Able skills?

[Jazzer]

Hi all. Any thoughts on the 10 week NVQ level 3 tiler course provided by Able Skills in Dartford? The cost is approx £3,500. My position is as a 33 year old looking at a possible career change.

[wine~o]

I can only repeat the advice I gave in the other thread. I would add that these 6/8/10 week courses are to make money from people who are disillusioned with their chosen profession .(Or the recently redundant with a payment) I don't want to discourage you from a career change but these courses are not the way to go.

Check out local education authorities evening classes as a starter.

[Stooby2]

I did the electricians course with them and found they are bit of an exam factory. I wouldn't advise doing their courses then heading out on your own - I would use them as a place to get the skills and qualifications, then go and work with a professional to get the much needed experience and confidence before striking out on your own.

[Jazzer]

Thanks for the replies. I thought that on the face of it the course looked quite comprehensive and seemed to cover a lot including an entire week of plastering and even tiling Victorian hallways/pathways etc.

I'm in the process of getting my bathroom tiled (the total area of the walls including additional 10% is approx 24sqm) and it's costing £600. I've found trying to get a reputable tiler in my area really difficult, I've been waiting about 4 weeks for this guy to be available and hence have thought that there's maybe a gap in the market to be exploited.

I understand that a newbie wouldn't be able to charge anywhere near that amount but he said that he will get the job done in a day so even if you charged less there's still a healthy profit to be made.

Thanks again for all the advice on here, everyone has been really helpful.

Jazzer

[wine~o]

Stooby makes a very good point. If used purely as a starting point/springboard then the course may be worthwhile. Very often though these courses are advertised as a direct way into self-employment.

[Notch1]

A few years back an employee who was a trainee joiner decided to leave to become an electrician, he paid around £3k for the 4 week full time course and was given the impression that he on completion he would get his certificate and go out and earn £40k per year as a qualified sparkie.

He never did become an electrician, he became a site chippie instead. Apart from the total lack of experience in electrics, I dont think he manage to pass the 17th (as was then) edition exams -which I imagine are most technical.

My impression is that whilst these privately run courses may be designed to take exams they in no way provide an easy route to a new career and they should not market themselves as such.

[Jazzer]

Any thoughts on whether an NVQ 3 or a city and guilds level 2 diploma would be better? Our bathroom is getting tiled tomorrow, will maybe spend some time watching the tiler in action.

[Someone-Else]

Any thoughts on whether an NVQ 3 or a city and guilds level 2 diploma would be better? Our bathroom is getting tiled tomorrow, will maybe spend some time watching the tiler in action.

Have as many certificates as you like, most will not care, but the question is can you do the job?

or to put it another way

Would an NVQ 3 be better than a city and guilds level 2 diploma?

Experience is king.

OR

You apply for a job, and they have a "test wall" for you to tile, your paperwork says you can do the job, but infact you struggle, what good was the paperwork?