Tiling careers unrealistic?

[beattsmjk]

Hi All

I did a course at NE Tiling training centre, which I though was first class.

However I feel that the career opportunities just are not out there for a succesful prolonged career in tiling for a vast majority of the people completing these courses.

Arguably there are times when the jobs will come flooding in, but other times there will be famines.

It seems to me that in this trade (unlike other trades) you really need to go out and search for the work, I have seen the ridiculous number of business cards in all of my local tile shops escalate in the past few months, I have seen people putting flyers on peoples cars outside of DIY shops and I have even seen somebody at a local boot fair advertising his services - I assumed he was there for the full day. (good idea I thought to be fair).

Can you really expect to earn £1000 a week? probably occasionally maybe.

Can you even earn half of that week in week out. I doubt it. (a few lucky ones perhaps)


I think its necessary to have another string to your bow to fall back onto when times are hard which is a shame really because I don't think people appreciate the effort that goes in to an average tiling job, especially when plumbers and sparkys are charging more for considerably less effort without the need to search for work half as much.


I dont want this post to sound to dour but I think it is about time that training centres were realistic and fair to their students rather than being a constant production line banging out 'tiling professionals' and eventually saturating the market, as seems to be the case now.

I have tried to take a realistic opinion, in that I did the course not for financial gain but as a useful skill to know, if work came my way with it, then the more the merrier but I seriously dont think people should be misled in this way.


whats peoples opinions?

Tell me to fook off if you like

maybe I'm completely wrong, maybe people are making fortunes with work coming out of their ears, it would be interesting to know.

[BrhTiling]

Well, the way I see it is this; The amount of people don't training courses is huge, especially in areas such as mine where big plants / manufacturing jobs have all recently gone!
People are looking to re-train and make a living as self employed tradesmen, generally the semi-skilled type (such as Tiling, Plastering, Kitchen fitting, painting/decorating) etc........ You only have to open up the local paper or go into your local DIY store to see there are vast numbers people advertising their services.... So maybe some areas are getting flooded now.

It is virtually impossible to get on a plumbing course with the local college in this area - Probably because it has been well documented in the media just how short of plumbers we were / are, and now everyone is rushing into the sector, with delusions of earning 50k a year!

The problem with tiling (as I see it), is with it being a semi-skilled trade. In reality anyone can glue tiles to a wall with the minimum of education / training, that means basically we are charging for our labour rather than a specialist knowledge or skill.... So there is always going to be a guy down the road who can do it just that bit cheaper / quicker.....

Where is something like a spark or plumber, gas fitter...etc, all need recognised qualifcations to get work and so they aren't quite as easily replaced.
----
Blah, that all sounds a bit negative doesn't it?

Don't get me wrong, it obviously does work out for some people.... However with most things in life.... 10 newbie tilers could put in equal amounts of effort & hard work and maybe only 3 of them would be sucessful long term... IMO anyway.

[tiler tom]

Great thread and some very good points. Brh tilng is perfectly correct as to have a gas appliance installed or some electrical work done you now need a fully qualified person then it does take away the diy element. Yes everyone can tile but then again everyone can paper a wall so why the need for a painter and decorator. In fact you could say that with a lot of trades. The thing is that tiles are getting incresingly bigger so not everyone is prepared to go out and buy the necessary equipment. Then there is the time element and also the missus who would rather have somebody who knows what they are doing instead of the hubby. Gone are the days when all you got was a 6 inch tile. The work is there if you want it and you are right it does not always come to you so you have to be prepared to get out there and sell yourself and shout look at what I can do. Like a lot of trades it is seasonal and you have to be carefull not to overprice you know that line between thats fair and sod it I will have a go myself.
Hope this is not negative just remember that you only get out what you put in.

[beattsmjk]

Hi

Thanks for the replies.

I think you have a very valid point Tiler Tom. Tiling is becoming increasingly more difficult especially with the relative affordability (well more so than previous years) of natural stone and therefore a more professional approach is required. Hence the need for tilers.

I just noticed that whenever you look in job sections of newspapers and on the web there are more and more ads for tiling, locksmith, plastering courses etc. I live in the North East and I have been employed as a mechanical engineer for the past 12 years, but what I am starting to see now, as industry gradually declines is a steady shift of skilled labour moving across into the service sector.

Its a shame really but thats the way its heading. There will of course always be a need for tradesmen, and from what I gather there is a massive shortage nationwide in a lot of trades, but eventually these trades will become overwhelmed.

If you take the assumption that NE tiling is training upwards of 16 tilers every week to a very good level (albeit without the practice) its not difficult to imagine the future scenario.

anyway i'm off to help tile my mates kitchen

[Dave-T]

remember, its a LOT to do with word of mouth. People will ALLWAYS reccomend you if you do a very good job. The more work you do, the more phone calls you will get. But also bear in mind bad reviews spread quicker, so take your time, and really do a good job, and the phone will ring

[Varley]

To answer your first question beattsmjk, you are right, it is totally unrealistic to expect to be earning £500-£1000 per week when you just start out, that sort of income will take a good few years of you establishing yourself on the market, making valuable contacts with kitchen/bathroom fitters, plumbers, builders etc. But it can be done and there are a fair few lads on this forum to prove that. But it will be hard at first.

"The problem with tiling (as I see it), is with it being a semi-skilled trade. In reality anyone can glue tiles to a wall with the minimum of education / training, that means basically we are charging for our labour rather than a specialist knowledge or skill...."

Anyone can stick a tile to the wall but it doesn't mean they are doing it correctly. There are many things to think of such as substrate preparation, correct adhesive, correct trowel/coverage, issues such as tanking, setting out, safe weights, sealing and many more. I think that we possess a hell of a lot of knowledge, we need to demonstrate that to the general public to show that not everyone can stick a tile on.

[NETT Darren]

The trouble is too many people think that the money will just fall into their pocket soon as they have learnt a skill, the money is out there, you just have to find a way of getting it and that means hard work on the marketing side of the business, then you have to win the quote before you even get the job. Varley is right, it takes a good few years to get to a level where your reputation is good enough where jobs find you rather than you finding them. Anyone that has been on my course will tell you that the first morning of the course is all about the business, marketing , sales side of the business, without these skills you aint got no business. Tiling is a fully skilled job, if you aint been taught properly you wont realise what is really involved in the game, most peoples perseption is all you do is clad adhesive on the wall then stick a tile on the top, whats hard in that. Obviously there is a massives ammount of info to back up what you have to do to do the job correctly. Unfortunatly a percentage of people will fail after the training in their business however the same people on the same course can go on to be hugely successfull, they both do the same course and get the same training, its down to your own personality, drive, wanting to succeed and natural ability that will make you a success. Get your skills and go out and find as many tradesmen and get as many contacts as you can, dont just leave cards here and there and expect the world to ring you, I/ll say it again the people who market themselves the best, make the most money

[CJ]

I would rather earn enuff to live on.........and be happy in wot i do

Rather than earn loads and hate it, working for someone else.........clock watching

[GazTech]

Many of the newbies will fall by the wayside,lack of comittment,lack of basic skill,lack of business acumin,inability to learn the correct way and like Darren says just plonking cards around wont cut it.In USA a plasterer trains for 3/5 yrs for qualification and is respected like lawyers and all other proffessions and command the same wages for their knowledge.The authorities in USA take a very dim view of rogue traders and heavy prison sentences are imposed,maybe we should take the same view to protect the paying customer and give true committed pro tilers the respect they deserve.I for one would endorse this principal,lets put it this way a rogue gas fitter can kill,a large format tile or section of wall tiles falling could kill.

[arcadia]

Great post..beattsmjk.. ..

What we got to realise is, that these tiling course owners are there to make money..! They are not there to make you rich.. .. They know that maybe only one out of a 100 will make it to the top, but sell it to you all that you will all make it that far...eeek..!! I watched the top guy at PTS walking around all the bays, telling all the students that they were just brilliant, fantastic..!! To be honest, what he was doing was>>> Clapping his hands, thinking to himslef what a pot full of dosh i have just got out of you lot.. ..LOL Having Said that, though, they do show you enough to get you started, and if you want it bad enough, you will succeed... .. .. .. I think the idea is>>>>>> Sell yaself well..!! Make others think ya know what ya on about, then go do a great job and then hopefully the phone will keep ringing... ..

Kev

[tiler tom]

well done arcadia you have hit the nail on the head its like those ads make yourself a million, if its that easy why aint you doing it. When I did the course I remember thiking if there is that much money in it then why are you showing me instead of raking it in yourself. You only get out what you put in.