Advice needed for a friend

Hi all,
One of my friends has decided hes had enough with his job, he feels he's gone as far as he can and would like to get into the Air con game. It isnt something he's decided to do overnight he says he has always fancied learning about it ever since i started and today hes adamant he wants to learn before it really does get to late for him to get in the trade.

My question is how should he go about it? Should he go and do daycourses i.e braizing, gas handling etc, or should he do an online course where he studys at home then goes to college to do the tests. This way he can stay at work and continue to earn some money. He is 28 and i know he would make a great engineer because he's a very hardworking lad.

Did any of you guys start late and how did you go about getting into the game? Any advice would be great.

any way will do. if you keep on thinking which way to start you will never start.

Hard question since the field is so varied. He's got to do online courses to learn the theory. He's got to do practical (usualy day courses) to learn hands on skills, eg refrigeration, electrical etc.
He's got to slug it out on the tools learning how to install.

I mean come on, this is refrig/air con we're talking about. Everyone here knows you need to be qualified in nearly everything to do this job.
If he's doing a/c only, he's still going to have to learn theory, learn electronics and then spend some time learning on the job getting dirty doing installs, learning how they work to repair them.

The type of courses that teach you to braze or handle gas are the bull**** ones. If you wanted to get into the swing of things as fast as you can, you need to work for a repair/installation company at the same time as doing night courses teaching you refrig and electrical/electronic theory.

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Originally Posted by marc5180

Hi all, Any advice would be great.

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Does he have a company in mind who will employ him.
He needs to get his foot on the ladder.
Now the catch 22 situation,
Most companys will not employ you without experience and you can't get the experience with out the employment.

He needs to approach companies in the area and talk to them.
They may set him on if he has a related skill if he is then prepared to train.

He needs to find out what local companies have to say.
If he thinks he can go it alone then he needs lots of training and experience.
Minimum qualification most companies require is NVQ level 2. With out that he may not get the chance and he will not be able to do a full NVQ without workplace experience.

taz.

Thanks for the input guys, iv put my friend in contact with Ian (Pooh). He seems to be the best guy to sort my friend out with the training he needs.

i think the best way to learn is this ,
he should start his work in the field and the important thing is this ,
he should just study about the work which he is going to do

marc 5180,

AT 28 it's not too late to learn.In fact have a friend learn the trade at age 42.like the old saying ''your'e not too old to learn.Learn the fundamentals in school at night and do apprenticeship at daytime.Eager to learn,hardwork and discipline key to success.

oops too late.

Best place (by far) to study theory part-time is Ellis Training.You can do Tech cert 2 & 3 there. You have to find work in related field,otherwise no use. PS. 28 is still young

Check the date guys.

My friend didn't end up training to become an engineer, instead he was taken on as a joiner and is still doing it 2years later.

Well, at least he is working Marc which is an achievement on it's own at the moment; we wish him well with it.