Hello mstevens
There are colleges in various parts of London offering courses in
plumbing. On the whole, it is the colleges providing a full training
which also have introductory or foundation courses. Some offer
part-time and/or evening courses, but not all.
If you decide to go the whole way with this and become a fully trained
plumber you will need to study for NVQs which are "National Vocational
Qualifications - (NVQs) - relat[ing] to specific jobs......NVQs are
made up of a series of units. A student passes a unit when they can
show that they are competent at a particular skill." Colleges which
offer NVQ courses will normally arrange work experience as part of the
training. They should also give you career and financial advice.
Some of the colleges expect you to phone or order a brochure to get
full details of their courses. Others provide good information on
their websites.
You will probably want to contact one or more of these colleges listed
for the London area by BPEC, the British Plumbers Employers Council.
BPEC oversees plumbing training in England, along with the Learning
Skills Council. (If you want more details on their role see the links
at the end.)
BPEC'S LIST OF COLLEGES OFFERING PLUMBING TRAINING
**************************************************
Hackney College (Brooks)
Brook House Campus
Kenninghall Rd
Hackney
London
E5 8BP
020 7613 9000
http://www.comm-coll-hackney.ac.uk
Hackney's site has a useful guide to the different levels of NVQ and
how they compare with other qualifications.
You can request a comprehensive printed guide to courses.
-----------------------
Newham College of Further Education
East Ham Campus
High Street South
East Ham
London
E6 4ER
020 8257 400
http://www.newhamcfe.ac.uk
1 and 2 year courses
-----------------------
College of North East London
Tottenham Centre
High Rd
Tottenham
London
N15 4RU
0208 802 3111
http://www.conel.ac.uk
All levels including introductory "working towards plumbing"
This is considered a "centre of excellence" in plumbing training.
---------------------
Camden Training Centre
57 Pratt St
Camden
London
NW1 0DP
020 7482 2103
http://www.camdentraining.ndirect.co.uk
You have to have been unemployed for a while for their courses, both
part and full-time.
---------------------
College Of North West London
Dudden Hill Lane
Willesden
London
NW10 2XD
020 8208 5050
http://www.cnwl.ac.uk
Plumbing foundation courses including evening classes
---------------------
Lewisham College
Plumbing & Gas Section
2 Deptford Church St
Lewisham
London
SE8 4RZ
020 8692 0353
http://www.lewisham.ac.uk
A choice of courses including a two-year course for people in
employment who can attend college in the evening.
More information than most places:
"Is this course for me?
If you have little or no previous experience and want to enter the
plumbing profession this could be the course for you.
What will I study?
There are eight compulsory subjects:
* Commission and decommission systems
* Contribute to quality development and improvement of products
and services
* Fabricate, position and check sheet lead weathering system
components
* Install and test the components of the system
* Maintain effective working relationships
* Maintain sheet lead weathering systems
* Maintain the effective operation of systems
* Maintain the safe working environment
There are five optional subjects:
* Install and test the components of oil supply systems
* Commission and decommission oil supply systems
* Install and test the components of unvented hot water systems
* Commission and decommission unvented hot water systems
* Maintain the effective operation of unvented hot water systems"
----------------------
East Berkshire College
Station Road
Langley
Slough
Berkshire
SL3 8BY
0800 923 0423
(Web address given not functioning but since the college is in Slough,
I thought you might not care. Please ask if you want me to chase this
up for you.)
-----------------------
Lambeth College
Vauxhall Centre
Belmore St
Wandsworth Rd
London
SW18 2JY
020 7501 5010
http://www.lambethcollege.ac.uk
foundation and NVQ
------------------------
Richmond Upon Thames College
Egerton Road
Twickenham
Middlesex
TW2 7SJ
020 8607 8000
http://www.richmond-utcoll.ac.uk
------------------------
Ealing Tertiary College
Southall Centre
Beaconsfield Rd
Southall
London
UB1 1DP
08457 023883
http://www.ealingcoll.ac.uk
NVQs
------------------------
Hammersmith & West London College
School of Building
40 Lime Grove
Shepherds Bush
London
W12 8EA
0800 980 2175
http://www.hwlc.ac.uk
-----------------------
British Plumbers Employers Council
http://www.bpec.org.uk/html/snvq_map/snvq_z13.htm
OTHER COLLEGES IN THE LONDON AREA TEACHING PLUMBING
***************************************************
Here are a few more possibilities which come from the "Association of
Colleges - London, a web guide to further and adult education colleges
and courses in London" at: http://www.londoncolleges.com/
Bexley
http://www.bexley.ac.uk/optimalview/asp/template.asp?name=contact
------------------
Barking
http://www.barking-coll.ac.uk/course-info-set.html
day and evening - includes NVQ
------------------
City of Westminster
http://www.cwc.ac.uk/courses.asp
------------------
Richmond Community College
http://www.racc.ac.uk/
evening classes
------------------
Stanmore
http://www.stanmore.ac.uk/
DISTANCE LEARNING
*****************
Distance learning usually means a correspondence course but these look
like teach-yourself booklets at first glance:
Modules on Plumbing
http://www.learnplumbing.co.uk/page10.html
News of a new distance learning course assessed by Mid-Kent College:
Equator distance learning courses
http://www.equator.co.uk/newwebsite/news6.html
I also found a link on the IOP site for 'distance learning' but it
doesn't lead anywhere useful.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND LINKS
*****************************
The Institute of Plumbers (IOP) have links to 'training providers'.
Institute of Plumbers
http://www.plumbers.org.uk/links/index.html
A news story confirming your feeling that plumbers are in demand!
"29,000 plumbers short
Ageing workforce
Only 833 NVQ Level 3 certificates issued in 2000"
Report of speech at IOP
http://www.plumbers.org.uk/news/sept01.html
The British Plumbing Employers Council (Training) Ltd.
"BPEC is the National Training Organisation (NTO) for the plumbing
industry. Its primary aim is to use training and development, to
create an environment in which all companies within the plumbing and
mechanical engineering services industry can aspire to become world
class.
You can write to BPEC (Training) Ltd at the address shown on the home
page. BPEC will put you in touch with training organisations offering
Modern Apprenticeship opportunities for young people. Alternatively,
complete and send the form supplied in the publications section of
this site."
BPEC
http://www.bpec.org.uk/
GWINTO - Developing Skills for the Gas and Water Industries - you
might want to check their jargon buster for help decoding all the
initials connected with vocational education, retraining etc.. (e.g.
JSA - Job Seekers Allowance)
Gas and Water Industries
http://www.gwinto.co.uk/
The LSC - Learning and Skills Council - website offers downloads on
modern apprenticeships' but they are really aimed at public sector
employers considering training their workers.
LSC - Central London
http://www.lsc.gov.uk/localarmsdetail.cfm?contactid=55
LSC
http://www.lsc.gov.uk/
I hope this will be helpful and that you will be able to learn
plumbing and perhaps pursue it as a career. Please feel free to get
back to me by using the 'request clarification' feature if you need
any explanation of anything I've written, or if you have trouble with
any of the links.
Good luck!
Regards - Leli
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