scribe123

Hi all,

Hope you don't mind the novice question, but I'm researching what qualification you need to become a fully qualified plumber.

I've seen conflicting information. Some places say NVQ level 2 is enough, whereas other places say that you must obtain NVQ level 3 to be a fully qualified plumber.

So which is it; level 2 or level 3?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

BEVS

I can see you are interested in Canada .

For New Zealand the level required to be seen as a career plumber is at least an NVQ level 3.

johnknight001

hi, plumbing quals in the uk are about to change in a big way, as it stands in the uk you can do a short course and obtain a level 2 technical certificate and theoreticly call yourself a plumber, and that is without even doing a plumbing job of any kind, to make it a nvq you have to do work place assessments as well, the same goes with level 3 , i trained students on a full and part time basis to level 3 tech cert without them even doing any plumbing work at all outside of college, they would often then buy a van and bobs your uncle of they go, and yes they were on the whole mostly bloody poor plumbers, you could obtain a level 3 nvq after a level 2 via work placements ect, however im informed that all tech certs are to be abolished making it impossible to gain a plumbing qual without working as a plumber ie apprentice or adult trainee, usually for immigration i think you need a level 2 nvq for aus, not sure about other countrys, good luck.

BEVS

That's shocking. It really is

Thank goodness for that by the sounds of it. Husband was fully apprenticed and time served. How else would you know your trade properly.

johnknight001

totaly agree with you, problem was we had around 10 new apprentices a year but up to 80 tech cert students without plumbing jobs, govt pays very well to teach 16 year old kids plumbing on full time courses, and it gets them off the unemplyment lists, win win for colleges and govt, forget the fact that the kids dont have a clue and will probably never work as plumbers. total waste of their first two years out of school.

lancsplumber

couldnt have summed it up much better than that spot on, ive been time served for 5years now "and i mean time served work experience lol" and i chuckle at these lads in merchants who have done a "3month and your a plumber course" asking 100s of questions to the suppliers lads how to install. Hopefully they will sack it off because its not just a drain on the gov and colleges but a wastefull hope on the young people enrolled on it.