion of the overall task. To be fair the more talent a Plumber has in their own job then the more they have to offer their client base.

In conclusion, the Self Employed Entrant can enjoy a much higher (and more quickly achieved) income than a Student Entrant, but they would have to work at developing a broader range of certifications (and consider the business side of things too.) Note: This relative information is primarily for the UK workplace and policies alone.

Copyright 2009 S. Edwards. Check out Plumber Courses or www.AdultCareersAdvice.co.uk/ACAO.html.

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