Hands on … plumbing

In this edition of Hands On, James King from Trade Services outlines the qualifications and career pathway for Service leavers who plan to become qualified plumbers. Having been through the process himself, he suggests that Service leavers should start with the City & Guilds 6129 qualification. This proves the basic theoretical and practical knowledge, and is a nationally recognised award. After this the student will need to complete the Level 2 NVQ by working with qualified plumbers. An on-site assessor will then assess the student for this Level 2 qualification. From this point the student is qualified to work unsupervised as a plumber. Further courses such as the Gas or OFTEC (See diagram) qualifications will allow them to fit gas and oil heating systems.

However, training does not stop there and many plumbers carry on to gain the NVQ Level 3 qualification. The full Plumbing NVQ at this level consists of two elements – City & Guilds 6129 Certificate in Plumbing Studies and City & Guilds 6089 Level 3. The latter is the work-based practical and can only be achieved by working in the trade for a plumbing company that deals with all aspects of plumbing work.

Training to become a fully qualified plumber takes time and commitment. However, the rewards of a high salary, or of having your own business in an area where there is high demand make such investment very worthwhile. After all, is there any sign that the need for plumbers is going to decrease?.