To begin with newspapers appear to love discussing what can be earned in Plumbing. It is this need for trained Plumbers that has led to salaries of 30-70k p.a. being advertised. 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. 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.
If you enter the traditional work environment, primarily working for an established employer, then working hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are standard. Indeed salaries of between 15k and 30k p.a. form part of what is expected from employed status in this area, along with the added reward of holiday pay and sickness allowance. However, if the self employed person is willing to work longer than the normal working hours then more money can be earned. 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.
On a personal level remains the issue self-employment, something that does not become everybody. This can involve factors such as getting the basics sorted out and the need to use good ‘business sense’ overall. Equally, most self-employed people will need to pay additional costs to cover their materials and transport, alongside legal and accountancy fees etc. 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. Added to that, the positives virtually always outstrip the negatives!
Student Entrants are generally looking for regular employment with a particular employer who can cover most of their working needs and teach them from experience. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. Having said that, the majority of self-employed workers do not join the business sector but focus on the ‘domestic’ market. (The majority do at the very least)
Furthermore, each route into Plumbing has a necessity on the certification process overall. It is when the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is considered that a considerable discrepancy becomes clear.
Without a doubt, it is the greater dependence on the NVQ element that separates the Student Entrant from the Self Employed Entrant. In order to meet their client’s expectations the Self Employed Entrant will often need to use a greater range of certifications. The self employed person needs to consider the wishes of their household clients and use the relative domestic-centred qualifications to satisfy them. It is within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be appraised that many Student Entrants carry on with their apprenticeship after having covered the key fundamentals through a college scheme. Due to the cost effectiveness of this study the Student Entrant can make strong savings from the outset. It is fair to say that long before the Student Entrant the Self Employed Entrant can gain financial benefits through establishing certifications faster and by being more commercially motivated.
Clearly this illustrates the need for a careers discussion that covers certifications and study alongside those of financial returns. It is extremely difficult for adults with a family to look after and needing 20kp.a. to consider going back to college and spending 3 years on low paid-apprenticeship work. 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. In the current climate the ability of Self Employed Entrants to maintain their current financial situation and job, whilst at the same time as training in the evening, part-time or on self study classes remains one of the advantages of this system. From this it makes sense to gather as much detail as you can especially with so many training options available. 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.
To increase their ‘marketability’ many plumbing students will go on to utilise extra courses. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. A typically popular route for Plumbers is Gas training, especially as this forms part of the usual commercial and domestic heating system.
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.
From this, the self-employed professional appears to suit the variable training schemes. The opportunity to learn a wider range of perceived skill-sets (whilst earning money from them) becomes the attraction. This further enhances their commercial offering, instead of sub-contracting key skills to a third party. 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. The higher the skill level of a Plumber the more that they can 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 information refers to the UK industry requirement and their policies alone.
Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Check out Click HERE or City & Guilds Plumbing Courses.
