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.
It is fairly usual to expect working hours of 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday with a reputable employer. 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. Without a doubt in the domestic market many clients require evening and weekend visits and self employed plumbers have to meet that need.
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!
Without a doubt Student Entrants are looking for companies who can offer them regular employment and thereby teach them from experience. As quickly as possible the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list of accreditations that they will rely upon. 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!)
Furthermore, each route into Plumbing has a necessity on the certification process overall. There does remain considerable question when the factor of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is realised.
To begin with the NVQ structure appears to be much more important to the Student Entrant than to the Self Employed Entrant. Therefore many Self Employed Entrants will meet their clients’ needs through the use of a wider range of certifications. Certainly, the self-employed person needs to rapidly gain the key domestic-centred qualifications that will 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. 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 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+.
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. Of a key opportunity is the ability to train out of hours – evening, part time and self study classes that allows Self Employed Entrants to continue training whilst continuing with their job and maintaining their financial situation. Using the range of sources, it makes sense to gather as much detail as possible and through this be able to work out the training college that suits you best. We’ve provided links and adverts from several, so why not book-mark this page (CTRL-D) so you can come back later to review your options.
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.
In consideration therefore the Self Employed Entrant has the chance to earn considerably more and at a realistically higher pace than the Student Entrants, to do so they do have to develop both the range of certifications that they hold and consider the business elements as well. Note: This information deals with industry requirements and policies for the UK market alone.
Written by Scott Edwards. Check out Plumber Training or Plumber Apprenticeships.