Archive for April, 2009
At least Budget April 2009, is good news for the building industry – and employment opportunities!
Whilst it’s true that some domestic construction new builds have slowed down or been cut back as a result of the ongoing economic turndown, the industry as a whole has been resilient. Recruiting for trained construction workers for large-scale projects such as the London Olympics 2012 and the Crossrail projects continues unaffected as the forecast demand for trained, skilled men has been seen to dramatically increase almost daily!
So it’s added good news indeed to hear that the UK’s house builders have been given a £500 million boost in the April 2009 Budget. Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a £500 million package which, he said, would help kick start stalled housebuilding projects and deliver thousands of new homes. Some £100 million will be made available to local authorities to build new energy efficient homes, action increasingly being implemented as an urgent response to both perceived climate change and significant financial savings that can be made by the homeowner. A further £50 million is also being made available to accelerate a programme to modernise accommodation for the UK’s armed forces.
It therefore follows that to take advantage of the obvious opportunities ahead means preparing oneself now. Training to become an electrician, gas installer, plumber, carpenter, bricklayer, tiler or plasterer in order to get on these or any of the many spin-off projects around London and South East England, seems to the right course of action, especially at this time. For a lot of people currently being layed off or put on part time working, retraining in the construction trades is a real and meaningful way forward.
It may even be that some are now reconsidering a career switch anyway, so either way, the time is right to seriously look into the options available. The first move is to check out courses – there are all sorts of ways to learn now, from introductory 2 day courses, intensive weekenders to longer 5 week or 10 week courses or longer. You can even ring up and ask to pop down and take a look at the training centre, ask questions and see for yourself what it would be like to be actually on your chosen course!
Gunning for the plumbing cowboys !
According to the The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) - the professional body for the UK plumbing and heating industry - there are approximately 120,000 people who call themselves plumbers in the UK, but sadly not all of these plumbers hold qualifications or experience and so the industry is experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals.
The Institute wants all cowboys stopped. While cowboy trades-people are still in a minority, those that do operate tarnish the reputation of professional plumbers, endanger the public health and can cause damage to properties at much cost.
The Institute is campaigning to government for compulsory registration of all plumbers in the UK. The IPHE believes that registration will help make the cowboy element obsolete, as all Registered Plumbers will have to meet a certain criteria before being allowed to operate as a plumber. It is believed compulsory registration will raise standards of plumbing in the public interest and raise the image, standing and reputation of plumbers and plumbing in the UK.
Unfortunately the problems consumers face in trying to find a competent plumber will only get worse as the shortage of skilled tradespeople deepens. Those looking to train for a plumbing qualification face many problems. There are not enough college places to take on students and not enough plumbing companies able to take on apprentices or students for work based experience. Due to a lack in funding the average plumber may not be able to afford to take on a trainee. To make matters worse, there is little financial help for students over the age of 25 wanting to train in the plumbing industry.
The route to obtaining a fully approved City & Guilds Plumbing NVQ is to undertake an officially accredited training course. To kickstart the process off, you can learn the basic theory plumbing theory at home. AbleSkills unique fully illustrated Home Study manual covers all you need to know for the 6129 Level 2 requirement. The accompanying self-assessment section is an invaluable memory aid – PLUS- you get DVDs which are packed full of demonstrations.
With these invaluable teaching aids, you will immediately be able to see and understand exactly with reference to the manual contents. By answering the self-assessment questions covering the specific knowledge areas, you will be able to memorise and complete the theory learning much faster than you thought you ever would!
The secret is that you are able to learn at your own pace and in your own time! Only when you are absolutely 100% certain that you ready, you can go on to the practical workshop training and put theory to the test! Within no time at all , you will discover that suddenly, you have become a fully –fledged, qualified and legitimate plumber!
Able Skills is an approved training provider and has accreditation to offer qualifications on behalf of:
City & Guilds, Construction Awards Alliance, NICEIC & EAL for Domestic Installer qualifications and CITB for gas training and assessment.
Able Skills has dedicated training centres for each of the construction skills available and we employ full time Instructors, Assessors and Internal Verifiers to oversee the training and any required assessment processes. AbleSkills will also help with course funding and accommodation whilst training.
Asbestos will kill you - knowing how to recognise and deal with it is a part of your trade skill training!
Here are some key facts :
Asbestos is the greatest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK – every week 20 tradesmen die from a related disease.
There is no cure for asbestos-related diseases.
It is a legal requirement to know the hazards of your job; any asbestos on site should have been identified before you start work.
Earlier this year, it was the focus of the Health & Safety Executive’s Construction Intensive Inspection Initiative, and prosecutions for exposure of workers to fibres have noticeably increased in recent months with fines often in the tens of thousands of pounds.
Pleading ignorance of the affects of asbestos is not acceptable. Those who work directly with it must be licensed and adhere to strict conditions, but it is those who don’t work directly with asbestos who are often most at risk.
Asbestos is only dangerous if it is able to be breathed in. Incorporated into materials (ACMs), such as cement, insulating board or tiles, it is not dangerous. However, if those materials are damaged so that the fibres come loose, it presents an instant danger.
Drilling into ACMs, opening sealed cavities and causing vibrations throughout a building can all cause fibres to be released. These can easily be carried out by contractors which do not appreciate they can have such devastating consequences.
If work is being done on a building constructed or refurbished prior to 2000, a full asbestos survey should be obtained by the client and made available to everyone on site. Failure to identify or manage adequately the risks posed by asbestos to workers on a construction site can lead to prosecution for offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. Principal contractors and sub-contractors may be liable if they fail to take adequate steps to ensure that asbestos surveys have been carried out and that any risk to workers has been properly assessed and managed.
The rise in asbestos exposure and the subsequent severe action by the HSE, has led to a major upgrading of the importance of being made fully aware and understanding the subject as part of a construction skills Health & Safety training course.
‘The fastest bricklayer in the west’ - mythbusters and record breakers !
Every industry has its ‘urban legends’. Bricklaying, as you might imagine, would lend itself very nicely to an amazing story or two. You will, no doubt, come across bricklayers who claim to be able to lay a thousand bricks a day, day in day out! It is perfectly possible for bricklayers to lay a 1000 bricks in a day IF they are throwing them into footings or they have an easy long stretch of wall to go at with no openings and doing a straight forward bond. To be able to lay an average of 600 a day is considered to be a realistic attainment.
In the USA, they even have their own annual bricklaying Olympics to decide who is the world’s best, entitled the Spec Mix Bricklayer, which is held at the World of Concrete/Masonry Trade Show, Las Vegas. Last year’s winner laid 791 bricks in one hour! One way of preparing for the contest was by using a mortar mix of sand and lime, which is missing the key ingredient, Portland cement. The mortar doesn’t harden and can be used over and over again. This allows for a 26-foot wall to be built, taken apart and then built again. It doesn’t take long to bring it all back down fast, as the sand never hardens.
Training to be a bricklayer is fairly straightforward and the fundamentals can be learnt in different ways, from weekend courses to intensive training periods of 5 days, 10 days to 6 weeks. You can also take a 2 day course so get to learn how to lay paving – for the nation’s number one favourite outdoor feature, the patio!
Currently there are about 3,000 construction workers on site at the London Olympics – including thousands of bricklayers, wood workers, electricians, security guards, engineers and plumbers - with the number set to increase to 11,000 next year and reach 30,000 by 2012. In addition, there will be 50,000 jobs permanently created as a result of all Olympic site facilities.
The building of a 400 million pound multi-media centre at the Olympic site is also about to commence and its’ fairly safe to say that the urgent requirement for record breaking bricklayers is no urban myth !
Gas is no laughing matter if you don’t know what you’re doing!
It will kill you – that’s a fact! The problem now is that the current economic downturn could result in an increase in fatalities linked to unsafe gas and electrical installations. Research carried out for the new Gas Safe Registry reveals over 4 in 10 people (41.4%) admit they are more likely to tinker with their electrics or fit a new gas appliance in the current economic climate. Only 15% said they would always use a trained, professional tradesman.
The survey highlighted a worrying discrepancy between people’s perception of danger and their willingness to risk their family’s safety. While 82% of those questioned considered it dangerous to fit a gas fire themselves, 1 in 10 were still prepared to do so.
Furthermore, the research found that regular servicing of gas appliances is not a priority in far too many households. Almost a fifth (19.05%) of households with a gas boiler had not had it serviced for at least three years and an alarming 13% of households had never had their boiler serviced or would only do so if there was a problem. The figures for maintaining gas fires were even worse ! Almost 1 in 3 (29%) never serviced their gas fire, or last had it serviced or maintained over three years ago.
This is worrying stuff! Incorrectly fitted, badly repaired or poorly maintained gas appliances are a major cause of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. They can also lead to gas leaks and explosions. On average, 25 people a year die from CO poisoning, and many more suffer health problems from CO exposure directly related to gas. In addition, some 40 people a year are killed or injured in gas explosions.
The Gas Safe Register public awareness campaign emphasises the real and everpresent danger for anyone who thinks DIY gas work can save them money. For the sake of a few pounds, they risk the lives of everyone in a property. As of April 1, if someone other than a Gas Safe registered engineer carries out gas work at your home, you could be risking the safety of your family and your property. A properly qualified and correctly registered engineer must carry out all gas work. It is recommended that a gas safety check is carried out once a year.
By law, only Gas Safe registered engineers should be employed to carry out work on gas installations or appliances – CORGI gas registration is no longer valid. The 120,000 engineers currently verified under the CORGI scheme have now to register with Gas Safe Register so they can continue to work legally from April. Registered engineers are identified with the new yellow Gas Safe Register logo, and every engineer will carry a Gas Safe Register ID card with their own unique licence number. Before any gas work is carried out in a domestic property, the ID card should be checked by the property owner.
Filling the skills gap with a real Apprentice !
Being an apprentice used to mean you were working at and learning a trade skill. Not running around in a big black Chrysler SUV, suited and booted and issuing orders down a mobile angled horizontally at your lips!
It was, and still is of course, a fully approved and accredited course of rigorous training in a predominantly, but not exclusively, hands-on building industry occupation such as plumbing, electrical, gas and carpentry installations, maintenance and repair.
In a recent poll conducted on behalf of Government, 80 per cent of employers felt that apprentices made them more competitive and reduced staff turnover.And is the reason why the government is supporting a scheme looking to increase the number of apprentices and bridge skills gaps within industry. Despite current economic conditions, companies are encouraged to seriously consider the long-term implications of cutting out on the practice of enrolling new apprentices.
An advertising campaign is to follow a government announcement of its commitment to support an additional 35,000 apprentices into the marketplace next year. A total of £140 million will be invested to deliver new and additional apprentices nationally in both the public and private sectors.
Their current thinking is, that a reduction in apprenticeship schemes will only bring short-term cash flow benefits and in the long-term, more likely to negatively impact on businesses, as it will create a skills gap further down the line. Companies should look at getting school-leavers and university graduates onto apprenticeship schemes now so that they learn a trade and go in to the workplace better equipped. The fact is recognised that some people learn better on the job or by seeing how their learning applies to the real world.
There’s more to Carpentry than chiselling a good price at the timber merchants!
To most people, carpentry was what they tried to avoid doing at school! It was a double lesson afternoon of attempting to fit together two pieces of wood to make coat hooks or bookends without slicing your finger off or bashing your nail which would leave a bruise that took six months to fade away. Those with real aptitude and understanding of how to work with the material rather that fight against it, inevitably feel they would like to learn advanced woodworking skills when they leave school and look to enter the construction trade industry by training to be a fully qualified carpenter.
Carpenters are involved in many different kinds of construction, from the building of highways and bridges to the installation of kitchen cabinets. Carpenters construct, erect, install, and repair structures and fixtures made from wood and other materials.
Each carpentry task is somewhat different, but most involve the same basic steps. Working from blueprints or instructions from supervisors, carpenters first do the layout—measuring, marking, and arranging materials—in accordance with local building codes. They cut and shape wood, plastic, fiberglass, or drywall using hand and power tools, such as chisels, planes, saws, drills, and sanders. They then join the materials with nails, screws, staples, or adhesives. In the last step, carpenters do a final check of the accuracy of their work with levels, rules, plumb bobs, framing squares, and surveying equipment, and make any necessary adjustments.
When working with prefabricated components, such as stairs or wall panels, the carpenter’s task is somewhat simpler because it does not require as much layout work or the cutting and assembly of as many pieces. Prefabricated components are designed for easy and fast installation and generally can be installed in a single operation.
Some carpenters do many different carpentry tasks, while others specialize in one or two. Carpenters who remodel homes and other structures, for example, need a broad range of carpentry skills. As part of a single job, for example, they might frame walls and partitions, put in doors and windows, build stairs, install cabinets and molding, and complete many other tasks. Because these carpenters are so well-trained, they often can switch from residential building to commercial construction or remodeling work, depending on which offers the best work opportunities.
Carpenters who work for large construction contractors or specialty contractors may perform only a few regular tasks, such as constructing wooden forms for pouring concrete, or erecting scaffolding. Some carpenters build tunnel bracing, or brattices, in underground passageways and mines to control the circulation of air through the passageways and to worksites. Others build concrete forms for tunnel, bridge, or sewer construction projects.
Carpenters employed outside the construction industry perform a variety of installation and maintenance work. They may replace panes of glass, ceiling tiles, and doors, as well as repair desks, cabinets, and other furniture. Depending on the employer, carpenters install partitions, doors, and windows; change locks; and repair broken furniture. In manufacturing firms, carpenters may assist in moving or installing machinery.
Water Efficiency is a plumbing issue!
The pressure (no pun intended!) is on to encourage everyone to use the precious resource of water more efficiently. It’s the big issue of these times and plumbers play a key role by using and installing the most efficient products and materials and ensuring their work is of the highest approved standards. The UK government is encouraging everyone to take a good look at the way they use water.
The key to water efficiency is reducing waste, not restricting use. The breakdown of how water is used in average UK domestic households looks like this :
Personal washing – 33% Toilet flushing – 30% Clothes washing – 13 % Washing up - 8% Outdoor – 7 % Kitchen - 4% Other – 5%
It’s estimated that by fixing a dripping tap, as much as 75 litres per day can be saved - that’s at least 5,500 litres of water per year!
Showers use around 12% of the water used in the household. By being water efficient in the shower you can save money not only on your water bill, but on your energy bill too, whilst protecting the environment. A worrying trend is the growth of power showers. These can easily use more water than a bath. Water use in showers can be reduced very easily without conflicting with your shower experience.
Aerated showerheads reduce the amount of water in the flow, but maintain pressure by mixing air in with the water. Just like a normal showerhead, they produce a steady, even spray. Low flow showerheads reduce the amount of water that is used, whilst still giving you the full feel of a normal shower. By replacing your showerhead with a more water efficient model it is possible to reduce your water consumption by more than half, whilst still enjoying a great shower.
There are a number of products on the market that have been developed for the express purpose of maximum water use efficiency, and can be installed by a trained, qualified plumber. A ‘Pipe Guard’, ‘Water Guardian’ or ‘Hydrostop’ is a home automation system that automatically closes the water supply of a property in the event of a leak, when an abnormal flow is detected. A ‘Multi-Valve Flow restrictor’ can be installed behind taps, showers, and appliances solving problems caused by high, low and varying pressure.
AbleSkills full range of plumbing City & Guild NVQ courses and Energy Assessment Courses provide awareness training of key areas where efficient consumer use of water can be achieved successfully to satisfy current recommendations and incoming regulation standards.
Bend It Like Plumbers ! Learn how its done from home!
‘…One of the most important skills a plumber should possess is the ability to bend pipes of various materials quickly and accurately. Copper tube is probably one of the most widely used materials for both hot and water cold water supply and domestic heating and it is essential that a plumber can bend it quickly and accurately. You must not try to bend a piece of pipe that is too short. You would have to apply a good deal of physical pressure, which could lead to injury, and kink the pipe, or both…’
You have just read an excerpt from the AbleSkills Home Study Plumbing Theory City & Guilds 6129 Technical Certificate on one of the main technical skills that plumbers can be trained to do to the highest standards of specification. Working out exact pipe lengths, making perfect curved bends and knowing how to put them all together so as to ensure a correct functioning water supply system is a major part of the plumber’s technical knowledge kit. A neat, precise job, cleanly finished, is the true mark of the well-trained ‘super plumber’!
The secret is in how you bend it! It has to be exactly right otherwise, even just a little bit out, will make all the difference, so when you try to join up the straight length of connected pipe at the other end, you will be out by a margin. You can bend with your hands or with special pipe bending machines but you will need to concentrate on making a very easy but careful calculation. By doing so, you will be able to work out where to bend the pipe and by applying just the right amount of pressure, get a perfect result – which is always very satisfying!
Reading and learning the theory of these vital training skills and knowledge can be easily done from the comfort of own your own armchair at home! The AbleSkills Theory Training manual covers the compete City & Guilds Technical 6129 Course and the great thing about learning from home is that you can do it in your own time and at your own pace! Every section has its own Self assessment Questions so you can check on how well you are remembering what you have read. Once they are memorised, then it’s a simple matter of putting them into practice in the AbleSkills dedicated 6129 Course workshop!
So - if you wanna bend it like plumbers, you need to get into theory training and join the premier Ableskills league now !
Multi Skills for a multi tasking world!
Multi tasking really means trying to do umpteen jobs at once and probably making a mess of all of them! A good definition of ‘multiskills’ is the possession of more than one set of technically trained abilities and acquired knowledge to carry out specific skilled tasks. When it comes to working in domestic properties, its practically standard to be able to carry out jobs involving some aspect of plumbing, electrical, carpentry and painting & decorating. Having these under your belt can make you indispensable in some situations!
We have all heard of the cliché – “ while you’re here, can you have a look at this”. In other words, as you know how to do one trade skill, it seems likely that you will know about how to do another. It means that you can be multi tasking in the true sense of the words - and increase your earning potential at the same time!
Ultimately, you are going to look more attractive to a potential employer running a small construction industry firm if you can offer a series of main trade skills or if you are thinking of setting up for yourself, then the ability to offer an extensive range of services is more likely to keep the phones ringing with customers requiring at least one of your skills.
Advertising for a ‘handyman’ is a regular feature of newsagent windows, local press classifieds and now online too. Many organisations from schools, hospitals, estate agents and property lettings, private landlords and medium size companies seem to be always on the lookout for a trained and qualified individual who can take care of daily property maintenance. Their concern is that you really are professionally qualified, experienced and capable to carry out tasks to a high standard. They have seen enough bent nails, loosely wired plugs, ill fitting washers and streaky paint jobs over the years and are looking for the right person to fix them all - properly!
