Hello all,

I am not in the construction trade, but I met someone from Stafford in the midlands this week at a conference and she said her husband is in sales for a kitchen company. (I don't know the name of his company )

She said that there was a desperate shortage in Stafford of plumbers, tilers and kitchen fitters and said people in those trades could earn £1500 a week!

She seemed like a serious person, not a big mouth.

So what is the situation like in Sheffield?
Is it possible to earn like that in those trades in Sheffield?

If so I am straight down to Sheffield college to retrain.

Or is it an urban myth?

I also was in Stafford this week - at a Dog Show

As for your question - When we had our kitchen fitted it took 2.5 days and the fitter charged £1000 but he did all the plumbing and gas fitting as well and I have to say he made a lovely job of it. So I would say yes go and get retrained - 2 fittings a week, well enough said.

i am in construction (joiner) and believe me there is a desperate shortage of trades in particular plumbers and plasterers, with the right contacts £1000 a week is not out of the question
:thumbsup: :hihi: :thumbsup:

so you want to re train as a plumber? good luck, I'v been a plumber for the last 36 yrs off and on I served 5yrs apprenticeship and I'm still learning. A license to print money! if I did'nt keep up with the latest trends and tecnology i'd be out of work to-morrow.

Originally posted by haggis
so you want to re train as a plumber? good luck, I'v been a plumber for the last 36 yrs off and on I served 5yrs apprenticeship and I'm still learning. A license to print money! if I did'nt keep up with the latest trends and tecnology i'd be out of work to-morrow.

Did you test one of those push fit fittings with your finger when they first came out? :D

Originally posted by jogenn
If so I am straight down to Sheffield college to retrain.

Or is it an urban myth?
Good luck getting a place on a plumbing course at college mate :lol:

Thanks to all of you.
It is definitely interesting.
Maybe once I've settled in to
sheffield I'll look at it more seriously

Originally posted by twinky1
I also was in Stafford this week - at a Dog Show

As for your question - When we had our kitchen fitted it took 2.5 days and the fitter charged £1000 but he did all the plumbing and gas fitting as well and I have to say he made a lovely job of it. So I would say yes go and get retrained - 2 fittings a week, well enough said.

Was that at the County Show ground?

Im from Stafford and my parents live there

Coggy

Just my part on the money

It takes a lot of time and experience to be able to charge any where near that kind of money.

College is 3 years and then you start learning and experience comes in time.

What you have to remember is to earn that kind of money you would be self employed and you have to take into account :

Accountant fees
Van
Van Tax
Van insurance
Diesel / Petrol
Van MOT
Liability Insurance
Tool Insurance
Tool expenses
Materials
Fixtures and fittings
Wage Tax
National Insurance
Advertising
Stationary
No Holiday pay
No sick pay

That's just a few of the top of my head.

But all i can say is if it's the money your after forget it, you need to have a passion for your trade and take pride in all your work. If your chasing the money your work will suffer and gaining a good client base will be a lot harder.

If you do have a passion and love your trade (Sometimes lol) then definately go for it, i would not want to be doing anything else and love working here in Sheffield. But im not a Plumber

Hope this may be helpful

Jase
Coggy (Joiner)

Hello all,
I work full time and am very interested in doing a plumbing course. I have basic skills (have just succsessfully replaced my complete bathroom suite) Does anyone know of a good part time course that may suit me?

Originally posted by jogenn
Hello all,

I am not in the construction trade, but I met someone from Stafford in the midlands this week at a conference and she said her husband is in sales for a kitchen company. (I don't know the name of his company )

She said that there was a desperate shortage in Stafford of plumbers, tilers and kitchen fitters and said people in those trades could earn £1500 a week!

She seemed like a serious person, not a big mouth.

So what is the situation like in Sheffield?
Is it possible to earn like that in those trades in Sheffield?

If so I am straight down to Sheffield college to retrain.

Or is it an urban myth?

£1000+ a week is not unheard of in the construction industry, but beleive me you work bloody hard for it and in extremely poor conditions, it is also the most dangerous place to work in this country.

More people are killed in our industry each year than any other and is far more dangerous than mining. There were 71 fatalities between April 2003 and March 2004, and there have been 54 deaths already this year since April 2004.

Even small incidents are common, A guy on one of our sites managed to fire a nail into his kneecap with a nail gun last year. He was supporting a post with his leg, as he fired the nail gun it went straight through the timber and into his leg. :(


Most trades earn between £400 to a £1000 a week but remember most are self employed with the disadvantages that it brings. As has been stated earlier - NO Holiday Pay, No Sick Pay, No Company Pension. Oh, and no unemployment benefit when times are hard.

I worked on a sight in Lincolnshire several years ago where the Sparkys were getting £60 an hour.

While ever there is a shortage of skilled personal, there will be high wages.

For any one wanting advice on Training.The best place for teenagers and adults is Star House on Division Street( Sheffield Futures for adults.

There is lots of info on courses and jobs and the staff ( although there have been cutbacks in the service) are helpful

Originally posted by porkie24
Hello all,
I work full time and am very interested in doing a plumbing course. I have basic skills (have just succsessfully replaced my complete bathroom suite) Does anyone know of a good part time course that may suit me?

This is something I found (http://my.sheffcol.ac.uk/index.cfm?PID=3732A3CA-D3DA-4F34-B378-51818C41A6FF&cmd=Course&Course=CDOOOO) under the heading of 'weekend courses' at the sheffield college, castle college (in town)

Originally posted by coggy
Was that at the County Show ground?

Im from Stafford and my parents live there

Coggy

Yes it was at the County Show Ground, never been to Stafford before, nice place with wide open spaces - enjoyed it.

Originally posted by Strix
Did you test one of those push fit fittings with your finger when they first came out? :D
Certianly not I used my toungggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Originally posted by Strix
Did you test one of those push fit fittings with your finger when they first came out? :D

Think I'm the only person who hasn't much to the annoyance of work mates! Gotta admit it was tempting though :D

Back to the thread, most of our work is kitchen supplying and fitting and it's not something you will become good at overnight or even on a short course. There are lots of people jumping on the bandwagon now as they've heard about high income but their work is usally sub standard. You have to remember you are installing someones dream so if you are charging big money for the service it needs to be a spot on job. If you are serious about getting in to the industry try and find someone who will take you on as an apprentice fitter - something like

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26200&highlight=kitchen+fitting

As Coggy states there is a lot to layout when self employed and you'll soon find that £1500 a week reduced to a much smaller sum, take into account that as a kitchen fitter you will need someone to work with (butt and scribing 4 metre worktops on your own isn't a great idea) and they'll want paying too. Also you'll need to know a CORGI guy to move gas pipes and connect gas appliances for you and thanks to Part P you'll need a sparky who can self certify any electrical work that's part of the job. They tend to charge well too.

When it comes to the job you need to be confident in your abilities as a joiner, plumber etc. as 99% of the time something will go tits up on a job e.g. last week went to fit a kitchen, on checking plumbing found that the guy who built the extension left an open sewer under kitchen floor like you do :mad: We spent rest of week re-laying sewers etc.

Basically as a kitchen fitter you need to be competent in a lot of areas and you also need the tools for the job which are far from cheap. You also need to be prepared for manual work, depending on your background in can be a big difference.... On top of all that if you are planning on doing any plumbing work get used to the idea of getting covered in **** every now and then :)

Hope I haven't put you off :P

It's the cold I couldn't stand. Where else other than outside can you do most of the sawing of worktops etc?

'Can I just set my table saw up in your lounge, madam?' :hihi:

Tends to be garden or kitchen for me - it's not the saw you need to worry about it's the router, the amount of dust they create is immense :) Luckily the cold doesn't tend to bother me, used to it from when I used to work outside everyday.

Originally posted by Strix
Did you test one of those push fit fittings with your finger when they first came out? :D
I did! I did! :hihi: Ouch:(

Originally posted by Draggletail
I did! I did! :hihi: Ouch:(

It's like those Chinese fingertraps we made as kids, only more painful - lol :D

Originally posted by fnkysknky
it's not the saw you need to worry about it's the router, the amount of dust they create is immense :) I've got a vac for the router. It usually gets to chew the corners off my MDF which I've been led to believe isn't very nice to breathe :gag:

Originally posted by Draggletail
I did! I did! :hihi: Ouch:(
Why doesn't that surprise me? :rolleyes: :hihi:

I've got a wet/dry vac that will happily work with all my tools (near enough) but don't usually bother with it - just restricts movement and makes even more noise.

As for MDF, some of it contains formaldehyde so isn't nice to inhale - loads of stuff around about it being carcinogenic but probably overhyped as per usual.

if you fancy retraining, don't try Rotherham....... we are flooded there are far too many gas fitter plumbers in Rotherham.......DON'T BECOME A SIX MONTH WONDER BOY IT'S NOT WORTH IT..........

There are companies offering 5 day courses in plastering. They say they train you to proffesional standards. What a joke plastering takes 4 years of training and going to college to have a basic idea of how to do the job.
I have met people who have done this 5 day training and they admit they know zero. Its OK to advertise these courses for basic DIY but to say to proffesional standards is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!

i need loads of work doing need 3 kitchens fitting bathroom tilling loads of garden work 4 houses plastering only ring me if u can start asap ring me on 07747339837

Wonderboy2000 are you speaking from experience when you say 'dont do the 6 month course'.

If someone is 31 years old an apprentice ship is out the question.

So if someone wants to become a plumber or gas engineer then this is the only option they have?

Sorry i ment advance2000 :roll: