Alex Engelbrecht talks to Train4TradeSkills Radio about training to become a plumber

So Alex, what were you doing before Train4TradeSkills?

I’m a teacher. I’ve been doing it for 30 years.

What subject do you teach?

Business Studies and Accounting.

How do you find balancing your teaching job around studying for your course?

You make time. If you really want to do it, you make time.

Have you got any specific studying tips that you can share that you have found work really well?

You’ve got to put the time in , or else you’re going to struggle. Put in a little bit of time at night and it will be fine.

Let’s talk about your plumbing course. Have you always been interested in plumbing?

Oh yes, since I was small. A family member of mine (an uncle) was a plumber, so I always used to help him.

Have you been doing any plumbing work with your uncle?

Yes I did quite a bit of it. We did anything – putting in bathrooms. It wasn’t paid or anything, just helping him out.

How are you finding the practical training?

It’s really enjoyable and you learn a lot.

What jobs are you doing this week?

Building frames and doing welding and soldering, as well as the Health and Safety program.

As a teacher, you must be used to doing a lot of theory of work. How have you found the theory part of the course?

It was alright. There’s a lot of things I’ve learned throughout the course.

So Alex, how did you find out about Train4TradeSkills? What brought you to the course?

I saw an advert in the papers and applied. Someone came and spoke to me about it and from there I entered the course.

What are your plans when you have finished the course?

To start my own business.

Have you got any advice for someone who wants to take up plumbing or a trade?

I think you’ve got to be a little bit practically-minded, it’s not necessary to be highly skilled cos the training they give you is quite extensive.

You can listen to Alex’s Interview on Train4TradeSkills Radio at www.audioboo.fm/train4tradeskills