Tiling Courses - TilersForums.co.uk Tiling & Tile Forum (Tilers Forums)

howard · 16-03-2008

Most people on here have done a tiling course and now call them selfs tilers what a load of **** theses courses are you tile a nice new plastered wall and the trainers tell you how good your tiling looks they give you loads of confidence to get out there and do it but the truth is they take your cash and give you a certificate at the end of the course which is worth nothing you could learn more if you worked for a tiler for a week & paid him Ive done a course like most of us and reallies its just a con Ive Lent more of this site than the course

**Dan** · 16-03-2008

I appreciate you expressing your view mate, that's what this forum is all about. But you have to respect the fact that some of the courses are required (the NVQ type ones) and some are chosen by the trainee for all sorts of reasons. They are a great way to get into the trade. Though I agree the information is all here. But I know you can read it a thousand times and not fully get it, but if you're shown you can't go wrong.

I am doing my best to keep the threads related to feedback left by actual former students of training centre's which at least give the impression to the trainee that they're the type of centre you're talking about.

Though I can't pass all negative feedback I do many. And my best tip to spot the best training centre is to go by the feedback quality (not just quantity) and PM the members etc.

The training centre's that have had a feedback thread / topic live for some time BUT STILL haven't had any or much feedback left about them would make at least me assume there isn't much to say about them. Though I can't always say negative feedback has been left in all cases. (Some may do long courses, and have their students from local advertising therefore their students wouldn't see or even use a website like this perhaps?)

howard · 16-03-2008

yeah Dan your right what you say not all courses are the same i just meant the 1 week courses are very basic

**Dan** · 16-03-2008

I knew what you meant mate.

LM Ceramics · 11-05-2008

totally agree howard i served an apprenticeship and only after 2 years i could call myself a tiler to many people going on these courses are nieve and think after 5 days they will be earning loads of money not true

ross lewiss · 11-05-2008

to be honest, you can learn more on here than a course. maybe i should throw dan £1000 for all the stuff ive learned on this forum thanks to his endevour.
i reckon a weeks course is fine if it cuts to the chase. too many of these 4-6 week courses are stretched out for a number of reasons but i dont think for 1 minute they actually care about you. they say they like to teach but if that was the case then they would teach at college like most people who love to teach do...
its all about money and maybe a 5 day course is the way to go. you wont learn the whiole trade obviously but then again you wont over 6 weeks so maybe its better to do a week to learn setting out, cutting shapes and grouting then go away an expand that knowledge over time and when you need a specific question answering then we can come on here. i reckon it would take 2 years to become proficient at tiling if you include 6 months to begin, 6 months domestic, 6 months on a site and 6 months doing swimming pools , restoration, wet rooms etc
just my opinion but why waste £2-3K on a course an skim across all aspects when that money could pay for tools, advertising, 1 week course, t-shirts, cards and a few bob in the hand of a tiler for the odd mornings lecture.
dan should be knighted for making this form, arise sir daniel......

LM Ceramics · 11-05-2008

caus a one week course is a waste of time i agree with you that it will probably take 2 years its what it took me you cant learn how to tile professionally after a week

**NETT Darren** · 11-05-2008

I think a lot of people on this forum will disagree with you there LM as loads of them has been on my week course and are out there making the money and tiling to a very good standard at that, you can definatly learn how to tile in a week, i have prooved this hundreds of times from people coming through the door with no knowledge and leaving confident to do the job, im not saying you are going to have years of experience but a good short course will cover everything you need to go out there and find your way, of course you will learn along the way, who doesnt but you need the grounding in the first place, this site is obviously fantastic to gain the theory side of tiling but you still need a course to show you how to do the practical job. Some people learn quickly others dont, thats life and down to yourself, how do some people learn to drive and pass there test in a very short time and others take forever with masses of lessons and pass on there 3rd attempt.
As for teaching at college, it is totally different with a private training centre, we fast track quickly where as a college has one pace and thats very slow, of course we do the training for the money, its our job and people come to us for tuition we dont go knocking on peoples doors asking them, most people havent got time to do a two year apprentiship without the income comming in so we provide a valued service to the people who want to be fast tracked into a new career, I put everything into my teaching try and give my students the best possible start, i personally do an after care service for anyone attending as do a lot of the training centre answering questions on here or by email after hours, i hand out my home email for every one of my students that may be in need of help, Trouble is there are poor courses out there that gets eveyone a bad name, thats why people attending a course should do their homework and check out the course provider for feedback before spending your money
Darren

DEN · 11-05-2008

A great post there darren,i can understand where a lot of people are coming from with these 1 week courses,but this course at nett really does speak volumes as to the feedback recieved from all those that have attended,but i have also read about others that are a waste of time,i personally thought that a run through of the business side of things which darren emphasises that is what it should be first a business,was really an added bonus,but when taught the practical side of things was even more impressive,and i have to say i thought was very good value for money.

**whitebeam** · 11-05-2008

I've been in the building since 1971, sometimes in a variation of work, And yes you cannot beat experiance, And yes the building game has changed since them day,s but not once have I slagged off anyone for trying to go for a change of career. I have my views and been involved with the finishing trade's since I started, which makes job a lot easier on substrates when tiling where most failures happen, That is where most of the newbies will struggle.