help finding a good course

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murph3010

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Hi im looking to find a good course anything from 4 day to 2 week in plastering. I was hoping if anyone knows of any good ones in lancashire? manchester would be fine but i was hoping preston blackpool areas? I did some searching online and there looks allot of doggy traing centres out there so i hope someone on here can point me in the right direction.

thanks

Murph
 
Hello Murph,

You are going to get a mixed bag of response from us.... However I will try and explain a few things about courses.

A course should be seen as a last resort, I would try and jump on with a local plasterer and learn the ropes with them this is the best way to learn as you will learn first hand what goes on and you will also see how difficult and tough the trade is.

A course is good if you want to be a DIY plasterer its not going to make you a proffessional plasterer and a lot of companies that after 2 weeks you will be making £1k a week.... that is not going to happen.

I did a course along side working with another plasterer and I did very well out of it and I am skilled enough to warrant calling my self a plasterer but I am one of 1000's of people who did the course.

On a course you will learn the methods and the basics which is good but you still need the practise and that can only really be achieved by plastering often....

Courses on plastering forums are touchy subjects as a lot of the time serve plasterers blame coursers of the price drop in recent years......

However the best plastering course I have seen and visited is Gold Trowel if your going to go and do a course you cant go wrong with them...

In the current times I think if you plan on doing plastering full time you are going to struggle to make a living the prices have plummeted and there are a lot of plasterers sat at home...

I hope you can appreciate what we are saying, and I am sure if you stick around on here long enough someone will take you on as a labrourer if that is tehroute you want to go down.

Good Luck with what ever you choose

Danny

PS Anybody replying to this please just be nice and dont say anything that could cause conflict :-)
 
Thanks for that danny. Yep i hear what your saying. I have a full time job and to be honest i was hoping to learn a trade even if its the basics as a bit of a fall back as there are allot of cuts going on at work and i can see my job becoming farmed out to private company in the end. I was really hoping to learn how to plaster do jobs for friends and family to get some of the basic skills honed a little so at least if i wanted or had to i have a trade! I work in the security industry and am paid fairly well but im not sure i want to carry on forever working for others. If i was younger and single with no kids i would get myself on a proper cousrse and get some real experience from a plaster but sadley this is not an opiton i have.

I do think its a shame there isnt alot of work about but another reason must be the state the country is in at the moment. I have plaster work that could do with being done but cant afford to pay a plaster at the moment to deal with it. Its one of those things that people only have done when needed i quess. My brother inlaw is a carpet fitter and they have been struggling for a bit now as people are not willing to spend the money on new carpets, the old ones will just do for now. I think most are the same regarding plaster work. ??

I also thought at least its a trade that can be done all year round.

Thanks for the imput im not rushing things and really at reasurch stage. If its not going to be possible i may have to re think my options.
 
Hi murph,

just a few pointers mate. Decent, time served plasterers are struggling to find work at the minute which shows you the state of the trade. No offence to you but its going to be very very hard to come into the trade being a newbie and find yourself work. yove said yourself youve got kids that depend on you bringing food to the table.

Also you say you don't want to be doing security work full time, have a read through some of the threads on here and see what the effects of plastering are on the lads. theres not many of them that havent had back/wrist/shoulder problems and it only gets worse with age. You don't see many old plasterers around for a reason (except warriorupnorth, but thats because he doesnt actually do the work, just bosses people about)

Its going to take a good couple of years to get to a decent standard, and even then you'll be learning. so depending on how old you are by the time you are starting to understand the trade fully and want to get your speed up, theres a good chance your bodys going to say otherwise. the fella i work with at the minute was 33 when i first met him, he was the fastest tidiest plasterer i know. now hes 40 and while he still leaves an untouchable finish, he struggles to do as much as he did a few years ago he even struggles to change gear on the way to work because his wrists are knackered.

Here ya go, start a poll on the forum asking the lads if they would still be plasterers if they could have their time again and knowing about the state of the trade now and you'll be suprised how many wouldnt change a thing. I for one would and I'm only 24. Early starts, late finishes, customers that don't appreciate you, your competition undercutting you so much you wonder why you bother. I've had a twisted spine and a torn tendon in my ankle. All from plastering. Think about it before you give up a well paid clean job to come home covered in dust and s**t everyday
 
All I can say is good luck and if you want it bad enough then go for it but its a long tough road... My body is screwed and as beddy says lots of problems to come if you were to continue.

On a side note... my cousin has just trained to be a plumber... she has also done her electrical which means she can sign stuff off and that to her is worth quite a lot as she is making a second income signing electrical work off :-)

Dont get me wrong we are not trying to put you off but we want you to go into this with an open mind and prepared, you have a family and kids etc :-)

I am lucky in the sense I have a second business but many are not lucky and I cant imagine the stress they are in

Danny
 
Dan,

surely the cousin must have done some private paid for courses tho to get the plumbing and elecric quals???
 
Murph just an idea maybe you could treat your house as a course.take your own time methodically.if it's done wrong glue it start again.am41i started when I was25 and to this badback trying to pay the mortgage etc I love it!!!
 
Bagrat said:
Murph just an idea maybe you could treat your house as a course.take your own time methodically.if it's done wrong glue it start again.am41i started when I was25 and to this badback trying to pay the mortgage etc I love it!!!
Click to expand...

Yep thats the plan. Im hoping to keep my job and stay doing it. But i thought i could do a course. Then do work on mine my fathers two houses and then maybe help friends out to get experience. Also after a course i thought i could contact a local plasterer and offer my services maybe once a week i would even do it for free to get the experience.
 
i took a lad on last year who turns out hed done a course, to a level 2 standard and the guy was useless, the difference of working on site to 'training' on one of these courses was unbelievable its a world away from site conditions.
 
these two week courses are a joke i did a four year apprentiseship never ad sweeping brush or keettle out of my hand for first year .second year he let me pick up a trowel.they do these corses round here if u been on dole for six month they good for me cos i get a load of work sorting out these lads fuk ups
 
Thanks for the replies i know these courses arent going to be a quick fix and i know i wont be an expert lol but if i get some basics offer to help a plaster out when i can and learn more and more what the harm. ? Only thing that is really important is to find at least a half good course at least!
 
Look mate what rock said is bang on , pay a spread for you to work alongside him. This is the best way you will learn more much quicker.
 
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