Here's something you probably won't hear about on your construction training course! Those that go into construction and find themselves working in a tower crane are often faced with the dilemma of needing to answer nature's call when working up high, however a new product is on the market that will hopefully solve all their problems!

This nifty little item is known as the Peebol, and was first released back in May 2013. It is a disposable urinal bag which converts liquid into a non-spill gel in a matter of seconds. The bag can be used multiple times, hold up to one litre of liquid AND be disposed of in a regular waste bin! Already advertised as being something ideal for long car journeys, adding fixing construction woes seems like a logical next step!

The product comes from the minds at Shewee, who also think this item is for building sites with no toilet facilities. 

A genius idea or the silliest thing you've ever heard? One must wonder if this will ever take over from the age old technique of just going in a bottle...

Via Construction Enquirer

Via InstallerOnline

Despite the advances in electric fires and other forms of household heating, gas fires are still proving to be the number one choice for homes. So if you're looking to go out and get your gas certificate to become a qualified engineer, you'll be pleased to know that business is just as good as ever.

As well as the authenticity and flame effect which prove highly popular among the public, gas is still the cheapest fuel to run. On average, 1kW of gas supplied by British Gas costs just 4.662p (including VAT) compared to nearly 14.259p (including VAT) for 1kW of electricity - a number that seems to only be going up these days. Not only that, running a gas fire is actually more beneficial to the environment too, as it delivers half the CO2 emissions of an electric fire.

Gas fires are also far more efficient than they were back in the 80s, with developments in technology making them capable of delivering heat efficiencies of over 80% and heat outputs of 4.0kW - more than enough to heat your living room! But most of all a gas fire is reliable - if by chance your boiler were to break down over the winter (say, due to condensation freeze), you'll still be able to keep safe and warm until everything is back up and running.

Gas heating is just as vital now as it was 20 years ago, and Britain will continue to need engineers who have received the proper gas training. At Access Training you'll be able to learn all about the gas trade on one of our intensive training courses, eventually going on to complete a guaranteed work placement and subsequent ACS assessments. After that you'll be able to join the Gas Safe register and legally work on all forms of gas installation and appliance in the UK. Reckless gas maintenance can cost people their lives, so we're sure to make sure ALL of our students are training to the required professional standard.

To find out more give Access Training a call on 0800 345 7492.

New competency scheme WaterSafe seems to be a hit with qualified plumbers, as the organisation has proudly announced it has already hit the halfway mark for its registration target. 

Officially launched back on the 8th October, WaterSafe was created to bring all Approved Plumber Schemes under one umbrella and provide recognition for Britain's competent and qualified plumbers. The scheme acts as a national register, accreditation body and online directory designed to provide consumers with assurance that the tradespeople they hire are fully qualified. Since launch it has signed up 54% of its overall target for business registrations, with these figures also constituting 60% of the target for recognised individuals.

Those about to complete their plumbing course or plumbing training may want to consider registration with WaterSafe, as it is set to become to biggest search facility for plumbers in the UK - giving you excellent opportunity to be noticed online and gain valuable (and most importantly, free!) promotion. Members will also be given WaterSafe stationery and branding for their vehicles to gain extra credibility.

Julie Spinks, director of WaterSafe has said that this response has "already surpassed all expectations" and that the scheme looks forward to gaining more members in the months to come. She added that this was really only the beginning for WaterSafe and then said:

"As we continue to grow, we would encourage all plumbing businesses to sign up with us. Together, we can ensure properly qualified professionals will get the credit they deserve by working together to drive out unethical trading and refocus safety standards for all."

You can find out more about WaterSafe by visiting www.watersafe.org.uk

Is the popularity of a good relaxing bath in decline?

A new study from online bathroom retailer UK Bathrooms seem to think so, as their research has found order trends and customer feedback for baths has had a 54% decrease in the last year. On the other hand, the popularity of showers seems stronger than ever which has seen a staggering 72% increase. The study even found that three quarters of British homeowners would choose to install a shower in their home over a bath.

The survey looked at 1342 homeowners in the country, and was part of ongoing research into the opinion about bathroom styles. Respondents were also revealed the reasons why they considered showers to be superior to baths - 46% considered it much quicker, while 34% also added that a shower left them feeling much cleaner than a bath did.

Moving on to bathrooms themselves, 40% of respondents only had showers in their bathrooms, with 28% only having a bath and 32% owning both. If they were to move or renovate their bathrooms, 78% said that installing a shower was of much higher priority than a bath. Why? 51% considered showers to be the speedier option, while 37% also preferred it because showers take up much less space than a bathtub.

Whether you're a bath or shower person (or both!), the winner here is still bathroom installers and plumbers in general. Whether your customer wants a shower or bath (or again, both!) installed, a fully qualified plumber is the only man for the job. If you're interested in specifically going into bathroom fitting, Access Training also offer specialised bathroom fitting courses to provide trainees with everything they'll need to know to perform the job to a professional standard.

To find out more give Access a call on 0800 345 7492 today.

It's forecast that construction worker numbers will decrease significantly in the next 5-10 years is something that we here at Access Training are concerned about.

Recent research shows that encouraging more people to take on construction training courses and become a labourer has become more crucial than ever, revealing that around 4 in 10 workers are thinking of changing their job in the next year.

This research comes from the group Investors in People, who discovered that the 43% considering a job change were attributing it to factors such as work dissatisfaction and renewed confidence in the wider job market. Construction workers specifically are looking to be valued in their jobs, with 81% citing greater job satisfaction as their main incentive for leaving - considerably ahead of pay which was at 50%.

Valerie Todd, chair of IIP and Director of Talent and Resources at Crossrail, said: that while he end of the recession was good news for construction sectors, an upturn in the economy means that "dissatisfied workers now have more confidence to look elsewhere, so business owners who aren’t doing all they can to value their staff can no longer be complacent."  She went to to say that: “Now is the time for businesses to take action to retain their talented people.”

But again, with potentially 400,000 people estimated to retire in the next few years attempting to "retain their talented people" is only going to get so far. However improving job satisfaction is an integral part of encouraging more people to train in a construction trade such as bricklaying or carpentry, as it will add another appealing element to the career alongside the great pay and more rewarding line of work. 

If you are considering changing careers and would like to find out what construction training can offer you, please give Access Training Academies a call on 0800 345 7492. We'd not only be happy to tell you more, but you can also arrange a tour of our state-of-the-art training centre. Here we offer a wide variety of different construction trades, including carpentry, bricklaying, plastering, tiling and painting and decorating (in addition to plumbing, electric and gas engineering). You'll be able to meet our experienced teaching staff and ask them any questions you might have about either the course of life as a fully qualified tradesman.

You can view the full news story on the Construction Enquirer.

Fire service data indicates that over 20% of domestic fires are caused by electrical faults, with this figure increasing during the festive season.

As the festive season fast approaches, some of you will be planning your part in the annual “Battle of the Illuminations” with your neighbours. This year you will want more lights, bigger, brighter, and more colourful for a more dynamic display that will make people stare in amazement.

All of your socket outlets will be put to use, many with multi-way extension leads attached. Will you be checking to see if your installation can safely cope with the extra load? No! Don’t be daft its Christmas, it will be ok!

Will you check the lights to make sure that they are safe to use?

• Are they the correct type of lights for use outdoors?
• Are the flex, plug and leads un-damaged?
• Are the plugs fitted correctly and do they contain the right fuse (usually 3Amp)?
• Are all the lamps the correct rating (voltage, wattage)?

Or shall we just trust to luck?

Then on one December evening your home becomes the focus of everyone in the neighbourhood. People from all over, standing wrapped in coats and scarves watching the awesome display that is before their eyes. A myriad of multicolour flashing lights illuminating jets and sprays of water as the local fire service battle to save your home!

One small spark is all it takes to start a devastating fire, do yourself (and your family) a favour this Christmas – check your lights (or get a qualified electrician to check then) before you put them up and use RCD’s to protect each ‘string’. A small price to pay to have a Merry Christmas with your family– in your own home!

Season’s Greetings,

- Mark Jenkins.

Mark Jenkins is the Electrical Course Development Manager here at Access Training. If you would like to take the steps to become a professional electrician, our electrical training courses are the fastest and most effective way to build up the skills you need and gain the necessary qualifications for a prosperous career in the industry. To find out more give us a call on 0800 345 7492.

All the staff at Access Training UK are genuinely sorry for the many staff at New Career Skills who have lost their jobs today after the company went into administration. Hundreds if not thousands of trainees will not be able to complete their plumbing and electrical training, and in a lot of cases may have lost their life savings as well.

Approximately twelve months ago we helped students from another training company that went into liquidation, and in some cases they managed to get the money back they had paid and complete their training in one of our training centres based throughout the country. If you are one of the many New Career Skills trainees who do not know where to turn please contact one of our trained advisors on 0800 345 7492.  They are here to advise you on what steps you can take. Alternatively, if you are a member of staff please feel free to contact us regarding positions we have available.

December may not seem like the most suitable time to be studying on a trades training course to become a professional tradesman, but the truth is these winter months are actually when plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, bricklayers and roofers are needed more than ever. With the end of the year just around the corner and the cold weather homing in on Britain, government-endorsed standards group Trustmark is warning owners to ensure that their homes are fully prepared before the harsh season hits.

Trustmark have already noted a rise in tradesperson viewings on their online database during October, which saw an a 36% increase in comparison to 2012. Across the trades roofers (32%), plumbers/heating engineers (35%) and electricians (20%) were the ones to see the biggest rise, and with heavy snow forecast until May 2014, these professionals are going to be needed more than ever.

Below is a list of quick spot checks Trustmark recommend doing to help reduce the risk of the winter weather causing damage to your home:

• Most importantly, you should get your boiler and central heating checked/serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer. By making sure your boiler is in peak condition, it will burn far more efficiently - meaning it'll use less fuel AND be warmer. Checking your boiler/central heating also means that if there is any serious problems, you'll be avoiding any tragedy that could happen.
  
  
• Make sure your insulation is in good quality. Not just your loft, but also look into lag pipes, water tanks and draught excluders.
  
  
• Clean out gutters and outlets of any leaves and debris, followed by checking for any leaks or damage.
  
  
• Look out for any damaged or loose tiles on your roof (from ground level to ensure your safety). Leap an eye out for any leaks or condensation appearing on the ceiling.
  
  
• Make sure no exterior walls have any cracked, loose or missing pointing. If they do, be sure to get it fixed before water can get into it.

They also highly recommend keeping a useful list of phone numbers of tradespeople in your area just in case of an emergency - plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, roofers, carpenters...whoever you might need if a problem should arise.

So if you're a tradesperson yourself, be prepared for your work to be more crucial to homeowners than ever - you never know when you're going to be needed. Alternatively, if you're looking to start a new career as a fully-qualified tradesperson now could be the perfect time to start. An intensive course from Access Training Academies can have you up and qualified in a matter of weeks - just in time to help those in need. To find out more about our range of courses, including plumbing, gas, electric and various construction trades, please give our advisers a call on 0800 345 7492.

When hiring an electrician to work in your home it's important to ensure that they've completed a suitable electrical training course and earned all of the necessary qualifications. But it seems not enough Brits are doing this, as new research from the Electrical Safety Council has found that on average a startling one in four people have hired an electrician without checking their credentials. 

The charity estimates that around 20,000 non-registered electricians are currently active in the UK, so having a casual attitude toward checking they have the right electrician qualifications is a huge risk to you and anyone else who lives in/enters your home. Electrical accidents are responsible for half of all house fires, with someone dying every week from one as well. Vigilance doesn't cost anything, but ignorance could cost you your life.

The ESC's survey also revealed that a third of people (based on a random sample of 2018 adults) have hired an electrician based on a recommendation without first checking credentials and - more more alarmingly - a quarter would KNOWINGLY use an unregistered tradesperson if they were in a hurry. The study also found that nearly 1.3 million people have paid a proper electrician to come and fix damage caused by an unregistered one.

This worrying figure shows no sign of decreasing either, as a third of registered electricians admitted to an increase of substandard or dangerous work carried out by rogue tradesmen in the last few years. They also warned of relying on other tradesmen to complete work that should be completed by someone who has completed an electrician training course, earned the right qualifications and become registered.

As part of their campaign to promote awareness towards checking an electrician's credentials, the ESC have taken on TV presenter and consumer champion Dominic Littlewood as ambassador. He warns: "Rogue traders come in many shapes and forms – from your mate down the pub, to the guy that helps your builder out with a few odds and ends. What can look legitimate, or sound convincing at first glance, may turn into a nightmare if the person doesn’t have the right qualifications."

If you're training to become an electrician, its your responsibility to your customers to ensure that you've received the right training and possess all of the relevant qualifications. By completing an Access Training electrician course, you'll gain both of these things as you learn from professional electricians with many years' experience in the industry. To find out more and book your place, give us a call on 0800 345 7492.