The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national press. 30-70k p.a. is often talked about because of the lack of Plumbers. Is this really a fib – or is this in fact accurate? Certainly this level of payment is both possible and achievable for the correctly qualified Plumber. Those taking the more conventional ways to work will find it hard to reach the incomes of 70-100k p.a. that are sometimes achieved by the self-employed.

However, working for regular employers often results in the typical hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Salaries of between 15k – 30k p.a. are easily achievable and will include typical benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance – what you’d generally expect from any UK employed status. By working ‘out of hours’ – typically longer than 9am to 6pm Mon- Fri the self employed person can often achieve a higher wage. For example in the domestic sector where clients are often at work during the working day, self employed plumbers are regularly required to work during evening and weekend visits.

There is also the issue of self-employment itself – which definitely suits some people more than it suits others. Finally there is good ‘business sense’, such as getting the hourly rate correct, advertising and marketing budgets spot on which are all important. There are additional charges levied to people who work for themselves including legal and accountancy fees as well as those relating to materials and transport. Although it is expected that these can be relatively small in relation to the earnings overall they can mount up, but then so can the benefits. Added to that, the positives virtually always outstrip the negatives!

Student Entrants are generally looking for regular employment with a particular employer who can cover most of their working needs and teach them from experience. On the other hand, the Self Employed Entrant needs to increase their list plumbing credentials as soon as possible. Having said that, the majority of self-employed workers do not join the business sector but focus on the ‘domestic’ market. (The majority do at the very least)

Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. The issue of NVQ’s (or SVQ’s in Scotland) nevertheless appears to cause some difference.

To begin with, the Student Entrant appears to rely more heavily on the NVQ structure than the Self Employed Entrant. The Self Employed Entrant will often call upon a wider range of certifications right from the outset; in order to satisfy their perceived client’s requirements. To satisfy their typical household-based client base many self-employed persons will need to quickly focus on the relative domestic skill sets. The Student Entrant will often carry on their studies in the workplace under an apprenticeship where the NVQ element can be assessed. Due to the cost effectiveness of this study the Student Entrant can make strong savings from the outset. However, in relation to the Student Entrant the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster and therefore achieve substantial financial gains in the long term.

Clearly this illustrates the need for a careers discussion that covers certifications and study alongside those of financial returns. For adults with demands of say a 20kp.a and a family to look after, the prospect of going back to college and spending a further 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work can be very daunting. It should also be remembered that many younger Student Entrants are entering an apprenticeship and thereby have their courses paid for them whereas the mature self-employed students do not. These costs (for self-employed status) can often end up around 3k-10k+, dependent upon the course structure and the level of certification sought.

Self Employed Entrants can consider a wide range of private technical colleges as opposed to the reliance on further-education colleges and that differentiates them from Student Entrants. It is through well known educational paths that many commercial training companies can offer routes into correct qualifications and skill-set requirements. The ability to train in evenings, part-time or in self study classes allowing people to continue with their existing job and maintaining their current financial situation remains one of the key advantages to Self Employed Entrants. Considering so many options on hand it is clever to gather data from as many sources as one can. Having provided an option for you to come back and review the links and adverts from several sites, why not book mark this page (CTRL-D).

To increase their ‘marketability’ many plumbing students will go on to utilise extra courses. Areas such as Gas, Green Energy and Electrical training can offer additional qualifications to Plumbers. Gas training has always been a route for Plumbers to consider, as this forms part of the common domestic and commercial heating system.

It is with its main subjects, alongside added NVQ’s, that result in Gas Training being viewed as a technical program. It is the ability to add extra skills to the fore, along with the features that on-going training offers that continue to be attractive to those who trained as a plumber. From this stance, the mature student is often more suited to a cross of Plumbing/Gas training. For the Mature Student the emphasis appears to be reducing the NVQ elements and focussing on the core subjects.

It is from this particular training program that the self-employed professional gains ground. The attraction is certainly the chance to gain a wider range of skill sets and earn money from them. This alone can add to their industrial viewpoint, as opposed to relying on sub-contracting core elements to third parties. Sub-contracting can not only reduce the earning potential of a job, but also erode the value in the customer’s eye, as they may have to wait for key stages to be handled by someone else before the final completion of the job. To have a higher value within their client base a Plumber needs to consider their relative skill sets that they offer.

In conclusion, the Self Employed Entrant can enjoy a much higher (and more quickly achieved) income than a Student Entrant, but they would have to work at developing a broader range of certifications (and consider the business side of things too.) Note: This information relates to the UK market, policies and industry requirements alone.

Author: Scott Edwards. Check out CLICK HERE or Plumbing NVQ and Technical Certificates.