This is a very interesting question which is close to my heart and I might be able to give you some useful advice on, as I was in a similar position to you when I was 30:
I decided that I was fed up with working for other people, and thought that tiling would be a good trade to get into as self-employed, as I imagined that it would be an easy enough thing to do when compared to plastering or plumbing. It's sticking tiles on walls and floors isn't it?
Not that easy to learn how to do that properly I soon found out. 2 week tiling courses which you pay a big sum for are a plenty, but they won't teach you much at all. I didn't fall down that trap:
I knew that I had to work with an experienced tiler whist taking a proper course over at least 2 years for me to learn and have the confidence to go into somebodies home and fix their expensive tiles properly. It took me 1 year to get enrolled in a 2 year course at Leeds College of Building (1 day per week) after eventually finding a good tiler to learn from (mainly watch) the other 4 days.
The problem with being older is, I don't think any tiler is able to get apprentice funding for somebody your age. The other issue is that you would need to pay college fees unless you don't have any GSCE's. I was paid £60 per week by the guy who took me on for 4 days per week, and I paid my college fees on top. I drained the savings I had to learn to tile , because I was 30 years old. That was my experience anyway. It might be different now.
The other thing you need to consider is how your physical health is at 47. That's my age now, and I'm doing alright as I only started proper at 30 years of age (some blokes have been battering themselves since 16 years old) but you need to consider that there is a lot of heavy lifting, going up and down stairs with 25Kg plus all day long. Probably the most taxing part on the body is the constant bending and crouching which takes it's toll on knee and foot joints. Good knee pads and footwear are a must. It's not the heaviest of jobs, but it needs a good degree of physical ability. I reckon I might get to 60 years old before it becomes an issue, and I'll need another change of career.
Hope this is of help to you friend.
