January 2016

Jan 201629

Access Training Reviews: What our Students Have To Say

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At Access Training we strive to deliver first class trade training courses. We have successfully trained hundreds of people who have no previous trade experience to become experts in their chosen fields and equip them with all the skills necessary to enter into the world of trade work. Many of our students aspire to become self-employed and we at access training can help.

Interested in enrolling on a course? Read the Access Training Reviews left by past students below:

Steven Walker – who completed a plumbing course with access training told us that he “had no previous experience of plumbing before” and that he found the course particularly helpful because “the course simulates real life situations” he also went on to say that “being a self-employed plumber is the best job he has ever had”

Students, who attend the courses provided by access training, come from all walks of life. Some or our students, like Anthony Blundell did not have any professional experience when he enrolled on one of our carpentry courses. We asked Anthony about his time spent with Access Training, Anthony replied by saying “I enjoyed the course because it was delivered at the right level” he also mentioned that he hasn't stopped working since he has finished his training course, and that he hasn't had to do any advertising because all of his opportunities are made by recommendation.

Scott Daily also didn't have any professional experience when he enrolled on one of our Electrician courses. After becoming a fully trained electrician he informed us that “[this] course has led to me becoming self-employed as an electrician.” He also added that with his new qualifications he was able to expand his families building and roofing business.

Before Alex Dyer enrolled with us on a gas engineering course, he was already working as a self- employed builder he later told us, “The qualifications I received have opened up new avenues if work for me”.

After reading these access Training reviews you feel that you want to know more about the training courses we have to offer, you can contact us by calling 0800 945 7492.

Jan 201628

Learn How to Fit a Bathroom

Ian bathroom fitting

Learning how to fit a bathroom is a vitally useful skill in the trade industry, and is equally as useful to people of a non-professional background. While sourcing the materials is easy, it takes knowledge and skill to achieve a desirable finish, regardless of experience in similar fields and examples from online tutorials.

At Access Training, we provide a comprehensive Bathroom Fitting Course and a combined Bathroom and Kitchen Fitting Course, which both take your through the many aspects of work involved in completing a successful bathroom renovation. From producing pipework, to installing toilets, baths and basins, we will guide you through the process of a achieving your new portfolio of skills, allowing you to achieve a City and Guilds certificate in recognition of your achievement. This will allow you to complete bathroom fitting work unsupervised, and will also allow you to progress onto more advanced units if desired.

Here are some of the people who may benefit from learning how to fit a bathroom:

Property Developers

If you're just embarking on a future career in property development, or are looking to keep the costs of labour down in current projects, it could be immensely useful for you to learn how to install bathroom fittings without the need for additional help.

While you may possess some previous skills in home improvement, you may not have the knowledge or practical experience required to fit a new bathroom successfully, and this lack of experience could result in a less-than-perfect finish. Completing our course will allow you to fit bathrooms that you can be proud of, adding to the value of the property and lending an air of professionalism to the job.

Home Owners

If you're looking to improve your own home without the need to hire labourers to complete the job, then it could be equally as useful for you to familiarize yourself with this trade. If you choose the combined course, you will not only learn how to fit a bathroom, but will also gain kitchen installation skills; both of which will prove to be incredibly useful in carrying out home improvement projects for years to come.

Job Seekers

Home improvement tradespeople are always in high demand, to undertake work with larger companies as well as independently. If you're looking to kick-start a brand new career that will allow you to work flexibly and according to your own contractual preferences, then this could be a great place to start, giving you the opportunity to start earning straight away, or progress onto more advanced courses.

For more information about this or any other of our courses, get in touch with us today!

If you're interested in this course but are unsure if it's exactly what you're looking for, you may wish to consider the following similar/complimentary courses:

Professional Kitchen Fitting Course

Essential Plumbing Course

Tiling Courses

Plastering Courses

Property Development Courses

Jan 201627

Young Tradesperson of the Year 2016: Jewson Launch Competition for Under-30s

Ian

One outstanding young tradesperson will win a trip to Barcelona, plus £1,000 worth of new tools!

Britain's workforce is getting older, and with the ongoing skills shortage causing major problems for the UK construction industry, skilled young tradespeople are an extremely valuable resource right now. We're all trying to encourage more young people to learn a trade and turn professional, but at the same time, it's equally important to recognise the young people who are already doing great work across the country.

To that end, British builders' merchants Jewson have launched a new competition that's strictly for UK-based tradespeople under the age of 30. The title of Young Tradesperson of the Year 2016 will be awarded to "a hard worker with the skills, ideas, and passion required to be a true success"; in addition to gaining a great new accolade for their CV, the successful entrant will also win a weekend in Barcelona (including tickets for a football match), plus £1,000 worth of new tools!

If you think you could be Jewson's Young Tradesperson of the Year - of if you'd like to nominate somebody else for the award - here's what to do...

How to enter/nominate

Remember, entrants must be under the age of 30 to have a chance of winning!

Go to www.jewsontools.co.uk/shed/young-tradesperson-of-the-year.
Type your details (or the details of the person you're nominating) into the online entry form.
Explain why your nominee deserves to be crowned Young Tradesperson of the Year. Use no more than 100 words.
Upload up to 3 images to accompany your entry - these might be photographs of an outstanding job, or a before/after picture.
State whether you're nominating yourself or somebody else and click Send nomination.

The competition closes on Monday the 29th of February, so don't wait around - get your nomination in now!

Be sure to follow Access Training on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest trade news and insight.

Jan 201626

What is Part P?

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What is Part P?

Part p forms a section of the building regulations that were introduced in 2005 to regulate fixed installation work in homes. It is now required for any electrical installation work in a domestic environment must make sure that the work is designed and installed in a manner in which in protects people from electric shocks and electrical fires.

All electrical installations, whether it be, at home, in a conservatory, outbuilding or even the garden must now adhere to the part p building regulations.

Apart from some types of minor electrical installation jobs, such as some installations in kitchens and outdoors, all electrical work must be reported to the local authority or carried out by an electrician who holds the Part P qualification.

Here at Access Training, we have developed an accredited, Electrical Part P (Full Scope) training course. Our Part P course has been designed so it is easily understood by people who have little to no experience in domestic electrical work.

Part P is on the “benchmark” qualifications without which you will be unable to become a qualified electrician. The skills and knowledge taught over our Electrical Part P – Full Scope qualification are transferable to all trades, including; Electricians, Plumbing, Heating engineers, Builders, Property developers, Kitchen fitters, and even landscape gardeners.

If you enrol onto our Part P course you can expect to gain an intricate knowledge of building regulations for domestic electrical installation, electrical safety legislation, standards and regulations, conducting pre-work surveys/inspections, and safe isolation procedures. You will be able to identify unsafe electrical situations, check installed components as well as install and replace components, plus more.

If you would like to receive more information, on our Electrical Part P – Full Scope training course, or if you would like more information on becoming a fully qualified electrician. Contact us on 0800 245 7492 or email info@accesstraininguk.co.uk

Jan 201625

How Do I Become an Electrician?

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Have you become sick of being stuck in the office all day? Do you feel like you want a new challenge? Have you thought about becoming an electrician but not sure what route to take, or what courses are available to you? Access Training can help.

If you enrol on a college course it can take 2-3 years to become a fully qualified electrician, especially if you are only available to study on a part time basis. Here at access training, we can get you fully qualified in a number of weeks with our intensive training courses.

Our courses are aimed at people who have little to no trade experience. Our courses will guide you through the basics, and teach you the fundamentals of domestic electrical work. Our Essential electrical course has been designed with the complete novice in mind. The essential electrical course will teach you how to install lighting, sockets, cooker circuit boards, consumer units, and other domestic installations. We will also help you gain your Part P Domestic Installer Qualification and your City & Guilds 17th Edition Electrical Regulations.

Upon completion of our Essential Electrical Course, you will have gained the knowledge to work with domestic electrics. We also offer a number of more advanced courses, again designed with the complete novice in mind!

Our City & Guilds accredited Professional Electrical course will provide you with a fully comprehensive understanding of electrical installations and the way that they work. If you would like to become an electrician with a broader skill set – then this is the perfect course for you!

In this course we cover a range of units, including an introduction to electricity, electrical unities, safety regulations, earthing and bonding requirements, plus more! We will guide you through gaining your part P domestic installer, C&G 17th edition electrical Regulations, C&G PAT Testing, C&G Fundamental Inspect and test and your C&G periodic inspection & Testing qualifications.

Once you have completed the Professional Electrician course, you will be armed with all the knowledge and qualifications you need to become a practising electrician. However, you may consider the option to further your knowledge and complete the City & Guilds Design Verification Qualification. This course allows students, to progress into supervisory or managerial roles.

If you are feeling ready for a new challenge, and would like to start training to become a professional electrician, contact us on 0800 345 7492 to book your place on one of our electrician courses. We have designed our training courses so they are flexible, intensive, and, more importantly, affordable. So no matter what your circumstances are, we can help you get all the qualifications you need to become an expert electrician.

Jan 201622

Does Britain Trust Its Tradespeople?

Ian access training news

(Image via bradleypjohnson on Flickr)

The UK’s media channels are often rife with horror stories of cowboy tradespeople. People watching programmes like “cowboy builders from hell” on channel 5 or “watchdog” on BBC1 will certainly develop a negative image of the trades men and women in the UK. In fact a staggering 60% of people said that it is fair to label tradespeople as “cowboys” or “rogue traders” and 20% of people said that they’re afraid of being ripped off when they need work done.

Follow these simple steps to avoid being labelled as a rogue trader:

Build relationships with your clients: Take care of little jobs free of charge. This will help increase customer loyalty. When someone is happy with your work, they are more likely to recommend you to their friends. A survey conducted by imperial finance revealed that 37% of people feel that having a relationship with their trades person is important, and 14% of people were referred to their trades person by a friend or family member.

Clean up after yourself: This might seem obvious but it is often overlooked by tradespeople. If you are working on a leaking sink and you spill water on the floor – make sure you mop it up. If you have had to take things out of cupboards to access pipework, make sure you put it all back before you leave.

Make yourself as easy to contact as possible: leave people with a copy of your flyer, business card, or a fridge magnet with your telephone number clearly printed on them, remember to take the visually impaired into consideration. Make sure that you always have your mobile switched on, if you can’t take the call, make sure you call them back at your earliest convenience.

Keep in contact with your clients: after you have completed the work, call the client back, ask them if they are happy with the work – or if they have ran into any complications. 55% customers leave because they have had no contact from you and are indifferent. After Job Service is often more important than the job itself, this is where you can really start to build relationships with your clients and go above and beyond your call of duty. Loyal customers spend on average 33% more than people who are non-loyal and can refer up to 107% more customers than non-loyal customers.

Make it easy for people to get references: set up social media sites, and encourage people to review your business online – this is effective because people buy from people if someone has a something bad to say about your business then people are less likely to hire you to do the work. Make sure you leave them with nothing bad to say! Set up a website to showcase your qualifications, and show people that you really are an expert in your field. This will give people confidence in your ability as a trades person.

Make sure you are fully trained for the job: again it might seem like an obvious point, but if you are not correctly trained for the work don’t take it on. Leaving the work half way through or doing a bad job can damage your reputation.

You can’t start a career as a skilled trades person until you have received expert training. No matter what career you are considering Access Training can help. We offer courses for beginners looking to learn a new trade through to more experienced tradespeople who are looking to expand their service offering.

To find out more about the courses we offer at our state-of-the-art training centres you can contact us by calling (Freephone) 0800 345 7492 or by filling out the enquiry form here.

Jan 201621

Professional Plumbing Course: Everything You Need To Know

Ian plumbing

We have delivered countless plumbing courses to hundreds of people over the years, and we have seen that some students have a hard time achieving their qualifications because of their lack of basic plumbing knowledge.

Here at access training we developed the professional plumbing course, this course has been designed so people who have no previous experience or knowledge of plumbing can get trained up to a professional standard, and for people who have taken a break from the industry and are looking for a fully comprehensive refresher course.

To become a fully trained professional plumber requires a lot of intensive training. But don’t worry – We have you covered!

Our professional plumbing course not only covers a wide range of topics, such as, electrical principles, central heating, drainage, sanitation, maintenance, bathroom installations, water regulations and more. You will also work towards getting the following City and Guilds Qualifications:

City & Guilds 6035 Level 2 Plumbing – This Qualifications the installation of bathroom suites, radiators, waste pipes, external guttering, and hot and cold water storage tanks.
City & Guilds6189-57 Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Plumbing and Heating – Gaining this practical qualification will set you apart as a fully-qualified plumber. You will be assessed in a “live” scenario, with the assessment possibly covering bathroom installation, and various other repair, installation and maintenance tasks.
Unvented Hot Water Storage Systems Certificate – with this certificate you will be qualified to install/maintain energy-efficient hot water storage systems.
WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) Certificate – with this certificate you will be granted the status of “approved contractor”.

After completing our professional plumbing course you will have gained all the necessary skills to become a professional trades person. However many of our students choose to stay with us and undertake one of our bathroom fitting courses or a gas engineering course to broaden their service offering when they become professional trades people.

At access training we accept students of any age, gender or nationality, and we offer flexible training programmes that can be taken on a full time or a part time basis.

If you would like to find out more about our course, visit the Professional Plumbing course page. Alternatively you can contact contact a member of the access training team.

Image source: MoToMo on flickr

Jan 201620

2016 Set to Be a Busy Year for Tradespeople

Ian construction

The first quarter of 2016 looks as if it will prove to be an exceptionally busy period for the UK's tradesmen and women. If you work in the construction industry, you may already have noticed a surge in demand since the start of the year, and there's every reason to believe that the need for competent, professional tradespeople will remain high for the forseeable future.

So why are tradespeople run off their feet at the moment?

Flood damage. If you switched on the TV over Christmas, you're probably aware of the flooding that affected certain parts of the UK recently. While the flood waters have now receded (at time of writing, no severe flood warnings are in place), people are still dealing with the aftermath; the floods caused a lot of damage, and the necessary repairs will reportedly cost billions of pounds. According to simplybusiness.co.uk, tradespeople from "right across the board" can expect "a busy first quarter", with homes throughout the UK requiring all sorts of different repairs. Structural damage, ruined electrical systems, rooms ravaged by flood waters...all of these things will need to be put right by experienced professionals.
Cold weather. Even in years without flooding, winter tends to be an especially busy time of year for the average tradesperson. Plumbers are kept particularly busy during the colder months, with low temperatures leading to burst pipes and other problems. Gas engineers are also in high demand - the weather has been abnormally cold of late, which means that Britain's boilers are working overtime right now!
A shortage of competent tradespeople. As we've mentioned previously, Britain is currently battling a major skills shortage - there simply aren't enough qualified tradespeople to go around. Supply is falling desperately short of demand, and this problem will only be exacerbated by the cold weather and the widespread flood damage.

Demand for qualified tradespeople is higher than ever right now; wages have skyrocketed, and many workers are actually turning jobs down because their schedules are so full. While this could be a big problem for Britain, it does mean that now is a great time to learn a trade and turn professional - whether you choose to become a plumber, a bricklayer, an electrician, or something else again, you're unlikely to have any problems finding work!

Would you like to retrain and become a professional tradesperson? If so, please contact Access Training Academies today - we'll help you to book your course and gain the qualifications you need to succeed!

Jan 201619

Train to Become a Professional Kitchen Fitter

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At Access training we don’t just offer a range of electrician, Gas Engineering and plumbing courses, we also have a range of kitchen fitting courses. So if you are looking to change your career, or just looking to learn enough to carry out DIY around your home, we provide a range of courses designed to guide beginners and individuals through the basics of planning and installing your kitchen.

Our kitchen fitters training courses are aimed at equipping individuals with the relevant skills needed to install a kitchen such as, cutting your worktops, installing your sinks, taps, and cooker hobs. You will also learn how to install appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers. Our Essential Kitchen fitter course is perfect for an entry level beginner, or someone who currently has a trade, for example, tiling, but are looking to expand their skill set and offer more complementary services. Click here to find out more about our essential kitchen fitter training course.

If you are thinking about leaving your current job to become a professional kitchen fitter we also offer a course designed to help you do just that! Our professional kitchen fitter training course will train you how to do all of the above, as well as equipping you with 3 nationally recognised qualifications;

City& Guilds 6219 Certificate: this qualification covers all the constructions skills you need to become a professional kitchen fitter.

Part P Domestic Electrical Installation: Gaining this qualification means that you will be an expert in the installation and maintenance of lighting, sockets, cooker circuits, and other domestic electrical installations. This Qualification is not limited to fitting kitchens; in fact, it will allow you to certify full house rewires and installations.

City & Guilds 2382 -10 17th editions Wiring Certificate: this qualification will provide you with a solid knowledge of the current wiring regulations

If you interested in enrolling on our professional Kitchen fitter course, click here to learn more.

Just like all of the courses we offer here at Access training, our Kitchen Fitting Training Course is open to everyone over the age of 18. You will be trained by our professional kitchen fitters, who have many years of experience under their belts. At our training centres we aim to emulate real life as much as possible, so a lot of our training will be done in our state of the art workshops, more than the classroom!

Our Kitchen Fitting training courses are held at our state of the art training centres at various locations around the UK.

If you would like to know more about our kitchen fitter training courses, get in touch with the Access Training team today!

Jan 201615

DIY Training: Become a Pro at Home Improvement

nathan access training courses

While many of the courses we offer at Access Training are intended to help candidates kick-start or advance their chosen career, we also realize that many individuals want to learn essential trade skills from a non-professional start point, with a view to improve their own homes.

Thanks to the rise in thrifty living sites and DIY blogs, many people now prefer to get hands on with home-improvement projects, in order to save money on labour costs and exercise total control over their desired outcome. Here at Access Training, we recognize the need for a variety of training options as opposed to a 'one size fits all' policy, which is why we offer a variety of DIY training courses.

Whether you're seeking to perfect your wallpapering and painting skills, or if you want to get clued up on carpentry, we have a number of courses available on our site that will allow you to advance your ability in no time. By the end of the course, you will have gained practical skills and knowledge of your chosen area, which you will then be able to translate to all your future DIY projects. Of course, if you do feel that you've found your new life calling on one of our DIY courses, we would be more than happy to help you progress onto more advanced options.

We offer DIY training in all of the following areas:

As you can see from the selection above, there are a number of DIY training options available, which should cover a multitude of design and improvement projects throughout your home. If you would like to learn a combination of skills, we also provide the option to progress onto another DIY course to compliment your training.

If you have browsed our DIY courses and find that one of them catches your attention, please feel free to contact the Access Training team for more information.

Jan 201614

Construction Industry Wages Rose by 6% Last Year

Ian construction

The average construction industry wage for workers rose by 6% in 2015, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. This rise is significantly higher than the average increase for UK workers in general (2%), and it proves that construction is one of the most lucrative career choices for British workers at present.

Why have construction industry wages risen so much?

Construction industry wages have risen because the demand for skilled construction workers is particularly high at the moment. This is due to the desperate skills shortage that Britain is currently experiencing; simply put, there aren't enough competent professionals in the country to cover all the work that's currently available to them.

(Furthermore, with an EU referendum on the horizon, many are concerned that the shortage could soon get even worse - if Britain were to leave the European Union, it would be harder for new workers to enter the country from elsewhere in Europe.)

This shortage has allowed the UK's construction workers to take on more jobs and charge higher prices, further increasing the construction industry wages. A recent survey showed that the majority of construction firms (61%) reported "a sharp rise in wage costs" for 2015.

Which skills are most in-demand?

Competent bricklayers are reportedly hardest to come by at the moment, but the skills shortage is an industry-wide problem, and more or less all construction industry workers are earning higher wages because of it. Winter is a particularly busy time for plumbers; you may remember that we wrote a blog post about this matter last month.

Should I be worried about this?

It depends on who you are. You've probably heard about the housing crisis that's currently affecting parts of London and Southern England, and the construction skills shortage certainly isn't helping on that front; many of the government's housebuilding plans will be thrown into turmoil if Britain fails to find more builders soon.

It may also be a problem if you yourself need any work done - as previously mentioned, the skills shortage has enabled contractors to charge significantly higher rates for each job, so be prepared to get your wallet out!

However, the skills shortage could be very good news indeed if you're planning to join the construction industry. With demand outstripping supply by such a wide margin, this is a golden opportunity for those looking to retrain and start a new career - that gap in the market needs to be filled, and there's money to made if you can do so.

If you'd like to gain the qualifications necessary to become a professional construction worker, we at Access Training can help. Contact us for details, or select one of the following course options to learn more:

Jan 201613

Find Electrician Courses in London

dwadmin electrical

Here at Access Training, we understand that is becoming more and more difficult to find places that offer electrician courses in London. If you have spent some time researching such places, you may have found that many training centres, academies or colleges are not situated in London but rather on the outskirts of the city, which can make them difficult to access via public transport. Access Training, on the other hand, offer a wide variety of electrician courses in our state-of-the-art training centre, located in the heart of the city of London - just a 5 minute walk from Barbican Tube Station (see map below).

We offer a range of comprehensive training courses, designed for people with no electrical experience through to electrical tradespeople of all ages and backgrounds. So if you would like to enrol on an electrical course to kick start your new career and become a fully qualified electrician, you can find a variety of suitable courses right here at our London Training Centre.

Click here to browse our full range of electrician courses in London, or contact us if you need more information.