Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
hi, am new to this site, have read lots of different views here.
just finished module 5, not had any plumbing experience yet outside of this course.
it seems btsc are a bunch of definite ***** (use your own expletive here!)
does anyone know what the chances are of them actually finding trainees jobs?
am thinking a big fat no-no on that one?!?!
hello, i have been training at btsc in manchester since mar 08 and have to say i am really enjoying it. I have just completed mod 4 and revising for my exams. I have to agree that it is annoying that you can only do the modules when a trainer is avalible and does depend on the size of the class - they dont run a module if their are 6 or less students interested at that time, i think?. I work full time whilst doing this training and getting time off work at short notice is abit of a ballache! its also a pain that you have to pay £20 for the btsc exam when its not even a recognised qualification, but hey ho...
I have to say that i think all the trainers at the manchester centre are great, they are very knowledgeable, patient, and friendly. They are very encouraging and fill me with confidence.
On a negative note... when i signed up in mar 08 i paid £4850 for c&g level 2 in plumbing, a couple of months later i was chatting to other students who told me they paid £1000 less than me! i was shocked to hear this as i was under the impression at my interview that places on the course were few and they would have to seriously consider whether or not i would be offered a place. Due to this i was thrilled to be offered a place and paid my £4850 within a week of accepting. As the price has been reduced by such a large amount i feel i have been misled... Are manchester centre struggling financially and in a deperate attempt to increase revenue, having a sale? i dont know... Needless to say, im not a happy bunny, but i signed the contract accepting that amount...
On a positive note, I can recommend getting the learn a trade cd, its really good and will definatley help you with the exams. Also the JTL nvq level 2 plumbing book is great - buy it!
I did the first part of my training with btsc at chessington and i must warn people to be very careful when signing up for one of their courses!!
I had a form of cancer when i signed up in February 2005 (I wanted something to focus on whilst undergoing treatment) and was told by the man at btsc not to worry because my place was secure and to start when i was fit to do so, this was October 2005. I had done 3 modules by Feb 06 when i was told to pay again to be able to carry on! If you ever have a problem with btsc, they make you deal with the man with no face (or phone), a Mr Brian Wall. My wife wrote countless letters with us often waiting long periods of time before receiving a reply ( or sometimes not one at all). In the end we said we were writing to city and guilds amongst others, and surprise surprise I got an extentsion.
If you are going to train at btsc think about the following; you must complete the course in 12 months (from the date of signing the agreement). The course isn't flexible, you can only do modules when there are trainers to lead them, so you can't do 2 modules a month as some people had hoped. btsc call the shots at all times. you pay good money to do a plumbing course, not to have the beautiful girls in the office( I thought i had taken a wrong turn and ended up in a model agency!!) or an internet connection. All the add ons are great but don't loose sight of the fact you are doing a plumbing course, make the most of every minute you are there and practice using their tools and copper pipe (you have paid for it after all).
You have 12 months to do the first course and you (and your family) are going to have to be very flexible about when you are available to do the modules.
Good luck if you go to BTSC and get a motorbike if you need to travel any distance to get there.
the plumbing academy at edenbridge is brillant. train4trade skills is worth a look.
I've just come across this post and wanted to say that i trained at BTSC a couple of years ago. You get what you pay for! The trainers were brilliant, I really ejotyed becoming a plumber - I've recently applied for Corgi registration. Their placement company got me a good job which I enjoy. I don't know what else to say apart from people need to do research properly. Everyone has choices. I dont work for BTSC and they're not paying me but my experience was very different to some of views here!
Hi if mind2mind is out there reading this how did you get on with regards to btsc as I had signed up with them but before I even got to do the induction I have had to cancel due to being offerd a job in france.I phoned the chessington office to let them know as soon as possible they said there shouldnt be any probs an would get back to me,I then got told you have to send a letter to brian wall & he would reply within 10 days of reicept 13 days later got a letter saying that I should read the t&c & that I had a year in which to re-start & complete the course,I feel that as I never even got to do the induction I therfor never started and have not taken up a place on the course,also surely this should have a 14 day cooling off period after all it is a hell of a lot of money.
It is 80%. Passmark for all of their tests are 80%. I made a typo. I added Manchester to the blog (since you said you know someone who is attending there) but have no real proof of the opening of Manchester. I added it as a possibility but I refer people to Blagger anyhow so they can read these reviews and see the comments here.
I was lucky my firm paid for me to do this and I started just over a week ago. We put one guy through already,and I'd looked at college and it does not compare plus takes forever. Really liked the stuff put on here by El Diablo...some useful stuff. Coupe of odd things tho'....did my health & safty the day after booking it, not 3 weeks and also I only got 80% in my aptitude test but he says 90% is the pass mark? Also the payments to do all the courses is in three stages not two. I did get worried when I read blog about waiting for modules, because I've got to wait four weeks for my first one. Guy at work said he waited 4 weeks for mods 1 & 2, then got quicker ones as some students slowed down, and finished in 10 months. Read agreement and says anything over 4 weeks and time is credited (exc xmas and easter), so no real worries. Out of interest there IS a btsc in Manchester - we've got someone training there who's a bit ahead of me. Will try and get tips from him and maybe add them on here as I progress.My work colleague really rated the training here, which is why I looked.
So, those of you who are preparing to check out this college, those who are curious, and those who want heads up on study materials to prepare in advance, I have set up a new blog.
I give a detailed account as to my experience with this college. I give a review. I will also give much much more in the coming weeks. Please visit the blog and you will have a good understanding of what this college is about.
I have just set up a website showing my progress on the course. It also shows you what you can expect from the course and what you will be doing if you join. You can also ask me questions about the course.
http://mackietheplumber.blogspot.com/
Thankyou and goodluck with your BTSC experience.
Alex
Read comments about BTSC course with because I did mine there.I phoned up from an ad and the guy asked me lots of stuff about what I was doing,and then he invited me in for a sort of interview thing.Did a test on a pc as well,suppose it was to see if I could read and ad up? Did train home after with another bloke whose also visited the same time - Raj I think, and we swopped mob nos. He didn't get offered cos he failed the test, but I did and sorted a loan. Finished course 9/10 months, some blokes quicker and slower than me in my group. I thought course was pretty good overal compared to others I looked at first.
When you take the tests you should be given a label for BTSC or C&G exam, when you type in your number it gives you three options if i remember correctly, one is to take the test, one is a sample test, and the other is to exit.
It sound like your husband answered the sample exam.
After you finish one exam, you have to exit the room, and get another label for whatever exam you havent sat. You are then presebted with the same 3 options.
My complaint has now been taken up by Trading Standards. The response I got from BTSC to my first letter contained some glaring inaccuracies and contradictions - and I still didn't get an answer about the content of the BTSC test! Someone who has read this blag has sent me a message but as I am not a subscriber I can't access it - sorry!
I am just today sending a recorded letter to the registered office of BTSC regarding the way the course was sold to us. My husband's first language is not English and this was emphasised to BTSC at both interviews. However, we were reassured that this would not be a problem, that the course is mainly practical and the exams are multiple choice computer tests. It became obvious at Module 1 that a good level of English is required to understand the training and the questions, answer the questions in the assessment file, and to study the technical textbooks. We raised this again during the first week of the course and again after the first exam when it became quite obvious that this is not just practical and that a good level of written English skills are needed - contrary to what we were told at the "selling"of the course.
I immediately asked for a meeting to discuss the situation, but immediately we were faced with a complete block - no-one will talk to us and "everything is done from Head Office". We were told to write to a Mr. Brian Wall through Chessington, which I did and am still waiting for a reply. Apparently Mr. Wall works only from home, does not speak to anyone by phone and does not meet anyone. And he is the only person who can deal with us.
After several telephone calls to try to get someone to talk to, I asked for the Head office address and was refused the information. I then asked for the registered office address (information which should be displayed on documentation as a legal requirement) and was told "Go to Companies House and find it for yourself".
I did that after consulting Consumer Direct who confirmed the legal requirement for the registered office to be on documentation.
I am now about to post the letter to the registered office, which for everyone's information is: 4th Floor, Tolworth Tower, Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7EL.
Apart from the issues regarding the lack of communication I have raised 4 points of concern:
1. The company does not display its registered office address and refuses to indicate where "Head Office" is.
2. The brochure cover gives the impression that BTSC has centres in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh/Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Southampton. It is only by searching for the other centres that I discovered that, in reality, there is only the one centre in Chessington. The others locations are "being considered", as stated in just two lines within the brochure.
3. The assurances that my husband's very basic written English would not be a problem were made without at any point requiring him to undertake any tests to support those assertions. The fact that I accompanied him to the second interview and filled out the documentation for him should itself have raised questions about the study skills required for the technical textbooks.
4. At the end of module 1, there were two exams. One was the City & Guilds exam, the price of which was included in the fees. The other was the BTSC exam for which we paid an extra £20. The BTSC exam appears to have consisted of 4 questions:
a) What is the name of Mickey Mouse's partner?
b) What is a tricycle?
c)How many players in a football team?
d) ? - something to do with driving.
I have questioned my husband carefully about this just in case this was a warm-up, but he is certain he only did the two tests, so I can only conclude those four questions were the BTSC test! Can anyone else tell me what tests they did at the end of module 1?
Anyway, I am now pursuing this vigorously as I believe the course was mis-sold with regard to the English language ability required.
I'll keep you posted.
I went for an interview yesterday on a plumbimg course and was told only a few get chosen to attend, providing you can pay within a week.I dont like the whole thing but the actual course dont look too bad.With so many people doing this, is there anyone that know someone or themselves passed any of the exams.Let me know what you think?
Add a comment about this blagger
Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
just finished module 5, not had any plumbing experience yet outside of this course.
it seems btsc are a bunch of definite ***** (use your own expletive here!)
does anyone know what the chances are of them actually finding trainees jobs?
am thinking a big fat no-no on that one?!?!
billy1980 at 15th Oct 2008, 12:10PM
I have to say that i think all the trainers at the manchester centre are great, they are very knowledgeable, patient, and friendly. They are very encouraging and fill me with confidence.
On a negative note... when i signed up in mar 08 i paid £4850 for c&g level 2 in plumbing, a couple of months later i was chatting to other students who told me they paid £1000 less than me! i was shocked to hear this as i was under the impression at my interview that places on the course were few and they would have to seriously consider whether or not i would be offered a place. Due to this i was thrilled to be offered a place and paid my £4850 within a week of accepting. As the price has been reduced by such a large amount i feel i have been misled... Are manchester centre struggling financially and in a deperate attempt to increase revenue, having a sale? i dont know... Needless to say, im not a happy bunny, but i signed the contract accepting that amount...
On a positive note, I can recommend getting the learn a trade cd, its really good and will definatley help you with the exams. Also the JTL nvq level 2 plumbing book is great - buy it!
I had a form of cancer when i signed up in February 2005 (I wanted something to focus on whilst undergoing treatment) and was told by the man at btsc not to worry because my place was secure and to start when i was fit to do so, this was October 2005. I had done 3 modules by Feb 06 when i was told to pay again to be able to carry on! If you ever have a problem with btsc, they make you deal with the man with no face (or phone), a Mr Brian Wall. My wife wrote countless letters with us often waiting long periods of time before receiving a reply ( or sometimes not one at all). In the end we said we were writing to city and guilds amongst others, and surprise surprise I got an extentsion.
If you are going to train at btsc think about the following; you must complete the course in 12 months (from the date of signing the agreement). The course isn't flexible, you can only do modules when there are trainers to lead them, so you can't do 2 modules a month as some people had hoped. btsc call the shots at all times. you pay good money to do a plumbing course, not to have the beautiful girls in the office( I thought i had taken a wrong turn and ended up in a model agency!!) or an internet connection. All the add ons are great but don't loose sight of the fact you are doing a plumbing course, make the most of every minute you are there and practice using their tools and copper pipe (you have paid for it after all).
You have 12 months to do the first course and you (and your family) are going to have to be very flexible about when you are available to do the modules.
Good luck if you go to BTSC and get a motorbike if you need to travel any distance to get there.
the plumbing academy at edenbridge is brillant. train4trade skills is worth a look.
http://btsc.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/btsc-marketing-getting-you-to-stump-up-the-cash/
It is 80%. Passmark for all of their tests are 80%. I made a typo. I added Manchester to the blog (since you said you know someone who is attending there) but have no real proof of the opening of Manchester. I added it as a possibility but I refer people to Blagger anyhow so they can read these reviews and see the comments here.
el diablo at 17th Apr 2008, 08:25AM
http://mackietheplumber.blogspot.com/
is missing in action!
So, those of you who are preparing to check out this college, those who are curious, and those who want heads up on study materials to prepare in advance, I have set up a new blog.
I give a detailed account as to my experience with this college. I give a review. I will also give much much more in the coming weeks. Please visit the blog and you will have a good understanding of what this college is about.
http://btsc.wordpress.com/
http://mackietheplumber.blogspot.com/
Thankyou and goodluck with your BTSC experience.
Alex
mackieaj at 11th Sep 2007, 11:20PM
It sound like your husband answered the sample exam.
After you finish one exam, you have to exit the room, and get another label for whatever exam you havent sat. You are then presebted with the same 3 options.
Hope this helped.
I immediately asked for a meeting to discuss the situation, but immediately we were faced with a complete block - no-one will talk to us and "everything is done from Head Office". We were told to write to a Mr. Brian Wall through Chessington, which I did and am still waiting for a reply. Apparently Mr. Wall works only from home, does not speak to anyone by phone and does not meet anyone. And he is the only person who can deal with us.
After several telephone calls to try to get someone to talk to, I asked for the Head office address and was refused the information. I then asked for the registered office address (information which should be displayed on documentation as a legal requirement) and was told "Go to Companies House and find it for yourself".
I did that after consulting Consumer Direct who confirmed the legal requirement for the registered office to be on documentation.
I am now about to post the letter to the registered office, which for everyone's information is: 4th Floor, Tolworth Tower, Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7EL.
Apart from the issues regarding the lack of communication I have raised 4 points of concern:
1. The company does not display its registered office address and refuses to indicate where "Head Office" is.
2. The brochure cover gives the impression that BTSC has centres in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh/Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Southampton. It is only by searching for the other centres that I discovered that, in reality, there is only the one centre in Chessington. The others locations are "being considered", as stated in just two lines within the brochure.
3. The assurances that my husband's very basic written English would not be a problem were made without at any point requiring him to undertake any tests to support those assertions. The fact that I accompanied him to the second interview and filled out the documentation for him should itself have raised questions about the study skills required for the technical textbooks.
4. At the end of module 1, there were two exams. One was the City & Guilds exam, the price of which was included in the fees. The other was the BTSC exam for which we paid an extra £20. The BTSC exam appears to have consisted of 4 questions:
a) What is the name of Mickey Mouse's partner?
b) What is a tricycle?
c)How many players in a football team?
d) ? - something to do with driving.
I have questioned my husband carefully about this just in case this was a warm-up, but he is certain he only did the two tests, so I can only conclude those four questions were the BTSC test! Can anyone else tell me what tests they did at the end of module 1?
Anyway, I am now pursuing this vigorously as I believe the course was mis-sold with regard to the English language ability required.
I'll keep you posted.
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