How I Took The Plunge And Became A Plumber

Sept. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- The enterprising mum decided it was time to seize the opportunity to try something new.

"It was difficult when I heard my job was being axed - with the credit crunch nobody wants to lose their job. I had a slight wobble. After all, I'd been teaching IT in colleges for 15 years and loved my work with vocational students. It had been a very rewarding career.

"But I knew it wasn't the end of the world and could be a valuable chance to do something different."

Gill, of Bury, Greater Manchester, now 54, added: "My boys, aged 24 and 22, had left home, which left me with the freedom to do what I wanted. I'd been in my job for five years so had some redundancy money I could use as my launchpad."

Gill spent several weeks deciding what she wanted to do with her life. "I'd worked as an electrical technician when I left school at 16 and in the years before I trained as a teacher. I've always been practical with my hands, so I started to look at the trades."

But she was apprehensive about electrical installations and looked seriously at plumbing.

"My dad was a plumber and when I was young I'd help him. I knew the right end of a wrench, which was a good start! I also felt that with plumbing - unlike electrical work - I couldn't hurt anyone if I got it wrong."

Gill searched on Google for relevant information and found Plumbing Career (http://www.plumbingcareer.co.uk), which specialises in training people that want to change their careers for jobs as plumbers. "… I saw it as an investment in my future."

Gill found the concept of going back to learning daunting, despite her history as a teacher. "I'm not very academic and had to work hard to cover some areas of the course.

"Thankfully, most of it could be done from home with the back-up of tutors to help guide me through tricky bits."

"It was great to meet other people like me starting out and I was surprised to see I wasn't the only woman."

Throughout the 18 months of the course Gill talked to tutors and students about the future. With their support she decided to brave it on her own and set up her own business.


"I realised there is a huge market for female plumbers and electricians. Some women don't feel comfortable having a male stranger in the house and others can't because of their religion, so there's work for women who want to get into trades."

Her first job was for a friend, fitting her new kitchen. Then, using the remainder of her redundancy pay-out and some savings, Gill had fliers made.

"I had the back of them printed in Urdu as there is a large Urdu-speaking community in Greater Manchester. I saw that as a way to open up that market. Other than that, word-of-mouth is my best form of advertising."

In her first year of trading, Gill is delighted with how it's gone. "I do a variety of domestic jobs from leaks to fitting, but it works perfectly with my life. My parents, both in their 80s, have been unwell, so being my own boss has meant I can work and still look after them."
She has also invested in her own van. "There's a great sense of pride when I see The Lady Plumber emblazoned across the side. It's proof, if I needed it, that I have made redundancy work in my favour."

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