All posts by rhys

Good customer service: everyone thinks they offer it; no one will admit to bad service unless they have to. But, how can you differentiate ‘good’ from ‘great’ customer service that gains you glowing online reviews, fantastic testimonials and customer recommendations left, right and centre?

If you’re considering training here at Access Training and have aspirations to be the best self-employed tradesman you can be, here are a few tips on how to measure your performance and how you can improve your customer service: More...

30Nov2016

How to Measure Good Customer Service

Rhys

So, you’ve decided you want to retrain and become a tradesman, but what is your long term goal? If it’s to start and run your very own business so you can be your own boss, then how are you planning on gaining clients?

Advertising your new skills and your available services is essential if you’re going to make a living, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. That’s where our years of experience can help. More...

24Nov2016

The Online Basics: Advertising Your New Skills

Rhys trade news

There is nothing worse than a boiler breaking down or having a plumbing issue during winter. No heating or warm water could mean some chilly days are in store. So, what can you do to prevent the big freeze taking over a home?

Some experts believe wrapping up a hot water cylinder to be a cost-effective solution. More...

24Nov2016

Should You Wrap Up Your Water Heater This Winter?

Rhys

If you have a demanding career, then having to retrain to go into another may seem daunting. Bekani left a long-standing position with the Royal Engineers’ Bomb Disposal Unit for a career in trade and hasn’t looked back.

We sat down with her to learn more about her experience and where here career has taken her.More...

19Nov2016

Testimonial: “I Implore People to invest in Access Training”

Rhys testimonials

Making the decision to drop out of university requires a lot of courage and maturity, but mostly it requires preparation and planning. Knowing what to do after dropping out of uni can help make the transition from education to working life a little bit smoother.

It’s perfectly natural to decide that your course wasn’t what you expected it would be, or to find it too expensive, or to simply not enjoy the university lifestyle. There is nothing undignified about changing your mind once you’re there. In fact, more than 26,000 students dropped out of university in 2013/14.

Whatever the reason, it isn’t the end of the world. University is not the only path to a successful life and career. However, before making the decision to drop out of university, it is highly useful to know what your options are.

With so much pressure from schools and parents put on students to attend university, it might become hard to consider the many other career routes there are, which can provide you with just as prosperous a future.

If you are one of the thousands who discovered that university doesn’t necessarily give you ‘the best three years of your life' and are searching for a new direction to go in, then read on - there is something better suited for you out there somewhere. More...

07Nov2016

I’ve Dropped Out Of University - What Next?

Rhys access training courses, learn a trade

The government recently announced plans to put a levy on employers to ensure that a certain percentage of new employees are apprentices. This new call to arms for apprentices has shown a determination from the government to improve the prospects of young apprentices across the country, and is a positive step forward.

However, how will this affect employers? How do they feel about having to accept more apprentices to their businesses? Having pondered about this question, we decided to compare three main employees and answer an important question: Who would best suit your organisation’s circumstances: apprentices, temporary employees or fixed employees?

If you are a business owner yourself and are struggling with this very question, or if you are considering how best to look for employment, then this article should hopefully provide you with some valuable information… read on! More...

28Sep2016

Who to Hire: An Apprentice, a Temp, or a Fixed Term Employee?

Rhys access training courses, trade news

Has your boiler seen a few too many winters? Are you starting to get lukewarm showers and weak flowing taps? Perhaps it’s time for you to get a new one.

Boilers made today are of a much higher quality and efficiency than those built 10-15 years ago, and so it definitely is worth keeping up to date. Today’s standards of boiler building ensures that the new products have the maximum energy efficiency of 90%, and will be more cost efficient as a result.

If you’re thinking of getting a new boiler, but don’t know much about them, then read on! More...

26Sep2016

The Best Boilers in 2016: A Guide for Buying Your New Boiler

Rhys plumbing

Labour MPs are in uproar over the threat of a 50% cut in apprenticeship schemes.

After a cabinet rethink over the plans for apprenticeship funding, and despite recent government commitments to secure apprenticeship funding for the future, apprenticeships could be less of a priority than they were before.

The cuts, should they take place, will do so in May of 2017, and could involve a 30-50% decrease in government funding. This painful slice in apprenticeships will greatly wound the students of schools and colleges across the country, denying them much needed opportunities for social mobility.

Over 50 Labour MPs have written letters of protest to the Apprenticeship and Skills Minister, Robert Halfon, claiming that the cuts to apprenticeship funding runs contrary to the Prime Minister’s pledge to improve social mobility. They are imploring him to rethink proposals which could significantly harm the UK trade labour industry. More...

21Sep2016

Is the Government Turning its Back on Apprentices?

Rhys

As our most recent summer fades away, the days are getting shorter and colder and we start the dreaded march into frosty mornings and pitch-black evenings. Not to mention those pesky heating bills that sky-rocket as soon as it hits September...

...Or is that really the case? A recent survey conducted by home heating oil specialists Emo Oil has revealed that central heating is actually used constantly throughout the summer, with households turning it up as soon as the evening chill arrives. More...

20Sep2016