City & Guilds Plumbing Course with Bpec (York)

The City & Guilds Plumbing Course with Bpec is a 4 week course.  This can be take in one go, or split into weekly blocks taken over a period of time to suit candidates.  It is aimed at people who are unable to complete the full 8 week City & Guilds 6129 with Bpec course but want to gain formal qualifications in plumbing.  After completing the course, for an additional fee, plumbing students have the opportunity to return to PPL for four one-week blocks to complete the City & Guilds 6129 level 2 and move onto the 6089 NVQ in plumbing.

After completing the 4 week course students gain two formal plumbing qualifications from City & Guilds (6022 Domestic Copper Installer and 6032 Sanitary Accommodation) along with Bpec Water Regulations.  The 6022 and 6032 are stand alone certificates and do not form part of the NVQ in plumbing.  However all students on this plumbing course are registered for the City & Guilds 6129 Plumbing Certificate and complete all the plumbing assessments.  They can return to complete the lead work, low carbon steel pipework and GOLA online examination, if they wish to gain the full 6129.

People with limited practical trade experience may gain from taking the Weekend Introduction plumbing course first, although no prior qualifications or experience in plumbing are necessary.  If you are considering becoming a plumber then you may wish to see our train to be a plumber page before reviewing this course.

The course is full time (Monday to Friday) for 4 weeks - although it may be taken in weekly blocks if this is more convenient for no extra charge.  In order to complete the full City & Guilds 6129 Level 2, students will be required to return for four 1 week blocks to complete lead work, low carbon steel pipework and final assessments.  These weeks are charged at £500 plus VAT per week.  These extra weeks can be arranged at a time to suit the student. If it takes longer than 4 weeks to complete the award, we do not charge for the extra weeks.  Some students prefer to take our 8 week City & Guilds 6129 with Bpec plumbing course instead.

The course starts with basic pipe work skills and moves onto more complex plumbing tasks including airing cupboards, bathroom suites, above ground drainage, central heating installation (no gas/oil), lead work and low carbon steel pipework.  It also an extra qualification Bpec Water Regulations and business lectures, a foundation electrical course, tiling and plastering courses.

Theory and practical sessions are mixed on a daily basis with around 3.5 days per week in the practical workshop and the remainder in the classroom.  Students are divided into small tutor groups led by an experienced plumbing tutor.

The course also contains regular demonstrations, topics include; power flushing, pipe freezing, floorboard lifting, tap maintenance and many more relevant skills.  Students also receive a free tool kit and safety equipment pack. This contains all the tools and safety equipment they will need on the course.  It is yours to take away at the end of the course. From February 2011 PPL will be offering the new qualification from City & Guilds, the NVQ Diploma in Plumbing and Heating, at levels 2 and 3.

On successful completion of the course there is the opportunity of a one week placement with a local plumber in your area.  This part of the course is optional and subject to availability*

Please take a look at the theory overview tab.

**Terms and conditions apply, please contact us for more details.

City & Guilds Plumbing course with Bpec theory overview:

The theory course is taught in our modern, well equipped training rooms and the lively and interactive sessions cover the following topics*:

Module 1 -  Induction to the Course
Course program, registration for the 6129 level 2,  introductions, general procedures for training and assessment.

Module 2 - Health and Safety
The construction industry can be a dangerous place.  It is important to know what hazards you may face and how to avoid injury to yourself and others.

Module 3 - Key Plumbing Principles
Basic processes within plumbing involving hand tools, plumbing materials and science.

Module 4 - Common Plumbing Processes
Copper tube bending and marking out, pipework materials and various fixing devices. Using a spring and machine bender.  Compression and plastic fittings.

Module 5 - Being Self-employed
Taught in an evening session, this module covers all the key aspects of being self-employed; tax, VAT, cash flow, marketing and other useful topics to give you the skills required to be a self-employed plumber.

Module 6 - Marketing your Business
This module covers more specific marketing and quoting. Job pricing, debt collecting, gaining local trade links, expanding your business and working on site are just some of the topics covered.

Module 7 - Cold Water Systems 
The supply of water to dwellings, water treatment, water regulations.  Cold water pipework inside buildings, storage cisterns, draining down and flushing pipework.

Module 8 - Hot Water Systems
Hot water services within dwellings.  Properties of hot water, types of hot water systems, air locks, combination boilers and storage systems.

Module 9 - Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness is an understanding of why it is important to conserve energy, dispose of waste properly and prevent wastage of materials.

Module 10 - Effective Working Relationships
The construction industry and working on sites.

Module 11 - Bpec Water Regulations (WRAS Approved)
Evening examination for the industry standard LOGIC Water Regulations Certificate.

Module 12 -  Basic Plastering
Covers plastering techniques in repairing skimmed surfaces and plastering tools.

Module 13 - Basic Tiling
Comprehensive tiling theory with workshop time to practice tiling splash backs and repairing broken tiles.

Module 14 - Above Ground Drainage
Covers traps, sanitary systems, soundness, drains and gutter systems.

Module 15 - Pre-part P Basic Electrical Skills course
This 2 day course is taken after completing the 4 week plumbing course and covers topics such as basic electrical principles, safe isolation, testing, showers.  It is aimed to give students a basic overview of what is required in part p electrics for plumbers.

Students wishing to gain pre or post course study may wish to browse our plumbing book shop.

Please take a moment to look at the Practical Overview tab.

*PPL Training Ltd. reserve the right to change the contents of any of its courses without notice, some modules maybe combined with others for lecturing purposes and others may consist of handouts for student self-study to allow more practical time in the workshop.

City & Guilds Plumbing course with Bpec practical overview:

6022/6032/6129 Practical sessions:

The practical sessions take place in our modern 8,500 sq feet training centre.  After progressing through basic pipework skills students aim to complete 60 practical assesments in plumbing and 12 multiple choice theory online examinations during the 7 weeks.

There are NVQ Assessors on hand to mark your work to City & Guilds standards. On the 4 week course you are  registered and assessed for the 6129 so you will be asked to prepare a City & Guilds 6129 Level 2 log for each task including, materials list, pipe diagrams and the work you have done.  This is then signed off by our NVQ assessors and will count towards your 6129 Level 2 should you wish to go on to complete this certificate.  It is also possible to include digital photos within the portfolio which can be shown to future employers or customers. As these are signed by qualified assessors, your future employer or customers can be assured that you have reached the required standard.

A full list of practical and theory tasks for the City & Guilds 6129 Basic Plumbing Certifcate Level 2 can be downloaded by clicking on the icon below (opens in a new window, or right click on icon and 'Save As' to a location on your computer):

 Click here to download the 6129 plumbing course task sheet (1.1MB)

 It will open in a separate webpage if you have a pdf reader installed on your PC/MAC. If you do not have a pdf reader please visit the link below to get a free copy:

  
Please see our FAQs section for more information on the City & Guilds Plumbing course with Bpec.