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Jcowap

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Hello everyone!

basically I'm getting made redundant next month and it's come at the worst time! I've owned my first home less than 18 months and have a 9 week old to care for. I'm looking at my options and I do t think I'll find a similar job to mien on the same high pay.

ive been looking into plastering a lot and do have a lit of interest in it. It's not some random trade I've picked out of thin air. I've been looking to go on a plastering 4 days intensive course. Does anyone have an honest opinion of these courses? Why so people go to college when they offer these short course? I'm not expecting to do the course and be fully ready to go. It will just help me on my way. I'm even willing to work with a plasterer for free to help learn.

please guys your honest opinion and thoughts.

thankyou
 
Why is there a need to be like that at all may I ask?!

im asking a question and wanted an answer not some abuse!

and the answer to your question is yes someone probably could do my job after a 4/5 day intensive course but I get paid an extra 4k per year as I work 12 hour night shifts!

as I said I wasn't expecting to be fully trained after the course but it would certainly help!

I don't know why I even bothered. All I wanted was a bit of help as I'm in an awful situation.

ill not bother coming back on here to check for replies.
 
Firstly, Welcome along, now the serious bit.

Realistically four days is an induction of sorts and your chances of turning those four days into a profession/career are slim, I realise the outlay for the course may sound more affordable than other courses i.e. electrics, plumbing etc but again realistically your chances of making a real go of it are slim. Be aware that plastering as a trade takes years to master all the aspects and even when you think you have it sussed something will come along that can beat you. You don't mention your age but, if your in your early 30's realistically you will be in your early 40's before you have the broad spectrum of knowledge to cover all or most aspects of the trade which could enable you to be more competative/able to maintain a steady income on domestic plastering work, site work is another beast altogether.

Again depending on your age i personally would be looking for current and predicted skills shortages in the uk jobs market and train for them. Yes this will take longer and maybe more expensive but trim your cloth accordingly take a lower paid job while training and use redundancy money to top up if you get me drift. (realistically plastering could take 12 to 24 months before you start making good money anyway possibly longer)

And finally one last piece of advice "never take advice from anyone who is not directly affected by that advice" :RpS_thumbup:
 
Jcowap said:
Why is there a need to be like that at all may I ask?!

im asking a question and wanted an answer not some abuse!

and the answer to your question is yes someone probably could do my job after a 4/5 day intensive course but I get paid an extra 4k per year as I work 12 hour night shifts!

as I said I wasn't expecting to be fully trained after the course but it would certainly help!

I don't know why I even bothered. All I wanted was a bit of help as I'm in an awful situation.

ill not bother coming back on here to check for replies.
Click to expand...

You wanted an honest opinion...

Plastering can be learnt very quickly but takes a long long time to master it!

If I was you I would be looking for a job in your current field and then pick up what you can on the tools for friends and family... Its a hard trade and yes we are seeing a boom but could you survive another recession?

The wheat from the chaff got sorted last time...

Its a shitty situation you are in but I cant see how you are going to quickly learn and then replace your income without it affecting your lifestyle...

Courses are good ways to get a start but it takes a lot lot more to make a living...

Thats as honest as I can be... Remember this is a plasterers forum, and you are asking people if you can learn their craft in 4 days... I doubt I could learn Mcd's job in 4 days...

Yes I am grumpy tonight so I apologise for that...
 
it might sound like easy money but its not. not for a long time anyway. four days is just a taster. whether they give you a certificate or not. i mean you're just learning the very basic theory in that time and not the practice. anyway, if oyu're gonna spit your dummy out over one contrary response you wont make it anyway. i dont mean that in a nasty way. would you get your car fixed by a mechanic who'd done a four day course? or get your teth out by a dentist who'd learned it online ....... :RpS_sneaky:
 
Do people not take in your post when reading it? I'll reiterate what I said - "I'm not expecting to do the course and be fully ready to go. It will just help me on my way" So why are people getting the hump assuming I want to be a fully qualified plasterer doing a short intensive course?

Info as requested, im 28 and based in Wigan.

I think a more realistic option is to get a job and attend night school downside being my local college that offers the nightschool course starts the course in the next 2 or so weeks. I will need to stick out my current job to receive redundacy to fund to course lol!
 
You could try to get a job in a plastering firm and do a day release course at a college?
 
Hello mate.

This is my first reply I have wrote but here goes. I'm 28 from Liverpool and have been plastering since I was 15. After I finished my 5yr apprenticeship an decided to leave the gang it was hard no rep for work I had done. So I found a course to get the bits of paper to prove it 20 days £1260. Nvq 1 but as I had served my time I achieved level two in the time allowed. So armed with my "knowledge" an bits of paper an over 5 yrs thought I could make an living. But as I found out. Every job is so vastly different I didn't realise how challenging a job this is. 7 yrs later an I still got slightly caught out 3 week ago. (Skimming for a tiler but had took his word it was ok. Big mistake) cost me more time an customer money. (Knock bk an float). But that's after 13 yrs. I see where your coming from with going on a course to start but have you ever done any plaster/render or laboured on a spread? If not I would suggest trying to get in on a job or two for free if needs be just to get a taste if this is the job you want to do. Before you spend a fair bit of money on something you really may not like or struggle with unnecessarily bud.
 
Good post. I agree a kot of the courses sell you the benefits with no mention of the downside..
 
Thank you. I'm not gunna lie as I bet u guys won't but plastering is something you want to do an do it well. Everybody has had some form of problem but it's how u sort it that makes a spread. (Old bosses best quote). But after doing a 20 day course after serving my time to get the paper to say I could was a waste of time. I felt sorry for the lads who payed an thought that was it. Work ready. So if he is being made redundant it makes sense to save money an try the free options first. I.e free labour = free training.

Hope this helps
 
I know I managed to get it back of them but I was lucky I had done a bit. Tbh it didn't scratch the surface on any topic an that's about 11 different subjects in 20 days from board to screed. As I said I thought it may improve a job start. I was wrong. Be wary of any fast track course. Coz the old guys we all trust sure as hell didn't take one.
 
have you thought about drug trials. there can be good money in that. a friend of mine used to just trail various drugs for a living. he even went to the states for six weeks to trial something over there. you're like in a hotel kind of place with xboxesand stuff and get three meals a day and then after about six weeks you'll get say four grand or something. but you cant do more than threee in a year. i think welcome are going to start testig an ebola drug. that ill be good money
 
Well I am about 4 months ahead of you and I think in that entire time I've earned about £400 mostly doing the odd bit of labouring and after already having been on a course (month long one) I am going back to do another 10 months at 16 hours a week.

Now aside from the meager amount of money I've earned I've also been practising Plastering on 2 house renovations during those 4 months, probably between 10-25 hours a week (tanking, pointing, damp proofing, bonding, skimming, hacking old walls to bits, screeding, repairing concrete, decorating etc.)

I'm barely past the beginning stage. I can skim a wall, to a standard that someone will pay for but its nowhere near a professional skim and finish. Give me another 4 months and I'll probably be getting a damn good finish. The finish is 10% of the job as my trainer says, that gets you paid, the other 90% is more important though.

I'm thinking in 10 months I approach other plasterers for work, cheaply, in order to learn from them from being on the job and all the hundreds of situations and tricks you couldn't quite get in the course.

So I'd ask yourself if you really want to blow £800 on a 4 day course and whether or not you can pay that mortgage on WTCredit (£200 a month) and £100 a month. Get a job, do a night course and knuckle down for 1-2 years depending on how much personal study and practice you can get in on top of the course then another year or two or three on cheap rates learning from an experienced spread.

This is my perspective as someone 4 months further on than you. Got any experience being self employed?

I've been there and done it before, not sure entirely I'm entirely sane for going back into it either.
 
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