Tiling careers unrealistic?

[hillhead]

Great stuff lads,there is no doubt you have to market yourself well in these hard days,prices are falling in most trades now,jobs are becomming less and less.I very rarely loose work that i've quoted for, 2 weeks ago i prices a 20m floor,good price including screwing ply down etc,she rang me 2 days later and said she had a £70 cheaper quote and would i match it,i said no let him tile it and be careful.he was working for £10 yd2.

 

[mikethetile]

a lot of good points made about training on this thread

the question is how many courses are there a year by how many training centres

how many tilers are being trained every four weeks

and how long will it be before everyone in the country is a trained tiler

and as everyone can tile who is going to employ some one else to tile for them


im opening a tiling tool shop to equip all these new tilers

 

[Leatherface]

Hi, would like to add my two pennerth if I may..
Yes there is work out there, yes it will be a struggle to get established, yes you may fail or you may succeed.
It would not be realistic to expect to complete a course, leave your cards in a tile shop, put an advert in the Yellow Pages and wait for the phone to ring.
You have to be prepared to market yourself by whatever means possible. Make trade contacts and leave customers satisfied. Forget about price, this is not relevent to being a success, as the sucessfull guys are the ones who get work on their reputation, and who also have gained the speed to be able to turn round jobs in a shorter time.
This all comes with practice and perseverance.
I am in my fourth year of tiling after completing a course, I have subsequently completed my NVQ level 2.
My business is not listed in any directory or phone book, my van is not sign written, I have not spent one penny on advertising. I am still working and relatively busy.
Reason for this is that I have got off my behind and pestered companies to give me a try. Have met and worked with other tilers and passed work their way, and got work back in return, same with other trades ( plasterers, plumbers, joiners etc )
Entering any type of employment is a risk nowadays, even the most safe looking prospect may mean redundancy at some stage or another. As a self employed person, to some degree you are the master of your own destiny and to succeed you must seize any opportunity and exploit it, whilst creating new opportunities at the same time. Never sit back on your laurels

 

[Thespanishtiler]

Here Here Leatherface, very true

 

[mikethetile]

your two penerth is solid gold mate

you have the key to success for any business

people buy from people

its as simple as that

 

[mosaic man]

these tiling courses should be shut down,there are far too many clowns thinking they can tile after a 4 week course,they have no diy experience and are pricing jobs far too cheap for the experienced tradesman(i done the course myself but could tile b4 hand).the courses give you false hope promising work and saying you will earn mega bucks,they are only intrested in lining their own pockets,i was lucky for a guy to take me on,but he curses the guys on these courses who can talk the talk but cant walk the walk,and he loses work because of them.

 

[doug boardley]

these tiling courses should be shut down,there are far too many clowns thinking they can tile after a 4 week course,they have no diy experience and are pricing jobs far too cheap for the experienced tradesman(i done the course myself but could tile b4 hand).the courses give you false hope promising work and saying you will earn mega bucks,they are only intrested in lining their own pockets,i was lucky for a guy to take me on,but he curses the guys on these courses who can talk the talk but cant walk the walk,and he loses work because of them.

I disagree, altho' I didn't do a course, I believe that the courses give potential tilers a decent grounding and prepares them to learn with experience

 

[Leatherface]

these tiling courses should be shut down,there are far too many clowns thinking they can tile after a 4 week course,they have no diy experience and are pricing jobs far too cheap for the experienced tradesman(i done the course myself but could tile b4 hand).the courses give you false hope promising work and saying you will earn mega bucks,they are only intrested in lining their own pockets,i was lucky for a guy to take me on,but he curses the guys on these courses who can talk the talk but cant walk the walk,and he loses work because of them.

My course was not four weeks
It was 3 days.....
Guess that makes me a....

 

[DHTiling]

these tiling courses should be shut down,there are far too many clowns thinking they can tile after a 4 week course,they have no diy experience and are pricing jobs far too cheap for the experienced tradesman(i done the course myself but could tile b4 hand).the courses give you false hope promising work and saying you will earn mega bucks,they are only intrested in lining their own pockets,i was lucky for a guy to take me on,but he curses the guys on these courses who can talk the talk but cant walk the walk,and he loses work because of them.

You are entitled to your opinions on courses, but do not abuse other members with comments like that...

 

[mikethetile]

you cant learn a trade on one of these courses but you can learn the basics and the do and donts of tiling

my first training was a 3 day wall and a 3 day floor courses at bal adhesives

that was the only training i could find at the time and it set me up to offer my clients tiling

i also did the nvq course at college, i was fast tracked through but also learnt a great deal that i didnt know and would never have learnt had i not taken this course

there is a place for proper training, the apprentice system would be best but the government in the eighties destroyed that system

anyone who has a genuine love of tiling will succeed

those that feel its not a trade so its easy to learn or its a licence to print money are deluding themselves

getting a certificate from a four week course is the first step in learning the art of tiling its not the end of your training nor is it a passport to a new life down under

a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and these courses are the first few steps on a lifetimes journey of learning, discovery and honing of your skills

one day you might do the perfect tiling job , i hope you do as im still trying to achieve it

mike