Earlier today, George Clarke, a TV personality best known for presenting Restoration man, and George Clarke’s Amazing places posted a tweet raising awareness of the critical skills shortage we are currently experiencing in the UK Construction Industry. 



To say that this tweet received some interesting reply s on how people thought the industry could change to help encourage more people into learning a skilled trade.

"The wage is shocking"

Some people responded by saying that the wages for skilled workers are poor, and that the wage needs to increase to encourage more people to train. This is a common misconception about skilled work. When you are a fully trained electrician, plumber or bricklayer, you could be earning up to £100,000 per year, well above the national average wage of £26,500.

"People are being encouraged to go to university instead of learning a trade"

Other people were voicing concerns over the fact that children are being encouraged to go to university instead of learning a practical trade. However, not everybody wants to attend university. Many people don’t like the idea of carrying on their education for an extra 3 or 4 years, to then leave with an extraordinary amount of debt and not have a guaranteed job at the end of it all.

By informing children that there are other routes to work, and well-paid work, we might add. Is a crucial step that needs to be taken to close the current skill gap. This will only happen if the education system and the construction industry come together to help educate the next generation. This is a topic we have written about in the past, and it is certainly an area leaders of the construction industry are keen to explore to see if more can be done to help raise awareness and educate children, not just at school leaving age, but throughout their time in education about the importance of skilled trade’s people. 

"You can't get stable work" 

This is another misconception about skilled trade work. Plumbers and Electricians, be it domestic or commercially trained, are always in demand. People are always going to need plumbers and electricians to help them out in an emergency, or need an electrician to wire a newly built house. To increase your chances of winning work over your competitors, you can easily expand your skill set so you can take on more specialist jobs, or a wider variety of work. 

Currently the industry is is crying out for more Plumbers, Electricians and bricklayers that the chance of you landing a contract shortly after you have completed your course, is incredibly high. Thus making this the perfect time to begin learning a trade. 

Here, at Access Training we offer a variety of courses for people who are looking to learn a trade. All of our courses are designed for the complete beginner, and will take you on a journey through to becoming a true industry expert. So if you are interested in becoming a Bricklayer, Electrician or a Plumber, don't hesitate to get in touch
ACS Certification
 
If you're a budding gas engineer, you'll need ensure that you undergo an ACS assessment to obtain the qualifications you require to join the Gas Safe Register; an obligation for all UK installers. This ACS certification demonstrates a level of competence necessary to become Gas Safe registered. Qualified installers will also have to renew their qualifications periodically in order to remain on the register, and to ensure that they are following the latest regulations.  
 
Here at Access Training we provide a number of courses that include an ACS certification, allowing Gas Engineers to practice their trade safely and responsibly. This accreditation can be completed as a stand-alone qualification or as part of our full gas training packages, simply select your required assessment format from the range of options below:

Separate ACS Certifications: 

This assessment package is able to offer you a choice of the following:
  • Initial CCN1 only
  • Initial CCN1 + 1 appliance 
  • Initial CCN1 + 2-4 appliances 
If you're an experienced installer looking to renew your qualifications, we will be able to offer you a range of reassessment packages from the following:
  • CCN 1/CPA 1: Core gas safety - Up to 5 days
  • CCN 1+4: Core sas safety + 4 appliances (inc CPA1) - Up to 5 days
  • CENWAT 1: Central heating boilers - Maximum 1 day
  • CKR 1: Domestic cookers - Maximum 1 day
  • HTR 1: Gas fires and wall heaters - Maximum 1 day
  • MET 1: Meters - Maximum 1 day

Full Gas Training Packages: 

This bespoke course allows you to gain the skills and knowledge required to become a professional gas engineer, providing you with opportunities to train in areas including ventilation, appliances, safety legislation, and more! It also includes a guaranteed work placement opportunity, providing you with first-hand experience of the industry and a competitive advantage upon entering the industry.
 
This advanced course provides candidates with a thorough knowledge of gas work and theory, while also including electrical wiring and circuit training for the installation of power for gas boilers, along with other similar tasks. As part of this course, you will gain recognized qualifications in both gas and electrical work, allowing you to complete a wider range of operations on completion of the course.
This course is ideal for beginners who wish to qualify as a professional plumber and heating engineer in a single course, providing candidates with all the essential qualifications required to enter the trade. Offering a combination of plumbing, gas and electrical accreditations, this programme is ideal for those hoping to seek a wide variety of work.
 
If you have any further questions about completing the ACS certification with us, or if you would like to find out more about our trade professional courses, please feel free to get in touch.
 
You can also keep up-to-date with the latest trade news by following us on Twitter!

Learn a new trade

If you have been feeling unfulfilled in your current career or job position, maybe you have been thinking about a change for a while, but have never got round to actually taking any action.here at Access Training we aim to make it as easy as possible to find and enrol onto your perfect trade training course.

To help make finding your course even easier, we have designed a new course finder feature on our homepage. All you have to do is simply select which trade you are interested in learning and you will be taken to the relevant course page. For instance, if you are interested in beginning a new career as a plumber, click “plumber” on the course finder and it will take you to our “train to become a plumber” page, on which you will find all the courses we have available, along with a detailed description for each course.

At Access Training, we specialise in delivering top quality trade training courses. If you have little to no experience in your chosen trade, then do not worry, or training courses are designed specially to turn the complete novice into an expert in the shortest time possible.

What courses do we offer at Access Training?

Plumber

If you are interested in becoming a professional plumber we can help. For the complete novice, we offer 3 courses all offering varying levels of qualifications. If you would like to be a Domestic Plumber, then our Essential Plumbing Course is perfect for you. You will learn all the fundamental skills and theory that you will need to become a plumber, and upon completion you will be awarded a city and guilds plumbing qualification.

For the more ambitious, we offer more comprehensive plumbing courses, our Professional Plumbing Course where you will learn the basics and work towards your NVQ Level 2 in plumbing and Heating, allowing you to take more advanced work after completion. Finally, our Premier Plumbing Course, which will not only train you as a plumber, but you will also train to be a qualified gas engineer.

Electrical Courses.

Like the plumbing courses above, we offer a range of Electrical courses for all you budding electricians out there. If you are a complete beginner, with little to no knowledge in electrics and would like to learn the basics of electrical work, and gain essential qualifications, then our Essential Electrical course is perfect for you. In this short course you will learn the 17th edition electrical regulations, and Part P Domestic Electrical Installer.

Again, if you would like to take on more advanced work after you become a fully trained electrician, our Professional Electrical Courseupon completion of this course you will be efficient in domestic installation jobs and you will become qualified to inspect and test commercial, domestic or industrial electrical installations. Throughout this course you will also gain 5 industry qualifications.

If you are looking to become an electrician, our Premier Electrical Courseis rivalled by none. Upon completion of the Premier Electrical Course, you will be an expert in both domestic and commercial electrical work, and gain 6 essential industry qualifications including, Part P, 17th edition, PAT testing, Inspection and Testing, Periodic inspection and testing, and Design, Erection and Verification qualifications.

 

Gas Engineer

Here at Access Training we are incredibly proud of the quality of the courses that we provide to our students, across a range of disciplines.  As well as Plumbing and Electrical courses, we also offer a range of Gas Engineering courses. These courses are ideal if you are a plumber looking to develop your skill set or if you are a complete beginner who would like to become a gas engineer.

If you are interested in learning the fundamentals of Gas Engineering, or you are looking for a refresh course, then our Essential Gas Course is the perfect course for you. Here you will learn the basics such as, practical skills, understanding installations, how to repair, service and maintain gas boilers, and much more!

If you want to become a fully qualified gas engineer, we offer our Professional Gas Course which will equip you with all the advanced knowledge you need to succeed in this field. We will also help you work towards your ACS Certificate. Our Premier Gas Course will not only train you to become a fully qualified Gas engineer, you will also be able to install and maintain electrical appliances.

We also offer a range of construction courses, here at access training, including;

 

 

If you are interested in enrolling onto any of our courses, or would like any information about the courses we offer, please get in touch!

 

In the UK we are in the midst of uncertain times. Are we going to stay in the EU? What impact will it have on the trade industry if we leave the EU? Plus other factors including the slowdown in growth of china’s economy and the falling costs in oil prices due to the increase of oil being produced by the US.

There are many theories suggesting that if the UK leaves the EU, then our construction industry will begin struggling because here in the UK, we rely heavily on people from Eastern Europe to come and work on our construction sites. In fact we mentioned in a past blog post that many sites will not be able to meet their deadlines, or even function without Eastern European people.

However, a recent survey conducted by Construction News, states that over 2016 53 per cent of companies who took part in the survey were planning on actually increasing their work force. The remaining 47 per cent said that they were planning on maintaining their current workforce levels. Surprisingly none of the companies that participated in the survey anticipated a reduction in their current workforce.

The current forecast for the construction industry is that there will be steady growth over the next few years. Our government has clearly stayed committed to building new homes, building new developments, and revamping tired looking city centres, coupled with high levels of domestic demand for tradespeople, the future is certainly looking positive for the tradespeople of the UK.

Because we are experiencing a national skills shortage, people will be recruiting more this year to help fill the gap, whether there UK leaves the EU or not.  So, in our minds, and the minds of all of our students here at access training, there has never been a better time to change your career and train to become a PlumberElectricianBricklayer or a Carpenter.

If you are interested in learning more about our trade courses, feel free to contact us today! 

A shortage of skilled workers is affecting every area of construction industry and if Britain decides to leave the EU, we could experience real crisis with in the construction industry in the UK. A lot of people who currently work within construction are Latvian, Bulgarian or Polish, and without these people, companies in the UK will not be able to complete their projects on time. In most circumstances, Eastern Europe labour is what helps keep some construction sites going.

If you are a regular reader of our blog posts, you will know that we have discussed the skills shortage in the plumbing, electrical, and carpentry industries at length. But we want to make you aware that these are not the only industries affected. The UK also has a distinct shortage of bricklayers and plasterers.

A director of Beard Constructions John Youle, who is based at Cumnor Hill, Oxfordshire, said: “contractors are struggling to find enough workers, particularly skilled bricklayers and plasterers. As a result of this shortage, the going rate for a bricklayer has increased to £200 per day.

He went on to say:

“In Oxford, there have been increasing signs of a skills shortage in the industry. Bricklayers’ pay has gone up considerably during the past 18-24 months. It is not uncommon for bricklayers and plasterers to charge £150 - £200 per day or £1000 per week! Even newly qualified bricklayers are charging £150 per day.

In the UK, there is always huge demand for new homes to be build, and with many other projects on the pipeline, like the updating of City Centres (take Leeds for example) there is huge demand for people who are fully trained bricklayers and plasterers. This demand is showing no signs of decreasing any time soon. So to help alleviate the current pressures on companies, and tradespeople alike, the construction industry needs new talent entering the industry. This is where the education of people (we say people, because young or older people are unaware of the benefits of a career in the trade industry) is crucial to motivate them to consider embarking on a diverse career in plastering or bricklaying.

Here at access training, not only do we provide bespoke electrical and plumbing courses, we also deliver a range of bricklaying and plastering courses, that have been developed specifically to help people who have no previous experience of plastering or bricklaying gain top quality skills as quickly as possible to get them onto the site and earning £30K+  a year!

If you are interested in a career in bricklaying, or plastering, you can contact us by filling out the forms of the relevant course pages, or call us on 0800 345 7492 to speak to a course advisor. 

 

When you finish your chosen courses and become a fully qualified trades-person, your white van and your tools will become your biggest asset! These items do not come cheap and can prove to be quite disruptive to your business if they breakdown, or worse – get stolen.

According to a recent study conducted by ironmongery Direct, 23% tradespeople surveyed have had the unfortunate experience of a van theft, 230 of the 1000 people have experienced theft in the last five years.

Even though it has been reported by the Office for National Statistics that vehicle crime is decreasing, it is not surprising that vans get broken into more than cars, because of the potential of stealing some expensive tools.

Ironmongery Direct also uncovered in their study the regions which received the most break-ins, with the West Midlands coming out on top with a shocking 1,854 van thefts and a total of £6,381,239 stolen in the past 3 years. The region which received the second highest amount of theft is West Yorkshire, with a value of £3,000,925 stolen and 993 vans broken into over the same period.

Meanwhile, tradespeople in Merseyside experienced 653 thefts, 210 in Nottingham and 218 in Northumbria. Surprisingly, the city of London had the lowest amount of van thefts with 2 thefts reported over the last three year period.

As a trades person, your tools and your van are your most valuable assets, so keeping them safe should be your top priority.  Keeping your tools safe could be the difference of you going out to your jobs and earning money, you have to turn jobs down while you spend money getting your tools replaced.

To keep your tools safe, you should;

  • take any tools out of your van at the end of your working day,
  • park your van in a garage, so that thieves cannot access it,
  • install anti-theft boxes in your van with anti-drill locks
  • make your van harder to break into – install slam locks, dead locks
  • Don’t leave your van unlocked – ever! Opportunistic thieves are always on the lookout!
  • Make sure you have tagged all your tools, and
  • Place a “No tools are lift in this van” deterrent sticker on the back of your van

Despite all this talk of break-ins, learning a trade can be a very rewarding career. No longer are you confined to the office walls between the hours of 9 and 5:30, doing a job that doesn't motivate you, and the only time you get to go outside is on your half an hour lunch!

Once you have become fully qualified in your chosen area, you can pick up the jobs which you want to do. Fancy a long lunch break, or even the afternoon off? Why not?! As a skilled trades-person, you have the ability to choose when hours you want to work.

Maybe your struggling to get by on £23,000 salary, as a qualified you could be earning up to £30K+ a year! Especially now, as there is currently huge demand for skilled workers, and not enough people to fill the gap! Essentially, if you are willing to put in the long hours, you will be rewarded with a very healthy salary.  Just remember to keep your tools safe!!

If all this talk about theft hasn't deterred you from wanting to learn a trade, click on the links below for more information about the courses that we offer.


One of the great advantages that comes from training as a plumber, is the flexibility and availability of the work on offer, a benefit that has been enjoyed by many of the individuals who have previously completed our range of plumbing courses. If you're considering a career in plumbing, or if you're thinking about leaving your current job for a new profession, you'll want to gain a thorough understanding of the options available to you before you commit to a training path. To help you gain an understanding of the level of training we offer, we've included some testimonials from our previous students, which highlight the opportunities they have managed to secure since completing their training with us:

My plumbing business is going from strength to strength. I've had a dramatic change in fortune since leaving the Post Office! 
Lee Taylor 

As you can see from the statement above, it is possible to begin your career as a plumber from a completely unrelated starting point, which means that there is no call for previous experience before starting the course. It also gives you the chance to work in an industry with countless opportunities to work on a self-employed basis, as well as to start your own business. This goes to show that our training courses do not simply take you from one job to another, but are able to completely transform your work life for the better.

I had no previous experience of plumbing before, but the course simulates real life situations and the tutors are so helpful that I feel totally confident in my work. Being a self employed plumber is the best job I've ever done.
Steven Walker 

Perhaps one of the greatest advantages that comes from completing our courses, is the style and quality of the teaching on offer, which allows you to gain industry required qualifications as well a thorough understanding of the practical requirements of the job. As Stephen notes, the guidance he received whilst completing his course allowed him to have total confidence in his abilities when he went on to peruse his professional career, so much so that he was eventually able to start his own business:

I simply wouldn't have been able to start my business without Access Training. I can't praise the company enough, my plumbing business is growing, it's been going for 18 months now and I've employed two people from Access Training who did the same course as me!
Steven Walker 

Stephen's second statement also highlights another advantage of completing our courses, which is the fact that it allows you to make useful contacts in your fellow candidates. Whether you go on to seek employment with an existing company or with a view to starting your own business, it is always incredibly useful to have trustworthy contacts who can help you find employment, and support you on the road to success.

To read more testimonials from our plumbing courses, or one of the many other areas we cover here at Access Training, click here.
 

According to the latest figures, the UK's construction workforce has shrunk by 12.9% since 2008. This is particularly strange due to the abundance of work currently available to contractors, which would suggest that the industry in busier than ever, with workers often having to turn down work because they already have an existing contract or promise of work with another employer. In spite of the surge in demand, however, the amount of workers in the industry fell dramatically last year, with 16,000 less people in the profession between 2014 and 2015.

 
Industry experts have put this dramatic fall in numbers down to a shirking talent pool, with people previously trained in the profession either retiring, in work, or having moved to other industries during a low period of work after the recession in 2009. Since the recovery in 2012 and 2013, those who remained in the profession managed to regain regular employment straight away, but they were not joined by a high number of new or returning workers. This means that firms can no longer rely on a once-abundant pool of talent to recruit from, which prevents them from expanding and in turn, presents a barrier for overall industry growth.
 
What the construction industry now needs is an surge of new talent from young people entering the industry, as well as those from a non-construction background who have decided to change their career. Before expansion and increased job security is possible, there must be enough skilled tradespeople to meet the demands of the industry, and to ensure a high calibre work force. At Access Training, we've helped countless individuals to gain the skills so desperately needed in the industry, allowing them to access a new and fruitful career path. From total beginners to ex service men and women, we have helped a diverse pool of candidates to reach their full potential and begin a successful career in construction.
 
Some of the courses we offer include:
and more!
 
Explore the rest of our site to see our full range of courses and lay the foundations for your future, as well that of the UK construction industry. For more information about our courses, get in touch with us today!


It has been reported that unemployment in the UK has been steadily decreasing over the last few years, but looking closely at the numbers, in the UK there is currently around 1.71 million people who are unemployed, get the skilled trades industry needs at least 35,000 entrants to stand still.

With enough unemployed people to help close the trade skills gap - why are people not considering a career as an electrician, plumber, or gas engineer? We believe that there is a distinct lack of information provided by schools about the qualifications needed and the career opportunities available for young people within skilled trade industries.

Mark Beard, chief executive of regional contractor Beard, believes that “only a few young people see construction as a viable, well paid or exciting industry to work in because careers information at school is generally inadequate and out-dated”

The industry must also build better relationships with careers advisor's and teachers, said Beard, as well as ensuring that they have high-quality information and materials that provide accurate and informed advice.

He added: “By stepping into the classroom and sharing insights about apprenticeships, work placements and our own career paths, we can help young people make informed choices. We can also advise them on the skill-sets and qualifications they’ll need to succeed in the digital construction world of the future.”

In general we agree with the point raised by Mark Beard. If construction companies and trade industry experts took the time to deliver career talks or engaging educational days to children, we could motivate more people to aspire to become a plumber or an electrician.

Firstly, It is important that we work to dispel the myths about trade jobs. Many people still see trades jobs and low paid, unimportant, and physically demanding jobs which are more suited to men than women, which is simply not the case. By dispelling these myths from a young age, we may find that more women aspire to become a trades-woman.   We need to start communicating to young people that learning a skilled trade is an important, exciting job, and there will always be plenty of well-paid, work available.

Secondly, we believe there is a lack of assistance for school leavers who wish to embark on a trade career instead of going to university. In many schools, the focus for many students is to carry on their education through 6th form or college and onto university. As we know, university doesn't appeal to everyone, and the pressure to go to university that some school apply on their students, may leave many people feeling alienated and questioning what careers paths they can embark on instead of going onto further education. To help educate students about careers in trade, industry experts should be working closely with schools and colleges. Helping to open the discussion about trade jobs and providing up to date information on the qualifications needed to become a skilled trades person will help educate and inspire people from a young age.

UK companies need to become more engaged with the younger generation, and need to inform children about the importance to skilled trades, and the need for individuals with a specialist skill set and the type of career they can have. For many students, not having an extortionate amount of debt over their heads upon completion of their education could be very appealing!


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