Why do people do tiling courses!

[White Room]

Its the same with all trades kris...and it will never change.....

Got to agree with Dave on this one Chris, I think you'll find that a lot guy's are changing their careers at a later age and there going to find it difficult to find work with a one man band, which what most are doing now, my self included, I've employed people and found it's just not worth the hassle. I was on site work back in 1972 and we where having chancers coming on site then, so believe me this is'nt a new issue that's just reared it's head, but the guy's have to get their training from somewhere and I feel courses are the only option.

 

[GazTech]

Lets face it...the Govmnt...dont give a sh1te....every man for his self, self-opportunity reigns supreme, pay your taxes and work overtime for the ones living on benefit...at least these people paying to go on courses are wanting to work and offer a service to people for an honest wage, not robbing or tossing it up against some wall,... at someone elses expense...so back off....Gaz

 

[DevonChris]

I wasn't having a go at anyone for doing them, I just wondered if it was the best thing to do to get in the trade as you don't really learn till you've been doing it for a while.
If people wont take you on, you have no choice so its a good idea.
And I for one, am not afraid to see new tilers as there's plenty of work for everyone. I've trained up many people and they use the same contacts but I'm happy for them!
Sorry for not introducing myself Gaz, didn't realise how much it must mean to you.
Hello, my name is Chris and I'm a tiler.....just to be polite...

 

[pete22]

tiling courses

people do courses to gain knowledge for a certain trade because nowadays there are not many apprenterships being offered.my dad,back in the 60s done a five year enginering apprentership,you would be lucky to find a year long one now!i was layed of from my job last year and decided to get a trade but was offered no help what so ever from the goverment,i had to get a loan to pay for the course i attended(8wk course).i decided on tiling because ive done some tiling at home before and enjoyed it-i now realise how crap my tiling was not really knowing what i was doing! tiling is a skill,people think you just start in the corner and away you go iused to! i take pride in my work,and want the finished product to look good ,i did the course to get a trade to gain a skill not to earn a fast buck!!

 

[Perry]

the funny thing about this is i have employed 20-30 tilers over the years but have found that the time served ones haven't been very good for the type of work i have done all the best ones have been self taught or had no experience at all (i am not knocking the time served guys i have seen many good guys out there its just whats happened to me over the years maybe i am just unlucky : Pete

 

[brian c]

Personally the courses especially the good ones can be life turning for many people and i for one attended a course which was very informative and taught me how to set up my business which i am greatful for.Like Pete says because people are time served does not necessarily mean that they are better tilers,i know of a few tilers who spent years grouting and polishing the grout (DRY POLISH WITH CLOTH ON GROUT LINES,LEAVES FIRST CLASS FINISH)before they even got to lay a tileand having served an apprenticeship in another trade we all know that a lot of time spent at college is no better than being forced to go to school because you have to and when we are on a job we are standing watching bored out our heads.ON the otherhand people who attend a course and pay attention to everything then go it alone in tiling may be better and more eager than the aforementioned,so it has its pros and cons and i am open minded about all short courses. Bri.

 

[Yorkie]

Every Friday we cover business start up and today was no different, I got out the projectors put the internet on widescreen 150x150 (brilliant for watching the footie !) And clicked on connect. We have a new class that started this week and as always we start by showing everyone some really useful sites that they can have a look at ,this site being one of them . As I showed them how to navigate around I noticed a private messages from Dave asking if I would like to comment on the above post, so I flashed the thread up for the whole class to see read and discuss. And as everyone who’s replied to this thread so far have pointed out the reasons why individuals will choose to do a professional Tiling course as opposed to the traditional methods Vary .Below are just a few examples of the type of students and reasons that they decided to take the alternative route and opt for an intensive course ( I’m speaking for ex students the ones who I spoke to today can answer for themselves)

Older /mature students: They find it near impossible to attend a college course as its just not practical! They can’t afford to have little to no income for an extended time and need to be earning as soon as possible.

Redundancy. No such thing as a job for life is there ! Individuals may no longer want to rely on employers to earn a living so decide that they will be better of taking care of their own future by retraining.

Emigrating: We have taught many students who are leaving these sunny shores and going somewhere rainy and miserable like Australia who need to satisfy the entry system by showing they’ve been trained to a professional level by an accredited centre and have the correct certification to prove it.

Resettlement: Armed forces personnel that are leaving the forces (this one speaks for itself)

Theres many other reasons besides the above but i'd be here all day listing them lol

I can see your point about trying to work with another Tiler but this is flawed for many reasons such as:

The Tiler that is training you on the job is in fact showing you the wrong techniques and applications. If this happens your buggered from the start really aren’t you as your going to be a mini me of that Tiler and pick up and then put into practice all of his bad habits as you find that you stick to the way were taught. By being professionally tutored you know the methods are correct and that all relevant standards are being adhered to.
Also Majority of Tilers aren’t willing to take people on as 1, they haven’t got the time and 2 Why would they teach someone who will end up becoming competition?

In my experience most people either underestimate the amount there is to learn or more fatally over estimate their own Knowledge.
Its not just dot dot dot and dab!!!

 

[Raja]

i have been tiling for 6 years and worked with my partner who has tiled for 17 years i can assure u that i have and will in the future go on tiling courses to enhance my knowledge they are an invaluable asset to the comunities they servce i would recommend them to any one. In my tiling career i started off in 2001 at the sheffield college gaining an nvq level 2 in wall & floor tiling and a tiling course lasting 1 year. I then went onto a week long in 2004 by henry boot training and recently tried to go on a course with BAL but no joy yet.
There r some dodgy ones out there wont say no names but 1 in doncaster lol finally we are all very opinionated in our own ways BUT i think is was very unfair for the earlier tiler to say people shouldnt have to come on places like the tilers forum to find out what adhesive to use. EVERY DAY IS A SCHOOL DAY and it takes a brave man to set up a site like this i know i could't do it.

 

[Jimmy Boy]

I'm an experienced driver of over 25 years (time served driver? lol) but I could not teach my wife to drive the correct way in a month of Sundays.

Yeah, you could go with an experienced tiler for a year or two but how many people can actually instruct another person in a way that makes them understand. I doubt many time served tilers as you call them could teach anyone in informative way.
Teaching in a clear and understood way itself is not as simple a task as most believe.

 

[Dicko1973]

i agree serve you time ,or make mistakes and give tilers a bad name.People

Great comment Shaney.

Working on sites with tilers all the time I see the standard of work so-called time served tilers produce. And 70% of the time there back on site putting it right come the end of the job. I'm not saying quick course tilers are better than time served tilers but a rough tiler will be a rough tiler no matter how he learnt it.
But don't think for a minute that it is just the quick learners who will give tilers a bad name.
You would also be surprised by the amount of knowledge you can get from a weeks course,clearly not the vast amount of knowledge you have i'm sure but I have enough to feel confident to do any job anywhere on any surface using any tile.
I am also extremely conscientous about the work I produce and haven't had a call back yet.
Not bad for a week learner giving the rest of you a bad name.

Rich :furious3: :furious3: