The press have often expressed how much Plumbers can earn in the UK. Figures of 30-70k p.a. are touted, alongside much talk of the profound shortage in the number of Plumbers within the UK. Is this really a fib - or is this in fact accurate? For an experienced Plumber, this amount of salary is both realistic and feasible. To be fair, the higher earnings of 70-100k p.a. are generally for those working within the self-employed field.
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. 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.
Then there is the matter of working for yourself, which agrees with some people more than others. This can include getting to grips with advertising & marketing, getting your own cost-per-hour correct and the need to learn and use good ‘business’ sense. Furthermore, additional costs such as materials and transport, along with legal and accountancy fees will need to be paid. Although it is expected that these can be relatively small in relation to the earnings overall they can mount up, but then so can the benefits. And the benefits nearly always far outweigh the downsides!
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. 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!)
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.
From the beginning the Student Entrant instead of the Self Employed Entrant is much more reliant upon the NVQ requirements. In trying to meet their client’s needs many Self Employed Entrants will employ a wider range of qualifications. Certainly, it is the qualifications aimed at meeting the needs of the typical household-based client base that self-employed persons need to focus upon. 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.) As it is cheaper form of study overall then the Student Entrant can make financial savings from the beginning. 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.
To be sure the financial returns required is the result of clear careers discussions covering certification and the overall study requirements. It would generate serious hardship, for example, for an adult requiring 20k p.a. (to provide for their family,) to go back to college and spend 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work. Furthermore, many Student Entrants have their studies paid for them whereas the self-employed students fund the variety of course themselves. For self-employed people these costs are set by the course structure and the level of certification sought and can end up between 3k-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 through well known educational paths that many commercial training companies can offer routes into correct qualifications and skill-set requirements. 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. With so many training colleges available, it makes sense to gather information from as many sources as possible. 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.
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. 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 that the blend of training covering Plumbing/Gas training is better matched 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 attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. It is by removing the reliability on third party sub-contraction that results in the increase of the industrial package. 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.
Finally, whilst the Student Entrant breaks into the industry more quickly the Self Employed Entrant has the opportunity for higher potential earnings, but to do so they need to develop a broader range of certifications and a higher level of business skill sets. Note: This information deals with industry requirements and policies for the UK market alone.
Copyright Scott Edwards. Look at www.plumbingtraining4u.co.uk or Plumbing Qualifications.
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