The field of plumbing is growing quite steadily and as many as 86% of plumbers encourage others to join this field. By 2024, plumbing should grow by an impressive 12%. Now, the question remains, how do I become a plumber and what qualifications are required?
If you want to become a plumber in the United Kingdom, you won’t need to get any particular qualifications. However, if you do get qualified, you will enjoy many benefits. The great thing about plumbing is that you can start this career at any time in your life. Even if you’re over 30 years old and are looking for another career, you should consider plumbing.
Plumbing is actually a very rewarding career in the UK and it is very hands-on that will always be needed. This is due to the fact that all buildings have pipes that will need to be maintained, changed, installed etc. When you’re a plumber, you can choose to work on your own or work with other people. You can even work in different areas such as irrigation, sewage, drinking water and more. It is even possible to work in historical buildings in order to restore the piping.
If you want to learn more about this profession, make sure that you continue reading. For any reader who’s reading this if you are in need of any plumbing supplies see Plumbing Supplies 24.
Is Plumbing Suitable For Me?
Different people have different thoughts on various types of jobs. For example, there might be a career that some people would find quite exciting and others would find the same job to be quite boring. So, plumbing can either be exciting and rewarding or boring according to the individual.
There are a couple of different ways that you can become a plumber. One way is to go to college and get a level 3 diploma degree in plumbing. Alternatively, you can get trained and then get a job and learn while on the job. Due to the fact that plumbing is a very skilled career, it is important that you get the correct knowledge and skills to do the job right.
In the event that you’re very interested in being a plumber, you should figure out if you’re suitable for it before committing. This can save you a lot of lost time, money and energy.
In order to be a plumber in the United Kingdom, some of the things you’ll need include:
- Critical thinking skills
- Confidence in your skills
- Friendly attitude
- Problem solving capabilities
- Ability to stick to deadlines
- Good communication skills
- Mechanical and technical skills that are well developed
- Be able to work in stressful situations
- Manual dexterity
Now that you’ve looked at this list, do you think being a plumber suits you? Another way that you can figure out if this field is suitable or not is to take a course on plumbing. There are many online courses that you can try and there are numerous companies that have beginner plumbing courses.
Duties & Responsibilities
Being a plumber is very rewarding but also challenging. This is due to the fact that they work in lots of different places. This can cause the job to impact your mental, physical and analytical abilities.
When you have a better idea of the daily tasks of a plumber, you’ll have a much better idea of the job. This will also help you to figure out if this is the career for you. As a plumber, some of the tasks you’ll have to do include:
- Talking to customers and provide quotations for various types of plumbing jobs.
- Properly communicating with customers so you can figure out the issue.
- Installing drainage, heating and water systems in different buildings.
- Figuring out where the faults are in a pipe and fixing them.
- Cutting, shaping and joining different fittings and pipes.
- Checking appliances such as washing machines, showers etc and repairing or installing them.
- Installing joints and flashings, weather proof materials etc.
- Taking emergency calls and responding to them.