A Norwegian resident has received a Christmas gift which would appear very close to the top of many plumber training students’ Christmas lists. Thanks to some careless plumbing work, Ms Gundersen of Kristiansund, West Norway, struck liquid gold when she turned on her taps only to find beer flowing generously through.

It seems maybe the standard of plumber training in Norway is not quite as high as it is here at Access, as a hapless plumber who had been called in to fix a leak, accidentally connected a beer barrel from the pub two floors below her apartment to Ms Gundersen’s water supply.

Needless to say, there were one or two unhappy faces in the Big Tower Bar downstairs, when they saw nothing but Ms Gundersen’s dish water flowing into their pint glasses.

Ms Gundersen told local news reporters: I turned on the tap to clean some knives and forks, and beer came out. We thought we were in heaven, although the beer was a little flat.”

The true joy of this plumbing training error was heightened by the fact that in Norway, the sale of alcohol is controlled by a state monopoly, with the price of a pint the highest anywhere in the world, close to 20 Euros a pint. This really was liquid gold!

Egil Myrvang, the local beer distributor, added: “The water and beer pipes do touch each other, but you have to be really creative to connect them together.”

However, Ms Gundersen bore no grudge after the incident, instead quipping that if it should happen again, she’d probably prefer a Baileys!

We hope this merry little tale of mishaps, beer and plumber training has left you in the mood to spread some Christmas cheer. For further plumber training information please browse the wide range of industry recognised plumber training courses on our site, or call 0800 345 7492.

If you are considering training to be a plumber or vocational training more generally, the news that the planned overhaul of the UK’s vocational educational system has come unstuck will pique your interest. Following the damning Wolf review of vocational courses, the minister of education, Michael Gove, promised a thorough overhaul of the system and the QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework). The aim of this new framework was to:

• Set a country-wide standard for vocational training, ensuring the high standard of education across the UK;
• Establish levels and gradings across the vocational system to monitor progress and gauge achievement;
• Integrate the vocational system with the current academic system, allowing vocational courses a points system which would function as a comparable equivalent.

Unfortunately, for those considering training to become plumber, or establishing themselves into any sort of trade, these changes have foundered utterly and have folded a month before their due completion.

The issue with courses for those interested in training to be a plumber is the hundreds of courses out there which all function in different ways. This makes bringing them all up to a general standard and implementing a thorough, water-tight framework exceedingly difficult. In fact, the whole doomed QCF process has been described as “expensive spaghetti”!

This failure won’t make much difference to those training to be a plumber. Changes are yet to be made and very few training providers are ready for them when they are eventually implemented. They are unlikely to affect those currently training to become a plumber.

In the future, if you are thinking about training to be a plumber, you can expect a more thoroughly regulated system of vocational training with relative values and a clear framework. The industry qualifications you’ll earn, however, will stay the same.

These changes seem to be a fair way off still but, when they are implemented, Access Training are ready to make the change, ensuring quality and consistency across the vocational training courses we offer. If you’d like to find out more about training to be a plumber with industry experts, just take a look at the flexible and varied courses available on our website, or call our team on 0800 345 7492 today. 

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If you are thinking about jacking in your plumbing training it could be the worst thing you do for your career.  The net is closing in on unscrupulous and untrained trades people including plumbers, electricians, general builders and carpenters.  The CITB and the Government are joining forces to push for a greater level of scrutiny when it comes to the levels of workmanship carried out by these and other trades.  Starting with training and qualifications, they are insisting that trades people obtain key qualifications that are recognised in their industry.  Plumbing training has particularly come under fire with rogue traders being punished in the severest way possible. 

In a copy of the Construction Engineer dated 24th June 2011, it was reported how Darryl Sylvester Glyn, 46, was ordered to pay back over 100K to his customers or he would face an additional two years in jail.  He is already spending four years in jail having been prosecuted by Yorkshire County Council Trading Standards. 

Whilst there are many honest and reliable trades people operating in the UK, there are many rogue traders who think nothing of demanding large amounts of money from their customers and doing very little in return.  Jobs are left unfinished, money runs out, more money is demanded, and the cycle continues all at the detriment of the customer.  This has got to stop and training seems to be the key lacking factor when it comes to these dodgy dealings.  If these trades people had to demonstrate their qualifications whether in plumbing training or another trade, they would fall short of the mark and the customer would not choose them for the job in hand.

Established courses in plumbing training, carpentry training and other trades ensure these trades people have the skills and knowledge they need to do a good job and to follow best practices.  The good news is that more and more trades people are stepping up to the mark and ensuring that their training is up to date and that they can prove they are able to carry out high quality work.

Plumbing training is just one direction you can take if you are interested in learning a trade.  You can learn so much through an accredited course and diversify into specialist areas that will make you stand out from the crowd. 

There are many training companies offering outstanding plumbing training these days.  You can take any number of courses to get yourself established in the industry or to further your current knowledge and skills. Browse our range of brilliant plumbing training courses on our website now, or call our helpful team on 0800 345 7492 for more information!

The introduction of vocational lessons for less academic students has been hailed as a very good thing for education. Nowadays school children can be taught horticulture and can undertake training to be a plumber, and much more. Training to be a plumber at a young age is a great way to get experience is a good business and a fulfilling profession, but the recent Wolf Review which monitored vocational training to be a plumber among other courses, found real shortcomings in vocational education.

Vocational Course Problems
The problems that the Wolf Report identified with vocational training to be a plumber at school include a lack of real value. In many cases, vocational courses which were supposed to provide children with training to be a plumber did not prepare their students thoroughly enough for higher education or for a real job.

Training to be a plumber at school is often equivalent to several GCSE but does not provide students with the right level of skill to account for this. This means that, after undergoing training to be a plumber, school leavers often find that there is no job for them and they are woefully under-prepared for further education.

Why Do These Problems Arise?
The key reason that so many courses which provide training to be a plumber to school kids are so useless is that there is a severe lack of regulation. There is no single, dedicated body which controls the standard of training to be a plumber. This means that, while there are many fantastic vocational plumbing courses around, there are equally training courses which underprepare students and do not fulfil the needs of their students.

Get High-Quality Training to Be a Plumber
There are many proposed changes to school training to be a plumber. The Wolf Report suggests that many of the underperforming courses are immediately scrapped. Meanwhile, the report proposes making further education (FE) courses available to vocational secondary school students who want training to be a plumber.

If vocational plumbing courses are scrapped at secondary schools, students may have to wait until their leave school to get training to be a plumber. This may not be so terrible a thing. There are lots of brilliant plumbing training courses out there and adult training is monitored by awarding bodies such as City & Guilds so their quality and standard is assured.

If you are interested in training to be a plumber, whether you are a school leaver or not, you can enrol on our plumbing training courses which can be found UK-wide. Our courses are flexible, City & Guilds accredited and taught by experienced professionals. To learn more about training to be a plumber with Access Training, browse our site or call our team on 0800 345 7492 today.

You don’t always need to have gone through expert plumbing training to fix some of the plumbing problems around your place. Plumbing is one of the final frontiers of DIY because, should anything go wrong, it can end up in a big, soggy and expensive mess. In many cases you are better off enrolling on plumbing training courses, or finding an expert with the right plumbing training, but there are some small DIY plumbing tasks which are safe and relatively easy for you to carry out around the house.

Before we begin, bear in mind that there are some jobs that only plumbers with the correct plumbing training should carry out. If you are keen on DIY there are loads of plumbing training courses around that you can enroll on to qualify you to deal with things like plumbing problems which are within a wall, close to electricity or to sockets. If you haven’t had plumbing training, these problems should be left to someone who has.

One of the most common and fixable problems, even if you do not have plumbing training, are problems around the kitchen sink. A blocked drain or leaking pipesare two problems which you do not need plumbing training or specialist tools to deal with. Here’s how to deal with a blockage.

1. Check under your sink and take a look at the U bend.
2. Once you have located the U bend, next locate your bucket! It is important to have a bucket on hand whether you have plumbing training or not, as blocked sink water all over the place is no fun for anybody.
3. Unscrew your U bend. If your U bend is plastic you should be able to simply unscrew it. If you have a rubber U bend you may need to use a screwdriver or spanner to get it off. 
4. Check your U bend for obstructions, often this will just be a build-up of fat and/or food. 
5. Once you have located the obstruction, just remove it and replace your U bend, ensuring that it is securely fastened.

This is one very basic plumbing task which you can complete without undergoing plumbing training. If you are interested in learning about plumbing, and want to learn to do more, enrolling on a plumbing training course is a great way to find out more and add to your skillset. Many people often find that plumbing training courses open up a whole new career to them! If you are happy as a layman and want more online DIY plumbing training, check back here next week when we’ll be giving plumbing training to show you how to fix leaking pipes.

Access Training are plumbing training specialists and offer a huge range of courses across the country, for all levels of ability. Access plumbing training is flexible and practical and, best of all, all Access Training courses will get you an official City & Guilds approved qualification once completed. For more information about plumbing training browse our website or call our friendly team on 0800 345 7492 now!