hI guys
last year done a plastering course with Darren and the guys at NETT,may I say they get a 100% recommendation from me,to be brief done the course enjoyed every minute could not believe what I learn't in a week, went home got the float out plastered my walls and ceilings happy bunny.

Now tiling is something I would love to do as a career nothing I enjoy more done a bit but no expert, So thought do a course learn as much as I can and with luck think about starting up for myself, looks on internet for course ( why did'nt I go to NETT just up the road local etc etc) I have kicked myself ever since,believed all the bull I read from another company won't mention the name probably end up in court.

Anyway books course pretty local sounded ok so thought lets have a go as I had a garage full of travertine for kitchen floor and bathroom floor and walls thought could do with some good advice from a pro, as I said not a pro tiler but cerainly no fool been in the building game 25yr (different trade) head full of questions re:- overboarding in bathroom,decoupling membrane, expansion joints, hardibacker,tanking around baths and showers the list goes on,
answers from instructor :-overboarding, about 15mm ply vague
decoupling membrane, blank expression never used.
expansion, vague depends on size of room no reason why .
hardibacker, never used,
tanking around bath never used a tanking kit he uses caravan sealer around the bath ( I swear to god his exact words)
Monday and tuesday stuck a few 6x6 tiles in a bay cut template and tiles around toilet, went in on wednesday and promptly left course waisting my time and diesel money, the only good thing to come out this waist of time was I got a full refund (could'nt do much else really as he states no quibble money back guarantee).
Lesson learnt should have went to Darren at NETT.
I'm by no way slagging tiling courses all I will say is anyone thinking about doing one read reviews from people on tilers forum then make your choice I know there are some damn good instructors out there, but also some right muppets who only want your money!!
or do as I will from now on and seak advice from the guys on tilers forum, these boys know there stuff
Thanks for lisening to my little rant, anyone doing a course choose carefully and enjoy.

Thanks for the feedback Phil, there are some very poor so called courses out there, tiling is not something you can learn overnight, as any trade. It takes years to master. A good course can give you the basics, then it is up to the individual.

In my honest opinion, anyone wishingg to start tiling would be better off researching and then contacting local good local tilers and offering their services for free.. you can't beat on the job training. At least if you don't learn all the right methods you will get a proper insight into the job and gain some experience.Then again do some more reseach and go on a course afterwards.
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Thanks for the post Phil, People think all training centres are the same and they are definatly not, Its easy for some swanky salesman to talk the talk as you have found out, anyway you live and learn, least you got your money back which is a suprise, how many have wasted their money and learned nothing.

Good training centre is still defo the way to start, Yorkshire Tiling makes a valid point of learning in the real world, but there is no way when i was Tiling for a living that i had the time to show somebody with no experience what to do and all the explinations of background prep etc and where are they going to practice, are you going to let them practice on the customers walls, i think not, so fast track good instruction in a training centre has to be first, then find a placement if you can and see what goes on in the real world after you have a good idea yourself on what to do

Dont want to blow my own trumpet but you cant go wrong with the training you will receive with us, 7 years on and still going strong, thousands of people through the doors and masses of positive feedback

Best Regards
Darren
www.uktradestraining.co.uk (Previously NE Tiling Training, NETT)

If more tilers could see the value in having an apprentice there would a better class of tiler coming through in to the industry. IMO there is no risk in letting an apprentice do some work under supervision on a customers job. That is the way I was taught and if I made a mistake I was made to rip it off and do it again. On the other hand do we all think it is better to give a man 3 weeks training show him how to look and sound professional and tell him he can charge x amount and let him loose on an unsuspecting customer to PRACTICE with no supervision and only a basic knowledge of the trade.
I will say it is not the market it was 10 or even 5 years ago and it is very very difficult for someone with limited skills to go and forge a career in this industry.

we all have to start somewhere,,,,,in years gone by an apprenticeship was the way to go, but firms (understandably in this current climate) are reluctant to indenture an apprentice. So where does this leaves somebody that wants to learn? either a fast track course or a pittance working for next to nothing..tough choice imo. But ​whichever choice the person makes it should be made aware to them that it will take years to hone the basic skills into a skill that will give them a good worthwhile career that can also support them financially.

In the 3 years that I've been typing on the Tilers Forum, NETT has been the training centre that I would suggest has the greatest number of positive comments from past and present members.
I have not seen any hyped up sales pitch or any unrealistic prospects being 'sold' other than a short course that will provide a training for a potential career.
In my mind it is the individual that believes they can walk into the Tiling trade within a short course period that is misrepresenting the courses value and they will be found out fairly quickly.
The other culprit is the customer - for not doing the due diligence on the 'tiler' before he ruins the job and all because he was a bit cheaper.

Originally Posted by timeless john

In the 3 years that I've been typing on the Tilers Forum, NETT has been the training centre that I would suggest has the greatest number of positive comments from past and present members.
I have not seen any hyped up sales pitch or any unrealistic prospects being 'sold' other than a short course that will provide a training for a potential career.
In my mind it is the individual that believes they can walk into the Tiling trade within a short course period that is misrepresenting the courses value and they will be found out fairly quickly.
The other culprit is the customer -for not doing the due diligence on the 'tiler' before he ruins the job and all because he was a bit cheaper.

John that will never change, it's been around since I've been in involved in finishing trades..why do the pound shops stay busy..

Just out of interest Darren, do you any sort of idea percentage wise of how many students carry on to make a career out of your courses? I certainly don't mean to put you on the spot but the reason I ask is because my wife is a welding lecturer and she reckons that maybe 50 per cent will make it through to an engineering job.

Could'nt agree more anyone who thinks they can do a short course and hold there own with a time served man are deluding themselves, there's nothing I would like more than to earn a living tiling but am under no illusions that without experience at anything your just another chancer seen alot of them in my time, not for me, I would gladly work every hour god sends for minimum wage to learn how to tile properly (for free but would starve lol).
This day and age its hard enough for the young kids to get trainee or apprentice positions even with all the subsidees companys get for them from the goverment let alone someone older like me who they get nothing for. So as much as I'd like to tile for a living will have to stick to doing my own and the odd bit for family.
Will still read the forum regular some damn good stuff to be learn't

Originally Posted by phil w

Could'nt agree more anyone who thinks they can do a short course and hold there own with a time served man are deluding themselves, there's nothing I would like more than to earn a living tiling but am under no illusions that without experience at anything your just another chancer seen alot of them in my time, not for me, I would gladly work every hour god sends for minimum wage to learn how to tile properly (for free but would starve lol).
This day and age its hard enough for the young kids to get trainee or apprentice positions even with all the subsidees companys get for them from the goverment let alone someone older like me who they get nothing for. So as much as I'd like to tile for a living will have to stick to doing my own and the odd bit for family.
Will still read the forum regular some damn good stuff to be learn't

Phil, not many who actually take part in Darren's courses delude themselves, the delusion of those who think those courses can NOT offer anything is worse, as they may well deny themselves a really good starting point. IMO Darren's course is the solid foundation the house of the tiling career can be built on, guesswork in DIY is not the answer, - I know, because I've done both. Anyone who goes to a course and thinks they are as good as tilers with year of experience are probably the same kind of people who watch politicians or athletes on tv and say they could do better, all mouth and not trousers. Why not go to a course and see if learning to tile is really what you are interested in and go from there?

The top and bottom of it is some people are naturally good and some people are not, some DIY people tile their own bathroom with no advice whatsoever and do an OK job, doesnt take these people long when shown the correct ways to become very good, yeah we all know that there is stuff to learn on the jobs on the streets but you just have to deal with that, you make some mistakes along the way but so does everyone, you cant tell me that the time served guys that everyone goes on about have never made a mistake before, they have, did anyone tell them before they made that mistake not to bother with a career as a tiler.

A good short course is the only way you will have a chance at starting if you are over 25, dont think your going to learn off some tiler that is going to take you on in return for no or little pay, might happen if you are 16 with an apprentiship, what makes you think that the tiler your going to latch onto is any good, There are a lot of time served tilers out there that i wouldnt let do an outside toilet in a back yard, what if you learned to drive from someone that has been a crappy driver for 20 years, he still has a licence, does that make him good, would you want to pay him to tag along and learn, no, just because someone has been doing it for a long time doesnt make them good, look at the state of most council work that is done by time served tilers

I have had thousands of people train with me over the 8 years of teaching, i would say about 35% have a real chance because they have the trade skills, drive, attitude, sales skills, customer skills, passion, marketing skills and personallity skills, this is everything we teach you to have on the course, some people just get it and others just dont get the concept, if you dont have ALL of the above then you will struggle.
This is why the figure is 35%, its quite hard to have them all.

People think its all about the tiling, if you are a great tiler but the customer doesnt like your attitude do you think you will get the job, the answer is no. If your a great tiler but have no marketing skills then you wont have any potential jobs to estimate for.


We have some of the best tilers in the north east now that have trained with us, starting off with just a short course and they have built their skills and businesses up over the years, so the answer is with yourself, if you are crap at DIY and your personallity sucks then tiling aint for you, if you are the opposit to this then yes you can do it, everything lies with your own self belief and capabilities, dont let someone else tell you what you can and cant achieve in life. Everything is there for the taking, but there is only yourself who can take it

Best Regards
Darren
www.uktradestraining.co.uk

I agree with Darren's comments totally.

An excellent example of this is that during 2011 we trained two gentlemen on a short course in plumbing and tiling. They both attended the same courses on the same dates and they were both in a similar situation, they were mid 40's and had been made redundant. The two courses were approx 8 weeks apart. When they came back for the second course one of the gentleman had; opened a bank account, produced flyers and business cards and had his name added to clothing, he had contacted suppliers, bought tools and had started marketing his company to the point of completing one small job and having two small jobs planned in, the other gent had done nothing. The first gent is still working for himself. They had both received the same training by the same tutor and both were given the tutors and the centres contact details for support.

So as advised choose your training centre carefully, there are only a couple of 'us' good ones around.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

All the best
Dave
www.tradeteacher.co.uk