Help Needed badly - Tile Advice

[Graham Bright]

I explained my situation in the New Members forum earlier today where I am really wanting to change career and become a tiler.

I have just spent 7 hours on the phone and it seems like I am hitting a brick wall :mad2::mad2:

I cant leave my current job because I need the salary I get to run the family. So I thought I could do an NVQ. My idea was to work evenings and weekends and have my assesments done the days I am onsite.

I have been told all day long that it is not possible and I have to work as an apprentice or be in full time employment in that industry.

I then looked at night scool and the only course I could find is not a "Trade Recognised" certificate so I could spend a year doing it and still not get work.

I am willing to work evenings, weekends and go to college etc where ever possible but I just cant find a route where I can keep my curent job and salary.

Can anyone suggest anything on how I can get there.

 

[DHTiling]

I think you should do an intensive short course and then tile away for 2 years to get the experiance to gain the nvq 2 and 3..

 

[UKTT Darren]

Hi Viaticus,
We can help you out as we have done with hundreds like yourself
Give Tracey a ring on 0191 4274529 at North East Tiling Training and as Dave says above we can definatly help you on your way into this industry, Keep your job and make some money at weekends and build up your confidence and contacts, we can talk you through qualifications as well, i dont think you need to panic though as there is light at the end of your tunnel

Regards
Darren

 

[Graham Bright]

Hi Viaticus,
We can help you out as we have done with hundreds like yourself
Give Tracey a ring on 0191 4274529 at North East Tiling Training and as Dave says above we can definatly help you on your way into this industry, Keep your job and make some money at weekends and build up your confidence and contacts, we can talk you through qualifications as well, i dont think you need to panic though as there is light at the end of your tunnel

Regards
Darren

Cheers, do you cover the south though. I am in Milton Keynes

 

[woodie]

Hello mate, the way i did it was i got in touch with a local tiling firm(Taylor tiles Swansea) and made enquiries with them about the fact of becoming a tiler, they told me to do a three day course with Norcross Adhesives and get in touch with them when i had done so, i did this and started with them and they put me with an experienced tiler for a few weeks, that was seven and a half years ago and i'm still at it. so just make enquiries with some firms and see what comes up, i also got myself onsite assessed and have my nvq level 2,this was all down to my own perseverence and it paid off, all the best Mike :8:

 

[UKTT Darren]

Hi Mate
We specialise in short fast track courses, getting you out there in the shortest possible time, we have hundreds of testimonials on here in the feedback section to back up the quality and results that are course deleivers.
Doing night classess and weekends is a bit of a waste really as it is 1 step forward and 2 steps back its that slow, on our week course it is 40 hours of fast track continuous learning to get you out there, thats the equvalent to 20 weeks of a 2 hour evening course.
Most peolpe take a week off work, or sick and then do our crash course, you can then get cracking at weekends and build your confidence and skills. Cant see any other way for you really
Hope this helps

Regards
Darren

 

[UKTT Darren]

Trouble is with tiling companies these days, they arent taking anyone on, self employed domestic is probably the only way to go now for someone new

 

[Danny@ Diamond]

Hi all,

I have to agree with Darren on the above post, tiling companies across the UK are not as enthusiastic as they were in the past about taking on apprentices. This is not limited to tiling, companies in general are putting recruitment on hold due to the current climate although this is starting to ease as the months go on and the panic dies down.

We cover the south of the UK and are able to offer short intensive courses designed for adult learners just like yourself who get stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to get a foot on the ladder and still maintain a family and all of the commitments that go with it.

My advice would be to attend an intensive course and start working towards your assessments for the NVQ Level 2. There is no hard and fast rule on how long you have to have worked within the industry before undertaking your assessments, as the NVQ is a practical competence based qualification that is awarded as long as you can demonstrate that you fully understand your trade and have the necessary skills to undertake wall & floor tiling tasks.

If you would like one of our new information packs sent out please call Zoe at the centre on 01903 739 407 or PM me your address and I will get one sent out in tomorrows post.

Our new information pack details everything that you will cover on our courses and also explains what you need to achieve in order to undertake the NVQ.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

 

[Graham Bright]

This is great advice and I have possibly found the way to go.

I am going to work weekends and where ever I can to keep practising and take one of the intensive courses.

Danny - With regard to your courses. It would be possible to get a week off work to do the entry level course but taking 4 weeks off would be impossible.

Can you stagger those 4 weeks over a long enough period of time?

The only other way would be to save enough money to pay the bills for a month. Hand in my notice. Take the course then go out on my own straight away.

Would those 4 weeks be enough to go and be a professional tiler immediately after - it seems a short period of time when I would have little site experience.

Still - great website, you are all very helpful.

 

[Danny@ Diamond]

I wouldn't suggest handing in your notice at your current employment straight away, keep your job and build up your business separately until you can see that it is strong enough to support your family.

The 4 week course can be split up into block sections of 1 week at a time, this is absolutely fine and we do this for quiet a lot of our adult learners.

Please email me your full name and address and I will get our new info pack out so you can have a read through, there is a lot more information included that is not yet on the website, as they are due to be fully updated over the coming month.

All the best

 

[diamondtiling]

Doing a 4 week course will not allow you to call yourself a professional tiler, doing a 3 month course would not allow it either. There are many professional tilers on this site and all have either done an apprenticeship or are self taught over many years. A course will give you the basic skills, it can never just drop you on a job with bouncing floors, holes in walls, a ufh kit beside you and 600x300 polished porcelain to fit and expect you to be able to do it. These skills take time to hone, you learn with time what to do first and in what order, training schools are doing a good job but they are not turning out professional tilers after 4 weeks, to call them professionals is an insult to the long established tilers that have learned the hard way.

Don't hand in your notice, that would be a rash thing to do, we are in a slow period where work is scarce.

 

[Graham Bright]

Doing a 4 week course will not allow you to call yourself a professional tiler, doing a 3 month course would not allow it either. There are many professional tilers on this site and all have either done an apprenticeship or are self taught over many years. A course will give you the basic skills, it can never just drop you on a job with bouncing floors, holes in walls, a ufh kit beside you and 600x300 polished porcelain to fit and expect you to be able to do it. These skills take time to hone, you learn with time what to do first and in what order, training schools are doing a good job but they are not turning out professional tilers after 4 weeks, to call them professionals is an insult to the long established tilers that have learned the hard way.

Don't hand in your notice, that would be a rash thing to do, we are in a slow period where work is scarce.

Of course I am not going to hand in my notice. I was actually echoing your point that 4 weeks is a very short time. The way Danny described it of growing the business in the background until it is covering the bills is definately the way to go.

I have 4 brothers and a Dad in varying construction trades and all of them would agree whole heartedly with what youhave said.

 

[Danny@ Diamond]

Hi Diamond Tiling,

I am not sure what you know about our training facilities or the training that we deliver at Diamond Training but we train individuals all of the time who myself and the staff at the centre would be happy to call professional tilers.

There is no hard and fast rule that someone must have worked in the industry for X amount of years before they can say they are a professional tiler, it is down to how they receive the information and skills that you deliver to them.

We have students who achieve a fantastic standard of work by the completion of their course, who would be 110% confident to undertake a job with bouncy floors / holes in the wall and polished tiles with under tile heating systems.

Its all down to the facilities / staff and course structure that enables us to achieve these results in such a short space of time.

All the best

 

[diamondtiling]

Hi Danny
I appreciate what you say and training schools are a vital part of todays need for more tilers but let me elaborate a little, A "tiler" went to a house to fit a wet room out, lay the floor, tray, tank all the usual for a wet room. He was fitting travertine to all surfaces, the first I knew about the job was when the customer came into the shop to complain, he had been on holiday while the work was being done. I went to look and it was a disgrace, it was leaking through to the kitchen, the tiles were a complete mess, it was a waste of money, the tiler had done a 6 week course at a reputable school. I redid the lot and it does not leak, the tiler was not paid but the customer lost some £2500.00 in materials.
A few months later whilst on site I got a tiler to come and help, I went to the nearest tile shop and met him there, seemed ok, said he had loads of experience and had a cscs card, he lasted 2 days,he was slow at setting out, he was slow at tiling, he did not want to do floors, he could not tile to falls, his cuts were terrible, he did not want to do any siliconing so he had to go. His experience according to the shop manager was a 4 week course and 3 months on the job. Two tilers, both from schools and both not up to the job. So I stick with my original post, an intensive course does not produce a pro tiler, only experience can do that. The next time I do a Fitness First club you send me your best student and he/she can tile the communal wet area, usually about 50 mts or so with falls all over the place, if they can do that floor with no help and get it bang on perfect I will give them £100 a meter, my money is safe.

 

[Graham Bright]

Hi Danny
I appreciate what you say and training schools are a vital part of todays need for more tilers but let me elaborate a little, A "tiler" went to a house to fit a wet room out, lay the floor, tray, tank all the usual for a wet room. He was fitting travertine to all surfaces, the first I knew about the job was when the customer came into the shop to complain, he had been on holiday while the work was being done. I went to look and it was a disgrace, it was leaking through to the kitchen, the tiles were a complete mess, it was a waste of money, the tiler had done a 6 week course at a reputable school. I redid the lot and it does not leak, the tiler was not paid but the customer lost some £2500.00 in materials.
A few months later whilst on site I got a tiler to come and help, I went to the nearest tile shop and met him there, seemed ok, said he had loads of experience and had a cscs card, he lasted 2 days,he was slow at setting out, he was slow at tiling, he did not want to do floors, he could not tile to falls, his cuts were terrible, he did not want to do any siliconing so he had to go. His experience according to the shop manager was a 4 week course and 3 months on the job. Two tilers, both from schools and both not up to the job. So I stick with my original post, an intensive course does not produce a pro tiler, only experience can do that. The next time I do a Fitness First club you send me your best student and he/she can tile the communal wet area, usually about 50 mts or so with falls all over the place, if they can do that floor with no help and get it bang on perfect I will give them £100 a meter, my money is safe.

I can see both sides. I dont think an intensive course with out experience is the way forward. You have to do little bits at a time with the work getting harder as you go on.

However, I dont think you can put a time limit on it. One guy might take a number of years to get to a decent level another might get there a lot quicker.

For example, If I spent a couple of months on site and completed an intensive course, I would like to think I could get myself a bit of weekend work doing a few simple job, not many cuts or dodgy situations that take experience, as I go I can undertake more complex work.

If people cant get work after lets say a year then how are they ever going to earn a living while they get up to scratch. Are you suggesting that you got paid apprentice money for the first 5 years of your career? Or did you just do the work that matched your skill level to start with?

My Dad is a succesful builder and a bricky by trade. He is very good and very quick. Two of my brothers tried to follow in his footsteps doing day release and working with him as a labourer. One of my brothers is still not allowed to lay bricks, even a simple garden wall after 6 months. My other brother is doing good work and even knocking out pillars etc after the same amount of time. That brother is now doing a bit of pointing and garden walls etc in his spare time. People are different.

For me, I want to have a good portfolio and a good reputation and have good work. So I will work my nuts off but only take on work I am confident I can do. As my skills increase ill take on the tougher job.