Having gone from employed to at risk to oblivion in 48 hours I am looking at this as an option to retrain and get earning… I am practical and can apply myself to tech stuff and study…. and I have a van……

Anyone done it, any tips or comments on your experience?

it takes about 5 minutes to learn but years to perfect the indrawn breath through the teeth and shaken head when faced with the slightest task…

also you need big pants to make room for ample belly and loadsamoney

But of course, with the downturn in the housing market (sales and new development) there is much less work around for all building trades…

I done a more general handyman course (plastering, plumbing, tiling & woodwork) a couple of years ago, one element was plumbing which covered the basics of how the various systems work. On the practical side we planned & fitted a mock bathroom and installed and then pressure tested a radiator, we done it on the old fashioned way using copper pipe work & soldering etc…

I tried a short stint of doing some private jobs but found that I was nowhere near experienced enough to tackle some of the jobs. I think you ideally need some on the job training with an experienced plumber rather than going straight from a course or college.

Good info, I have a couple of trade mates (chippy / sparky / tiler which do a bit of plumbing), that may consider a short no-cost to them apprentice with for a while.

What course did you do?

I done my course with these guys (but swapped the brick laying for woodwork on their handyman package):
http://www.buildingskillsacademy.co.uk/

It gave me a good basic understanding and skill base for maybe say renovating a house. I did then consider doing the recognised industry course in plumbing, although can't remember which one to be honest… but felt I needed more hands on experience and bills needed paying so went back to my old profession.