Gas Engineer vs Heating Engineer vs Plumber?

Gas Engineer vs Heating Engineer vs Plumber?

 

Need to hire an engineer but you're confused on which you need? Or looking to become one but not sure of the difference? Overall a Plumber, a Heating Engineer or a Gas Engineer have always been separate trades. On the surface from an ordinary person’s perspective, they appear to be one of the same...But hiring a Plumber to look at your boiler is a bad idea as most plumbers if they advertise themselves as plumbers will not legally be able to carry-out Gas work without being Gas Safe Registered.

 

 

Gas Engineer:

 

Let's start with Gas Engineers, they are the tradesmen that work with gas appliances and anything related to solely gas...Installation and/or servicing and/or repairs. Some gas engineers are only licensed to work on gas meters whilst others cover all the types of work! Now...one of the big differences that separate a gas engineer from the others is that all engineers must be registered annually with the Gas Safe Register! This is a legal requirement when working in the UK, make sure when hiring an engineer that you ask for their information up-front a registered engineer will be carrying their ID card on their person - you can then type in their card number on the Gas Safe Register website to check their legitimacy.

 

Plumber:

 

A plumber should be a simple one to understand, the point where people get confused is that plumbers cannot touch a boiler. But otherwise, plumbers carry out all of the tasks that you think they would, pipe-work, installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

 

Heating Engineer: 

 

Heating engineers often work alongside gas engineers carrying out as much work as possible on a heating system that does not require working with gas. Heating engineers often hold an NVQ or equivalent, which is the next step up from a plumber. Please do note that although a heating engineer may be a plumber, which is often is the case. They are in no way licensed, qualified or competent to undertake any work on gas and are legally not permitted to do so, however it is becoming a trend for 'heating engineers' to register with the Gas Safe Register anyway.

 

Looking to get some training?

 

Are you interested in getting involved with one of these trades? Then you are in the right place here at Able Skills, we have been teaching students for over 10+ years and we know what it takes to take an individual from a beginner level to a working professional. Our Plumbing and Gas instructors have years of hard work in the industry respectively and now have years of experience teaching their subjects, there is no better way to learn than from somebody who has been there, working the trading day after day. We have all the equipment, recourse, appliances and materials you could possibly need to learn these practical skills, we ask simply that you wear suitable clothes and bring a pair of steel to cap boots!

 

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In search of Gas training?

 

If you are thinking about a career as a Gas engineer then by law you will need to be registered with the Gas Safe Register if you work in the UK...The first step, however, is gaining some excellent training. The trade can be difficult to learn but with the help of our talented instructors, it couldn't be more straight forward. - We have specific courses aimed at new entrants to the industry, these New Entrant Gas Training Packages are the perfect start towards becoming a professional.

New Entrant Gas Training Package 2, for example, is a 7-week learning programme aimed at giving you a large variety of knowledge from using a range of different systems, old and new, learning everything there is to know including; Flueing, pipework, cutting and measuring copper tube accurately and so much more! - Following completion of the 7-week gas programme, you will be deemed competent to undertake supervised gas work and so the next step towards Gas Safe registration will be to demonstrate your competence in the workplace and you do this by working alongside a Gas Safe Registered Engineer who acts as your on-site recorder/verifier, helping you to build a portfolio of evidence and prove your competence and safety working with Gas.

 

In search of Plumbing training?

 

If you are looking to learn the trade then you're in the right place we offer comprehensive, hands-on plumbing courses of all different levels. If however you are completely new to practical skills and you have little knowledge of the subject then we would suggest first enrolling on our 5-day Introduction to Plumbing course to get a feel for it and to see if you would like to progress from there.

Upon completion of the introductory course or if you have some previous knowledge then you may want to move on towards our City & Guilds Level 2 Plumbing Course. If you want to become a qualified Plumber then this industry-recognised entry-level 2 will be your starting point. This course will start with the fundamentals of plumbing and then move towards gaining some more advanced knowledge and ability on the subject over a period of 6-weeks!

 

Want some more information?

 

If you would like some more information about plumbing courses or the gas training courses that we offer here at Able Skills, then do not hesitate to get into contact with us, give us a call on 01322 280 202 or alternatively, we have an open policy meaning that we allow and encourage candidates to come into our office here in Dartford.  Ask questions, look around our facility and simply talk to a representative come in any time between our opening hours 8:30 - 16:30 - we are open all week from Monday - Friday.