All posts tagged /decorating

Over two thirds of building companies in Britain have had to turn down work because there is a huge shortage of skilled trade people, a survey conducted by the federation of Master Builders has found.

Britain faces a shortage of tens of thousands painters and decorators, which is having a knock on effect on George Osbourne’s plan on building one million new homes over the next 5 years. A report from KPMG an accountancy firm highlighted that there is a deficit of 33,000 painters and decorators in the London and South East Area alone.

It has come to light that during the recent recession here in the UK, house building projects dropped by nearly a half, meaning that many skilled tradespeople left their industry to either train in a different skill or simply retired. Britain is slowly recovering from the recent economic downfall and demand for new housing on the rise, there is a significant lack of skilled tradespeople to complete jobs as companies cannot start new projects if they don’t have the labour available. The painting and decorating industry is currently recruiting heavily to ensure that companies can meet the growing demand and meet the planned increases in housing supply. This means that there has not been a better time to train or re-train as a Painter or decorator.

It has been reported that young people are not training to become skilled tradespeople because they believe that the work does not pay well enough. However, due to the skills shortage, current skill traders are bumping up their prices to deal with growing demand. A painter and decorator can be expecting to earn on average £23,000pa, bricklayers and plumbers can be expecting to earn £25,000 - £52,000. This is well above the current national average.

The painting and decorating trade is not the only trade affected by shortage. Britain currently has a well-documented skills shortage, falling short with Plumbing, Electrical and gas engineers. A spokesperson from the home builder’s federation stated that the shortage was “the biggest issue currently facing house builders”

Here at Access Training we offer a large range of courses which provide our students with the foundations to build a truly lucrative career. Whether you are looking to begin a new career in the New Year or currently working in the industry and are looking to build on your current skill set we are confident that we have the ideal course for you.

We offer painting and decorating courses that are open to candidates of all skill sets and provide an in-depth introduction to a range of painting and decorating techniques, designed with beginners in mind our course will qualify you to seek paid work after course completion.

At Access Training we don't only offer painting and decorating City & Guilds courses. We also offer a large range of Plumbing courses, Electrical courses and Gas Engineer courses all designer for people who have no experience or who are looking change their career in 2016 or to build on their current skill sets.

If you would like more information regarding our range of courses you can contact us here or call us on 0800 345 7492 to discuss your training options.

Following on from part 1 we will now look at what training courses are available to you, as well as factors such as their cost and duration.

At Access Training we deliver many construction courses, including;

Each course can vary from a one week taster course to a total of eight weeks, depending on the outcome you wish to achieve. The one week taster course will give you a good insight to your chosen trade, basic use of tools and basic techniques. Then there are two and three week courses which obviously involve a more in depth look at the particular trade. Each of these courses can give you a recognised qualification from City & Guilds.

The eight week course will give you a CAA Level 2 (Construction Awards Alliance) and potentially a NVQ diploma, both of which are again highly regarded and recognised C&G qualifications. The cost of each course varies, so I suggest you contact Access Training Wales and speak to one of the course advisors.

OK you’ve finished the course you’ve gained your qualification, what next? The truth is finding work is not as difficult as you may think. Most trainees after leaving Access Training start by doing small jobs for friends, family and neighbours. This will build your confidence and give you some indication of how long a job will take. Best of all you will be under no pressure from family to complete by a certain deadline.

Then there are construction “agencies” that employ people to work on various jobs. They’ll find you the work, but be prepared to work maybe one week here, two weeks there and so on. This is a great way of gaining experience quickly and you will be on a fixed hourly rate, usually around £12 per hour.

So now that you’ve gained both experience and confidence, it’s time to go on your own. This is where you can earn a lot more money – it’s not uncommon for a good tradesperson to earn between £600-800 per week. Keep your options open, if you completed a bricklaying course don’t think that you can only lay bricks. Bricklayers can usually lay patios, decorative work indoors, build archways and more. If you completed a plastering course, plasterers can usually fix coving up, lay screed floors etc. One very lucrative area from a plastering point of view is “Venitian” or “Polished” plastering. There is a niche in the market for this type of work, if you have good trowel skills you can learn this method relatively quickly, and the price for doing this work is roughly £60 per square meter. So the choice is yours – there is work about for good tradespeople, so if you feel you need a career change then go for it!

If you need more information contact Access Training Wales on 08003457492.

- Richard James