Apr/091
First few days at college
Before I started my course proper I was able to visit my college for an open day. This was very helpful, especially to someone with no experience of how a technical college works.
I was able to ask questions regarding the content of the course and its time frame, the types of funding available from external sources and from the college itself.
I was given a guided tour of the centre and was even allowed to try my hand at soldering for the first time!
The first day of the actual course was fairly relaxed being mainly based around meeting the the rest of the class. The class size is around 12 people so access to tutors time is very good.
My class was made up of people from a range of backgrounds including ex army, guys made redundant (mainly from the manufacturing sector) and wanting to learn a new trade and several already working in related trades who wanted the gas safe qualification.
This means its a fairly old group of people so although we had fun everyone was there to learn.
You receive some of the information you need as part of the course but will need to buy a few books yourself (these cost about £20)
The first module is gas safety regulations which whilst interesting can be difficult to get your head round due to the ‘lawyer speak’ nature of the source material. Our tutor did a good job of simplifying things here!
Almost as soon as you have covered this material you are tested on your knowledge with an exam(these come thick and fast throughout the course)
The exams are all open book and multiple choice so with proper preparation and good knowledge of your books they are not to hard!
In summary i had a very positive experience with regards my first few days. I liked my group and thought my tutor was excellent. He was helpful,approachable very informative and perhaps best of all quite funny!
The set up was good with ‘fake’ houses and bays containing practically every kind of gas appliance there is. These are available to work on and tinker with at several stages of the course.
In the interests of been balanced i should mention some of my fears at the outset of the course.
You really do get thrown in at the deep end with exams keeping you on your toes all the time. Also i was daunted by the sheer amount of information contained in the course! How would i ever remember all of this? plus, It was all totally new to me. Needless to say it gets easier as you progress and realize how all the knowledge relates.
Thats all for now folks,will share more soon.
Good luck and good bye for now.
Neil
Apr/091
Retraining for a Gas Safety Qualification
When I recently lost my job I decided to look at it as an opportunity to retrain. I wanted to find something which was not office based and which could lead to me starting my own business within 3 years. I found several courses which fitted the bill but decided on the gas engineers course at my local city and guilds accredited college.
The main reasons I chose this course were to satisfy my own personal interests and in no small part the number of times id heard people say how hard it was to find a good Gas man who would turn up when they said they would!
My next step was to look for funding. I discovered several options through my local council, the job centre and city and guilds themselves. This was difficult for me as I already have a degree and had taken the funding that time around. For others though, retraining grants and such may be an option. (I have discovered this is especially true for members of the armed forces)
The course can cost around £4750 and takes 6 months to complete, so working out your finances is important.
The college I attend runs this course every month so you can pretty much decide when you want to start.
One other thing to consider is that even though the course is 6 months long it may take up to 6 weeks before you receive your registration with CORGI/ Gas safe. Remember you cannot work until you are registered with the relevant regulatory body.
It is also worth mentioning that this course is only 6 months long. There are other routes to go down to become qualified which are much longer (ie 3 years). For me this was not an option as I could not afford to pay the mortgage for that length of time whilst not working. The short and condensed nature of the course means its pretty full on!! You really cannot afford to miss any days and the exams come thick and fast!