If you are studying towards a plumbing test from City and Guilds (for example, its NVQ level qualifications) then you can get a range of example test material from C&G or order online. Here are a selection of key titles that help you prepare for your NVQ level 2 qualification:

Plumbing Nvq Diploma Level 2 Course Companion

Plumbing NVQ and Technical Certificate Level 2 Student Book

Plumbing Curriculum Support Pack: For Level 2 Technical Certificate and NVQ

To give you a background to the basic style of test, here’s a nice short video:

Plumbing apprenticeships

The core stages of study offered by all apprenticeships are:

• NVQ
• Key Skills
• Technical Certificates
• Practical Skills

In addition to these core modules, you apprenticeship course is also likely to provide additional material that covers business skills (marketing and finance to help you set up on your own), employee rights (if you are employed by a company) and health and safety.

Wherever you live, there are plumbing apprenticeships offered by almost every major college – giving you a great choice of potential places to study. And if you study full-time on any of the apprenticeships courses, you’ll find you can qualify within 12 months – and be ready to join an established plumbing company or branch out on your own.

I’ve been through the same process as you and studied for a wide range of plumbing tests – so I’m providing an independent guide to the pros and cons of the different ways to study and train to be a plumber.

The site covers the a selection of top schools, online-courses, practical workshops and home-study theory courses – showing you how and where to study to be a plumber. For example, plumbing schools in the UK, USA and Canada offer you a wide range of courses to help you study and qualify as a plumber. Local colleges provide taster courses through to year-long plumbing apprenticeships. This selection provides a good place to start looking for the best plumbing schools in your area.

I’ve just redesigned the site (hope you like it!) and have included more links to help you find local schools or colleges (write and you’ll normally get a pack of interesting information together with a prospectus), setup in business or find a job.

Plumbing Schools and Courses

On this site, you’ll find out how to:

Study Plumbing at Home Great if you want to continue working in your current job until you are qualified. Find out about home-study and online courses.

Study Plumbing at College How to enrol at your local college – good if you leaving school or would like evening courses. Find out about local colleges and government schemes. Visit our partner ExploreDegrees for a list of colleges near you.

Study Plumbing at a Practical Workshop Course Enrol in a residential course – from 2 to 12 weeks – for a full-time, practical course.

Plumbing Books and Reference Materials View our list of recommended books and materials.

Your search for plumbing courses starts here!

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ElectraCourse

Alternatively, if you are looking for a downloadable plumbing course, consider the three-level course from our partner ElectaCourse. Its Plumbing Training Course, part of our home study courses range, is packed with comprehensive and detailed instruction on all required aspects of plumbing.

Covering just about every scenario that a practicing plumber is likely to encounter, with clear instruction and illustrations throughout, our Home Study Plumbing Course is an affordable and convenient method of learning that could guide you towards a new career.

Split into 3 levels for easy learning, our plumbing course contains comprehensive plumbing instruction, broken down into individual modules helping the student to progress through the course in a structured manner.

All aspects of plumbing are included. Find out more now.

Vocational courses normally require a school record (but not normally a particular school rank or grade). This is great if you’re more practical than academic!

These courses are excellent value for money – but they do tend to run for longer than an intensive private practical course. If you’ve already done a theory-based home-study course, you might be able to skip some modules and go straight in to the practical element.

There are some grants to help with your study fees – the school should be able to help you apply or visit a specialist website.

There are hundreds of courses in local colleges in every county, so use one of the big search engines to find your local college. For example, Ocean County Technical School has a range of vocational courses covering plumbing. ]]> http://www.studyplumbing.com/vocational-plumbing-courses/feed/ 0 http://www.studyplumbing.com/grants-and-loans/ http://www.studyplumbing.com/grants-and-loans/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:52:03 +0000 simon http://www.studyplumbing.com/?page_id=28 Funding your plumbing study is always going to be a challenge (unless you’re an ex-banker switching career!). However, there are some government grants available from sites such as www.grants.gov

If you don’t get a grant and haven’t millions in the bank, you should make sure that you budget carefully. You’ve got two main options:

1. stick with your current job but study in the evening, weekends or book some holiday days – this is low risk but does take time and dedication

2. take an intensive course that i) costs a premium ii) is full time – but it will get you qualified and earning big bucks as a plumber as quickly as possible

You will still have all the reference materials (but probably as PDF files) and will learn the same theoretical skills, but you will also gain access to video clips of techniques, interactive sessions with your tutor and group chats. It’s very different from reading a manual !

There are a number of schools that have online courses covering plumbing.

Top Schools with Online Plumbing Degrees:
Ashworth University
Everest Institute
New England Institute of Technology (NE Tech)
Penn Foster Career School
Vatterott College