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.
To be fair being with a regular employer often results in working from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm as standard. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. The self-employed person can generally achieve higher incomes than those available from the traditional approach, but would need to consider working \’out of hours\’ – and probably longer than the typical 9am-6pm Mon-Fri model. 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. 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!
Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. On the other hand, the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list plumbing credentials as soon as possible. That said the vast majority of self-employed plumbers appear to favour the \’domestic\’ instead of the commercial market. (Not all of them, but the main do!)
The certification units, needed by each part of the industry keeps a similarity in terms of Plumbing education. A key debate however comes into play when considering the issue of NVQ\’s (SVQ\’s in Scotland.)
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+.
Self Employed Entrants can consider a wide range of private technical colleges as opposed to the reliance on further-education colleges and that differentiates them from Student Entrants. It is the lead into familiar skill-sets and qualifications that commercially fixed plumbing course companies offer as part of their training paths. One of the main advantages of this method is the opportunity for evening, part-time, and self-study classes – allowing Self Employed Entrants to train whilst continuing with their existing job, thus 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 a book mark to this page (CTRL-D) so you can come back whenever you wish and review the adverts and options available to 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.
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 adds to their overall package rather than having to rely on sub-contraction of key skills to third parties. Having to wait for critical phases to be completed by sub-contractors can not only reduce the earning potential of each job but can also negatively affect a customer\’s perception of a job value overall. To have a higher value within their client base a Plumber needs to consider their relative skill sets that they offer.
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.
Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Try City & Guilds Plumbing Courses or Plumbing Training Courses.
