gas engineer in 8 weeks!

[DAVE BRILEY BHE]

Absolutely correct Oilski, quick reply by the way, these courses are not just for the long term unemployed & ex-offenders however, I actually had to register to be unemployed for 18 months before this time i had never been out of work, & while i was waiting for the course i attended college. You are correct in saying that this is just a stepping stone into the industry but my message was for the people who have been posting on this site who wanted a change of direction in their careers & thought that they were maybe too old! The salary figures for a trainee that i may have quoted may indeed be exaggerated, but they are from people who have only been used to a girocheque every couple of weeks. Let them enjoy!

its all been said before the only winners in the gas game are corgi and the contractors who get these trainee,s but so called qualified working low wages running round doing 12 houses a day servicing while they keep the cream, and job agencies who provide these contractors with fresh sheep, and the guy,s who sell the parts. these type of engineers only last a season untill the old auditor catches up with them then its a pac man game but you only get one life and then your out.
forgot to mention i know a few of these so called 8 weeks gas engineers
they normally last about 3 weeks in the job then there out running round to firm to firm just like you will traineegasman untill you get balck listed and 12 month down the line you will be going back to plumbing.
PRICKS like you are the ones we see killing people not a clue about the job

 

[traineegasman]

O.k. points taken, if I say sorry, can I still come out & play? heh, heh Don`t take it too seriously boys, these posts, not gaswork! I should mention. As for giving abuse to people you are right, there was no need for me to do that. Was just getting frustrated at the way I was getting my balls busted for just for mentioning a gas course. As for being a prick, well maybe I have behaved like a bit of of a prick in my posts, so I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to all whom I have offended or upset. There you go! I have just had my humility chip reinstalled. Anyway, about this gas course! ha, only kidding!

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

NOT ALL 8 WEEK TRAINEE'S ARE PRICKS, ive been goin a year, im lovin the job, learnin loads as i go.

i do agree that 8 week's may not be enough, as when i started i didnt have the confidence, but they drill the safty aspect into you so hard, there's no chance im gonna forget it.

on these 8 week corses, all you teach you is the gas saftey, they only teach you VERY BASIC fault finding skills.

i would hate to be doin an 8 week course, and then going out on my own, it would be impossible to make a living. it seems stange to me that every one on this fourm seems to hate trainee's, cause they didnt have it as easy as we seem to have, what there forgeting, is most of us would love to do a 15 year apprentiship, but we aint got a choice. we have to take the options availible to us.

i am constantly reading and researching, and if you have this sort of attitude, it seems to help.

and, yes to all you people thinkin we aint gonna get it right. i do get some recall's to jobs ive been to. but i bet you do as well............

once again, cheers to all who post on this site, as its a wealth of info and humour (yes you kev 'n' Co.....lol).............keep up the good work....

 

[traineegasman]

JV the course I mentioned was actually for eight months, a mixture of on the job training & college work with constant on site assessment. The line in my topic `Gas engineer in 8 weeks! ` was posted because the place where I trained was offering this course to experienced plumbers who are working on gas illegally. You are right however, I don't think these courses go down at all well with the guys on this site! That was a joke! think it`s a little unfair to be told we`re all going to be out of a job when Mr auditor catches up with us though, I`m installing full heating systems & have had them come out to my work, no probs so far

 

[ArtfulBodger]

My tuppence worth ....

I did an intensive course 2.5 years ago with no experience whatsoever. I was one of the last unqualified people to get into corgi according to my inspector at the initial interview. I was very lucky.

I found the course itself of very poor quality. Very little hands on, mostly theory. The CCN1 and elements I found easy to be honest, but then again I was used to studying and taking exams.

Having my corgi reg, I found it very easy to get a job even after admitting that I had no practical experience. I was thrown in at the deep end, no help, advice or guidance from my employer and if you're thinking that I swam and thrived then you'd be wrong. I lasted 3 months then caused an overnight uncontrolled leak in a 5 bedroom, just refurbished detached property. Caused completely by my ignorance. I was mortified when I found out and resigned seconds before I could be sacked!.

Since then I've been self employed and am now able to choose what risks I am willing to take on. My interest is soley in heating systems and not plumbing per se. I've not been fantastically busy, I've exchanged about 30 boilers and installed about 4 or 5 complete CH systems. Call backs are infrequent thankfully and so far I've been knocked once by a builder. I don't work for builders anymore unless on a day rate with all materials paid for upfront.

I don't kid myself that I know the half of it. I've done my G3 and part L and have spoken to many people in pretty much the same position as me. We might struggle but we get there in the end, it takes us longer but we learn all the time. There are very few installations that I've done where I think that in retrospect I could not have done a better job, however the customers seem happy.

The posters here seem to be vastly more knowledgable than most people I've met in the field, who seem to be much the same as me.

Why did I write this? 'cos I have some sympathy with the original posters sentiments if not comments. Its horses for courses at the end of the day, we aren't born clever, we all have to learn stuff

AB

 

[traineegasman]

Have already apologised for some of the comments posted, I am fully aware that I know nothing compared to a lot of these guys & have always gone out of my way to thank them accordingly. But like it or not, these courses are here to stay until the shortage no longer remains. We are, all of us learning,all of the time.

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

you would have thought some of the old hats at this game would have taken on apprentises, seeing as most of it is paid for by the goverment...............

 

[DAVE BRILEY BHE]

I was thrown in at the deep end, no help, advice or guidance from my employer and if you're thinking that I swam and thrived then you'd be wrong. I lasted 3 months then caused an overnight uncontrolled leak in a 5 bedroom, just refurbished detached property. Caused completely by my ignorance. I was mortified when I found out and resigned seconds before I could be sacked!.


THERE YOU GO I REST MY CASE!!!

 

[traineegasman]

Good point fella, I think that the reason for that is because, whilst they spend the time to train you up, the job ends up taking twice as long, less money earned.It`s a fair point I suppose. But I do remember offering to work for nothing for any gas engineer, some years ago but it didn`t do me any good. So this course was a godsend for me personally.( JV`s point)

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

the course i took was a traineeship for baxi, im now a heateam engineer workin on my own. (Wait for the abuse to roll)...

i have an amazing amount of backup on the other end of the telephone, and ALWAYS check and check again when it comes to gas.

my point being, the courses are good if you have the backup..........however i suppose some companies would chuck people in at the deep end, their just interested in the profit, not the welfare of their workers!!!!....

its always a question i would ask if i went to an interview, and i was inexperianced, and that is 'what help is availible?'. i wouldnt do this job on my own, until i get plenty of experiance....

 

[traineegasman]

Well good for you m8, thinking of going on my own in a couple of years time after getting a good butchers at the many different systems, warm air for one. But we`ll all get there in the end

 

[keyplayer]

traineegasman, what a disappointment, is that a total climbdown?

 

[oilman]

Nobody here, as far as I know, dislikes trainees in general, but if you're going to bounce in and start slagging people off when they make a comment you don't agree with, then you have just indicated those traits that people DO dislike. You can't cover your social gaffs by continually saying "I know I've got loads to learn........" etc. etc.

A bit less mouth and a bit more thought would be better received.

 

[ArtfulBodger]

THERE YOU GO I REST MY CASE!!!

Jeez, get over yourself. This was over two years ago & as far as I know everyone f**ks up in their lives. Just to give you some more ammunition:-

When I was young & was learning to ride a bike - guess what? I fell off
Later when I was learning to ride a motorbike, I fell off again
Later still I got my private pilots license - I got lost occasionally and had a few hard landings

When you are perfect mate, then you can rest your case but not until. Perhaps you would care to tell us all that each and every job you have done has been perfect? go on, then I will tell you I think you are a full of cr@p

 

[keyplayer]

If traineegasman can come round to peoples houses and plumb in a gas hob, or a gas fire at shortish notice, and at a fair price, then I'm sure they couldn't give a toss if he knows what a sine 18 is or not. The fact remains that there is a shortage of gas engineers who by law we are all supposed to call out to carry out the most mundane tasks. I'll plumb my own hobs and fires in thanks, it's not rocket science. On the other hand, I haven't a clue how a boiler works, and don't really care either, so when mine packs up, I'll get one of you lads in to sort it, even though I'll probably be waiting a while for you to fit me in.