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The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national press. 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. Whilst salaries of 70-100k p.a. are possible, it remains chiefly for self employed people, rather than those working in the customary routes.

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. From UK companies comes the standard reward such as holiday pay and sickness allowance and a potential wage of between 15k and 30k p.a. However, if the self employed person is willing to work longer than the normal working hours then more money can be earned. Without a doubt in the domestic market many clients require evening and weekend visits and self employed plumbers have to meet that need.

Around which is the question of self employment which appears to fit some people. Equally there is a need to manage good ‘business sense’, with items such as advertising & marketing factors as well as correctly assessing your own hourly rate. There are additional charges levied to people who work for themselves including legal and accountancy fees as well as those relating to materials and transport. 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. Plus the profits nearly always beat the odds!

Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. Equally the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list of qualifications within a reasonable time frame. Having said that, we should bear in mind that the majority of self-employed workers tend to migrate towards the narrower ‘domestic’ market, rather than the commercial sector. (Not all, just the majority!)

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.

To begin with, the Student Entrant appears to rely more heavily on the NVQ structure than the Self Employed Entrant. In trying to meet their client’s needs many Self Employed Entrants will employ a wider range of qualifications. The self employed person needs to consider the wishes of their household clients and use the relative domestic-centred qualifications to satisfy them. In a similar way to an apprenticeship the Student Entrant will, once the core learning tools have been learned, enter the workplace and be able to carry on the NVQ element of their study. 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.

Clearly this illustrates the need for a careers discussion that covers certifications and study alongside those of financial returns. 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. Normally, self-employed students to pay for their courses themselves whereas the younger Student Entrants have the majority of their courses paid for them as part of their apprenticeships. These courses can run between 3k through to 10k+, depending upon the course and level of certification required and that is something that people need to consider.

The study process is often split with Student Entrants studying at recognised further-education colleges whereas the mature Self Employed Entrants going for a wider range of private run technical schools. 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. With so many training colleges available, it makes sense to gather information from as many sources as possible. Having provided an option for you to come back and review the links and adverts from several sites, why not book mark this page (CTRL-D).

It is through the use of bonus courses that many plumbing students want to increase their ‘marketability’. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. Gas training has always been a route for Plumbers to consider, as this forms part of the common domestic and commercial heating system.

Gas Training is considered a dedicated training program with key subjects followed by important NVQ’s. It is the ability to add extra skills to the fore, along with the features that on-going training offers that continue to be attractive to those who trained as a plumber. It is from this position that many believe the mix of Plumbing/Gas Training is more apt to the mature student. Indeed, for the Mature Student, the path appears to be centred on adopting the core subjects and completely dropping the NVQ elements.

It is this blend of training that would appear to satisfy the needs of the self-employed professional. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. The removal of any reliance of sub-contracting key skills of third parties definitely enhances the commercial package. 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. The more professional a Plumber is within their field the more that they have to offer their relative 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 deals with industry requirements and policies for the UK market alone.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to Part Time Plumbing Courses or www.NewCareerOptions.co.uk/incarop.html.

For many people, an interesting and varied choice often means a career within the electrical industry. Within this document we will not use the full term of Electro-Mechanical Engineering but use the term Electrical Industry instead. As there are a wide variety of global standards, we will focus on those from the UK and in particular those relating to the domestic and commercial markets. Since there is such a wide list of choices in the electrical industry, we’ll start by looking at the main themes first and then come back to any ‘add-ons’ later.

Essentially, we see two distinct forms of entry into the electrical market. To being with we have the older apprentice course and then secondly we have the option for those who wish to make a career change to join the industry. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as ‘Junior Entrants’ and the second simply known as ‘Mature Entrants.’

Principally, Mature Entrants join the electrical workplace later on, and focus on becoming self employed. This means working on their own and not having to pay salaries to anyone else. However, people who join as junior entrants like the fact that they can join a recognised firm to pick up the bulk of their practical and work based skills. Often a young apprentice will be in their first job since leaving school, and will therefore have a host of ancillary skills to learn during their first few years as a working adult.

The two different ways into the industry have two separate methods of preparation. Junior entrants go through NVQ training in England and Wales, and SVQ training in Scotland. As part of the training program an NVQ would be a requirement to attain. New employees gain the necessary course work and testing elements through an apprenticeship or some form of suitable work program.

By working independently and without the need for NVQ assessments, many Mature Entrants can concentrate on those areas that provide the biggest profit and offer the largest practical solutions for themselves. In the main the person will aim to gain the best from their investment costs against the return for that training. Although this may offer quicker and more commercial options, it does reduce the official requirements set for certain areas of the industry.

So we have two defined routes laid out – one being for general employment and the other centred on self-employment. Whilst we will focus on full time employment, there exists the issue as to whether self-employed people are doing this full time or part time. Certainly, whilst salary levels can be affected by knowledge and qualifications, they can also be affected by competence and aptitude.

The basic salary for Junior Entrants tends to start around the 12-15k mark, but rises regularly to around 30k with the right level of experience. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. It should be remembered however that a self employed person must often bear additional costs for items such as vehicles, tools and clothing. They will also have to make allocations for personal or professional insurance and accountancy. That aside, whilst the work is open to market-forces to some degree, the current skills shortage in the UK means that there’s a high work-load available. Certainly, working a full week is a realistic possibility for those who want to. It should be understood that the 70-100k figures that we see thrown around in newspapers are not easily achieved, and would either require working long hours or having assistants (or both.)

Firstly, it is worth pointing out that the working week between the Junior and Mature electricians can vary enormously. Electricians who are ‘Junior Entrants’ would work a simple 40 hour working week. To be fair, if the Mature electrician is focused on the domestic market then they often find themselves working out of hours, especially to support their clients when they get home. With many self-employed electricians the core of their income comes from items such as business testing and installation and as such operates during the main part of the week.

Any specialist knowledge the Junior Entrant gains whilst in someone’s employ is usually down to the sectors of industry that company works in. Whereas the mature entrant can gain knowledge from any trade source – even one outside of the core of electrical work. They can take on larger jobs and do all the work themselves then – which is a particularly great benefit to domestic clients.

A new trade example is that of the ‘Green Engineer’. This new service to the industry could fit into the overall skill-set of an electrician. With expected growth through new employment contracts and business options, this new entity is extremely attractive to many Junior and Mature Electricians, especially when considering the UK and EEC support overall.

Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Visit CLICK HERE or 2391 Courses.

The press have often expressed how much Plumbers can earn in the UK. Within the UK, the figures of 30-70k p.a. are typical of Plumbers, mainly down to their low numbers. So, is this the truth of the matter, or are we being lied to? To be certain, for the correctly qualified and experienced plumber, this level of salary is achievable and indeed attainable. 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.

The normal working week is pretty standard for those who join an established company. Normal remuneration such as holiday pay and sickness allowance, along with wages of between 15k and 30K p.a., are usual from UK companies in this area. By working ‘out of hours’ – typically longer than 9am to 6pm Mon- Fri the self employed person can often achieve a higher wage. 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.

There is also the issue of self-employment itself – which definitely suits some people more than it suits 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 benefits nearly always far outweigh the downsides!

From the outset it’s the double offer of teaching them from experience and covering most of their working needs that Student Entrants are looking for in employment. On the other hand, the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list plumbing credentials as soon as possible. That noted the main drive of self-employed workers is towards the ‘domestic’ market and not that of the commercial sector. (Not all of them, but the main do!)

In terms of plumbing education, there appears to be some similarity between the certification modules required by each path into the industry. There is considerable divergence though when the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) comes into play.

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. 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 shows the necessity of a clear careers discussion, covering the overall study and certification requirements alongside the required financial return. 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. 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. These costs (for self-employed status) can often end up around 3k-10k+, dependent upon the course structure and the level of certification sought.

For the most part, Student Entrants will study at recognised further-education colleges, whereas the Self Employed Entrant has the option to consider the wider range of private commercial schools. It is through well known educational paths that many commercial training companies can offer routes into correct qualifications and skill-set requirements. 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. 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 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. Indeed it is through the added training provided that certification in areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical can be gained. Forming part of the common domestic and commercial heating system, Plumbers have often opted for Gas Training.

Without a doubt, NVQ’s that follow on core subjects lead into the careful and precise program that is Gas Training. The opportunity for on-going training is for those who trained first as a plumber and are now seeking to add some extra skills to their repertoire. It could be said that the blend of training covering Plumbing/Gas training is better matched to the mature student. It is by centring on these core elements and dropping the NVQ elements that the Mature Student appears to settle.

It is from this mix of training methods that the self-employed professional appears to benefit. To earn money whilst at the same time as gaining a wider range of perceived skills becomes a desirable prospect. It is by removing the reliability on third party sub-contraction that results in the increase of the industrial package. Sub-contraction needs to be handled carefully as the erosion of customer satisfaction by having to wait for key work to be completed by third parties can result in a serious reduction in potential earnings. To be fair the more talent a Plumber has in their own job then the more they have to offer their 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: The above information is solely relative to the UK market, industry requirements and policies.

Copyright 2009 S. Edwards. Pop over to Plumbing Training or Plumbing Colleges.

Because you’re looking at information about MCSE courses, you’re most likely in one of these categories: Maybe you’re thinking of a radical change of career to get into the IT field, as it’s apparent to you there is a growing demand for certified networking professionals. Instead you could already be in IT – and you need to formalise your skill-set with the MCSE accreditation.

When researching training companies, make it a policy to stay away from those who cut costs by failing to use the most up-to-date Microsoft version. Such institutions will hold back the trainee their knowledge will be of an old version of MCSE which doesn’t match the existing exam programme, so it could be impossible for them to pass.

Stay away from organisations who’re just out to sell you anything. You should be given detailed advice to verify that you’re registering on the correct course. Resist being forced into some generic product by an over-keen salesman.

Accredited exam simulation and preparation software is essential – and must be offered by your course provider.

Because the majority of IT examining boards are American, you’ll need to be used to the correct phraseology. It’s not sufficient simply answering any old technical questions – they must be in an exam format that exactly replicates the real thing.

Be sure to request some practice exams in order to verify your understanding along the way. Practice or ‘mock’ exams prepare you properly – so you won’t be quite so nervous at the actual exam.

Proper support should never be taken lightly – locate a good company providing 24×7 full access, as anything less will not satisfy and will also hold up your pace and restrict your intake.

You’ll be waiting ages for an answer with email based support, and telephone support is usually to a call-centre who will just take down the issue and email it over to their technical team – who’ll call back sometime over the next 1-3 days, when it’s convenient to them. This is no use if you’re lost and confused and can only study at specific times.

Keep your eyes open for training programs that incorporate three or four individual support centres around the globe in several time-zones. All of them should be combined to provide a single interface and also 24 hours-a-day access, when you need it, with the minimum of hassle.

Never compromise when you’re looking for the right support service. The majority of would-be IT professionals that can’t get going properly, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

Now, why might we choose commercially accredited qualifications rather than traditional academic qualifications obtained from tech’ colleges and universities?

As demand increases for knowledge about more and more complex technology, industry has had to move to specialist courses that the vendors themselves supply – namely companies like CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. This usually turns out to involve less time and financial outlay.

Of course, an appropriate amount of associated knowledge must be taught, but core specialisation in the areas needed gives a vendor trained person a massive advantage.

Put yourself in the employer’s position – and your company needed a person with some very particular skills. What’s the simplest way to find the right person: Pore through a mass of different academic qualifications from graduate applicants, asking for course details and which vocational skills have been attained, or choose particular accreditations that specifically match what you’re looking for, and draw up from that who you want to speak to. Your interviews are then about personal suitability – rather than establishing whether they can do a specific task.

Each programme of learning really needs to work up to a nationally (or globally) recognised exam at the finale – not some little ‘in-house’ diploma – fit only for filing away and forgetting.

Only fully recognised examinations from the top companies like Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA and Cisco will mean anything to employers.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Look at Web Design Qualifications or Course Interior Design.

PC and network support staff are ever more sought after in the UK, as institutions are becoming more reliant upon their knowledge and skills. The need for such qualified and commercially astute people is growing at an impressive rate, as commercial enterprise becomes more and more reliant on computers.

The age-old way of teaching, utilising reference manuals and books, is an up-hill struggle for the majority of us. If this sounds like you, dig around for more practical courses which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts.

Studies have consistently confirmed that connecting physically with our study, is far more likely to produce long-lasting memories.

The latest audio-visual interactive programs involving demonstration and virtual lab’s will beat books every time. And you’ll actually enjoy doing them.

Be sure to get a study material demo’ from any training college. You should ask for instructor videos, demonstrations, slide-shows and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.

Many companies provide purely on-line training; and while this is acceptable much of the time, imagine the problems if your access to the internet is broken or you only get very a very slow connection sometimes. It’s much safer to rely on actual CD or DVD ROMs which removes the issue entirely.

Kick out the typical salesman who offers any particular course without an in-depth conversation to better understand your current abilities and experience level. They should be able to select from a generous stable of training programs so they’re able to solve your training issues.

With some work-based experience or certification, you could discover that your appropriate starting-point is very different to someone completely new.

For students embarking on IT studies anew, it’s often a good idea to avoid jumping in at the deep-end, by working on user-skills and software training first. This can be built into most training packages.

Be watchful that any qualifications you’re working towards will be commercially viable and are up-to-date. ‘In-house’ exams and the certificates they come with are generally useless.

From an employer’s viewpoint, only the major heavyweights such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Adobe or Cisco (to give some examples) provide enough commercial weight. Nothing else will cut the mustard.

Make sure you don’t get caught-up, as can often be the case, on the accreditation program. You’re not training for the sake of training; you should be geared towards the actual job at the end of it. You need to remain focused on where you want to go.

You may train for one year and then end up doing the job for 20 years. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of opting for what may seem to be a program of interest to you and then put 10-20 years into an unrewarding career!

It’s well worth a long chat to see the exact expectations industry will have. Which precise qualifications they will want you to have and in what way you can gain some industry experience. It’s also worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to build your skill-set as it will force you to choose a particular set of qualifications.

Sense dictates that you seek advice from an experienced professional before embarking on a particular training programme, so there’s little doubt that a program provides the skills necessary.

(C) Scott Edwards 2009. Visit Website Design Training or Click HERE.

Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. From here on we will use the phrase of Electrical Industry to explain the more accurate term of “Electro-Mechanical Engineering”. Also, for ease we will concentrate on those principles that sit within the domestic and commercial markets for the UK. Since there is such a wide list of choices in the electrical industry, we’ll start by looking at the main themes first and then come back to any ‘add-ons’ later.

Essentially, we see two distinct forms of entry into the electrical market. Initially there’s the more traditional apprenticeship approach, but equally there is now an alternative, suited to those who are keen to enter later in their life. We have to reference individuals so we will plainly do so by ‘Junior’ and ‘Mature’ entrants.

Principally, Mature Entrants join the electrical workplace later on, and focus on becoming self employed. This means working on their own and not having to pay salaries to anyone else. However, people who join as junior entrants like the fact that they can join a recognised firm to pick up the bulk of their practical and work based skills. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.

These two distinct types of entry have two separate modes of training: It is the involvement with NVQ’s (or SVQ’s for Scotland), that differentiate the Junior Entrants. There is a particular requirement to attain the NVQ qualifications as part of the overall program. This means that work programs or apprenticeships have to be sought in order to arrange the necessary course work and testing phases of work.

Instead of seeking a work-based training environment, the Mature Entrant often seems to focus on working as a self employed person where different qualifications to NVQ’s are preferred. Having said that, the mature student does aim to gain the necessary skills to do the job, whilst at the same time reducing their training costs at all times. This method allows for a quicker route to the market and does meet the necessary trading elements for the areas concerned despite reducing the overall qualification set.

So we have two defined routes laid out – one being for general employment and the other centred on self-employment. With self-employment a person may be working on a part-time or full time basis -to that end we will assume they are working full time. Salary options are often affected both by the know- how and the knack for doing things as well as any perceived formal levels of understanding.

Wages for ‘Junior Entrants’ can become as high as 30,000 or more per annum with the right experience, although starting salaries are around 12,000. That said, due to the UK press telling people that electricians can get salaries in excess of 70k p.a., it is more difficult to gauge incomes for ‘Mature Entrants’. That aside, many added costs need to be remembered by self employed people in order to make their business work. Self employed people also have to allow for added expenses. In the UK there is a lot of work for electrical professions due to a short fall of current skilled people. Without a doubt, the market would allow for some people to work a full seven days a week. Although by working very long hours and having assistants to help, the figures of 70-100 thousand advertised in newspapers might be achieved, it wouldn’t be easy.

To be fair, most Junior and Mature electricians experience very different working hours to each other. Most ‘Junior Entrants’ do not work at the weekends. While on the other hand, the opportunities in the domestic market (where mature entrants often work) can be heavily dependent upon when the clients get home. Although by testing and installing various business systems, many self-employed electricians manage to work during a normal working week.

Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. Alternatively, the mature entrant can gain other training outside of their chosen field, such as gas and plumbing work. If they are working mostly in the domestic market, this makes it easier for them to take on larger jobs across a range of disciplines (without having to sub-contract.)

An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called ‘Green Engineer’. The opportunity to provide both employment and potential service contracts, especially in the UK and the EEC sectors, mean that this area is of interest to both Junior and Mature electricians.

(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to Electrician Qualifications or www.CareerProgression.co.uk/kcaprog.html.