| In a day and age where more and more people are | | | | It's also possible to switch to the NVQ course as you |
| pushing themselves through further and higher | | | | progress through the year. Both courses are generally |
| education, many young people can find that their | | | | two nights a week over the period of an academic |
| degree in 'Socio who knows what', is not actually that | | | | year which should also give you a good amount of |
| useful to them in the real world. It's frequent for | | | | time to research local plumbing companies and |
| graduates to leave university with an English or History | | | | perhaps start to contact some potential employers. |
| degree and find that to get into their chosen line of | | | | Some people might prefer to throw themselves into |
| work, further, more specific qualifications are needed. | | | | their work, and it's always possible you might be able |
| Anyone looking at this sort of career path can expect | | | | to find yourself an apprenticeship in your local area. It's |
| themselves to be racking up debt up to the age of | | | | not always easy to find, but if you do there's a good |
| twenty two or twenty three. That's not necessarily so | | | | chance they will send you out to night school to get |
| bad if the future work guarantees recouping what | | | | your NVQ 2 and 3 and this coupled with on the job |
| you've already invested in yourself, but with so many | | | | training will lay a great foundation for a rewarding |
| graduates rolling out of Universities, the field you were | | | | career. The down side is that you can expect to earn |
| hoping to enter may be more competitive than you | | | | very little in your first couple of years. |
| were lead to believe. | | | | If you just can't wait to get going, and you have |
| Far fewer people are leaving school early for skilled | | | | money to burn, then you could opt for an intensive |
| labour positions such as plumbing, but, as has been | | | | plumbing course. The training is normally of a very high |
| widely reported in recent years, there's a real shortage | | | | standard and you can expect to be pushed very hard |
| of the guys with the spanners and wrenches. With the | | | | for a couple of months before achieving your |
| average annual wage for a plumber sitting at about | | | | qualification. A word of warning to all though; many of |
| twenty six thousand pounds a year, it's well worth | | | | these courses offer qualifications unheard of outside |
| investigating. | | | | of the profession, and all of your hard work may have |
| There are several ways to qualify as a plumber. An | | | | been for nothing if its not recognised. |
| easy and direct route is to take a Certificate level 2 at | | | | If you're absolutely determined that an intensive course |
| your local night classes. If you're a school or college | | | | is best for you, then I would advise some very |
| leaver you should be able to find a day job to fund this, | | | | thorough research and compare both the content of |
| and if you're over eighteen and out of work, you may | | | | the course and the qualification you receive against an |
| well qualify for free tuition at your local college. The | | | | NVQ 2. Whichever route you choose, a career in |
| Certificate level 2 is equivalent to the NVQ qualification | | | | plumbing is a tough but rewarding job. If you study hard |
| other than an exam in employment law. | | | | and work hard you'll reap the benefits. |