Plumbers NZ is New Zealand's largest online plumbing, gas and drainage resource. Plumbing exam help, plumbing news, directory and free quotes.
-
Hi can anyone clarify why there is a stand down time for taking the craftsman licence after passing the registration plumbing licence. If you were new to plumbing as an apprentice i would understand but if you already have experience through time served why the wait. Why cant we just get on with it! (Can anyone help before i go insane thanks )
-
i think you can sit the common exam straight away, but have to wait a year after becoming registered before you can sit the plumbing and or gasfitting exams
-
You won't be accepted for the exam untill a year after getting your results for your registration exam, which is when the board decides you have passed it even though you wrote it 3 months earlier so it works out a year and a half after you write and pass the rego exam that you can sit your certifying exam. I tried to reason with Phil Routen[chairman of the board at the time], at Weltec that we could save 6 months wait if they consider the pass date to be the date that you actually sat the exam, -total waste of time.
-
Actually I think it is one year from the time you become REGISTERED - not get the results of your registration exam. And we know that once you get your results you then have to do all the paperwork and save the money to apply for registration, and then wait until the PGD Board meet and decide if you are a fit and proper person etc etc. You can sit the exam after one year, but have to wait two years post registration to pick up the qualification. I imagine the reason for this is simply that you gain experience, and that as the Certifying status is proof of an advanced knowledge then it is experience + knowledge that are being rewarded.
This doesn't mean you can't use the time to study and be ready to hit the exams as soon as the time frame is up. I think that it is laudable that you are heading towards certifying status, too many of our trainees don't see any further ahead than registration/licensed status which is a great shame.
In the current environment "certifiers" are going to be like gold dust and that ticket should be worth a great deal in terms of remuneration. Mind you it'll cost a pretty packet to get it too and to maintain it. Good luck on your future.
-
hi I think the main reason is to stress us out, and so they can earn more money for your bosses and of course the pgdb
and of course the pgdb should have no say in the training of plumbers or what standards they have achieve because you can see the mess they have been making for years
-
Let me clarify the situation for you fellas. I have just spent 3.5 years teaching at Unitec and 4 years re-qaulifying in this country having migrated from the UK and i know the rules almost word perfect because i have been a victim of the 'changing rules' and the PGDB since arriving in 2005.
You are not allowed to sit the Craftsman Common Paper until one full year has elapsed since the date of you being 'informed' that you have passed the Registration Exam of your choice
ie. you take the exam in November, are informed you have passed on 31st January by post, therefore you can only take the Common Exam in June of the following year.
It used to be the case that you could take the Common Exam alone in the year that you received confirmation that you had passed the Registration Exam, the idea behind this being that is encouraged you to continue with your professional development, but this changed in 07 when the Board got replaced.
ie. you take the exam in November, are informed you have passed on 31st January by post, therefore you used to be able to take the Common Exam in November of that year.
-
This is a continuation of the last comment because the the computer went barmy on me!
I know these facts to be true because i was a victim of the changing rules of the PGDB in sept 07.
I passed registration gas and plumbing in Nov 06, was informed on 31st Jan 07 and verbally confirmed with KU at the Board that i was able to sit the Common Exam in Nov 07, was told yes, studied all year and attended a course at Unitec and when i put in my cheque for the exam in Sep it was sent back to me!
I contacted the PGDB and again spoke to KU and was told that the rules had changed mid year and now the gap had to be one full year from being informed you had passed the Registration Exam of that chosen trade.
Apparently "the fact that i didnt know the rules had changed was my fault and i obviously wasnt ready to sit the exam anyway"
When i asked for the paperwork that confirmed the mid year change i was told that "all training providers were informed of the change". I requested confirmation of that change in the form of the correspondence proving that it had occurred
-
I requested confirmation of that change in the form of the correspondence proving that it had occurred and was told that i would have to contact the Registrar with that request and we all know what happens when you contact the Regsitrar - sweet FA.
Well i contacted the Registrar with a letter and it was totally ignored as have other letters and info i have sent to him.
My experiences with the PGDB have been long and painful and my advice to anyone is never trust any verbal conversation you have with them - ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING!!!!!!!!
-
The good news for you guys in the future is that as of next year there will cease to be a Craftsman Common Exam so the $400 i paid for a course and the year i spent studying will have been a total waste of time from start to finish because i pay an accountant to do my accounts, a lawyer to help me if i do anything illegal and the rest i can do myself - WHAT A COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF TIME!
-
Can you provide link
I havent heard about discarding the common ,
I have argued in the past that it should not be a requirement , no other industry that I know of has it ,
Of couse it is desirable for anyone seeking to run their own business , to be as savvy as possible about accountancy , but most of us employ accountants and business packages to help run our companies , it is stretching it a bit if the board believe they should control this as well , I note they do not have any mandate to consider monetary issues in a dispute .
-
Yeah that doesnt sound right to me. Im currently studying for the craftsman common exam and have forked out 900 bucks to do the nightclass for it so if theyre scrapping it from next year I would like to see some evidence of that and I wont bother paying to sit this years exam
-
If any one has any more info on the common paper re being scraped please let us all know as I'm in the same boat as the other guys above and I would hate to gift the PDGB money for nothing
-
hi gas, you already do,cheers
-
Hello people
I can assure you that the common paper is being scrapped as of next year - dont ask me to tell you how i know i just do - im not being awkward im - i simply do not want to betray a confidence of someone who possibly should not have mentioned it to me in a conversation.
I spent one year swotting for it in 2007 having been told i could sit it and come sep 07 had my cheque sent back to me stating that i wasnt entitled to sit it because the rules had changed over when you could sit it during may of that year. I was furious and with the publication of the OAG report this is part of a complaint i am laying with the PGDB for being disadvantaged
-
Hi Brian
This is not an easy one to answer, so let me tell you how i played it when i arrived in 05
In 05 the tossers would not have a bar of listening to you no matter what qualifications you had. Because of that i decided to play their little game with the intention of passing all their silly exams with good marks.
Did the practical test of workmanship' through Unitec by completing the final year block courses over a 3 month period (6 weeks in total) but it wasnt easy to do because nobody was set up for it so i 'volunteered' or rather pushed myself into the college cos i was fed up with being fobbed off.
Just like obtaining the relevant info and anything to do with the PGDB its like the Holy Grail - they tell you you have to do it but it doesnt shagging well exist - nobody wants to train you, nobody wants to help you, there is no complete info package of all the course material unless you sign up with the Open Poly or someone like Unitec.
I attended Unitec and got the following rego marks but i also learnt all the NZ and Aus codes and standards.
80% rego gas
86% rego plumbing
Sinc
-
After that i did the waste of time Common Paper (soon to be scrapped so dont rush to do it); then did the Craftsman Gas paper and got the highest mark in the country but because i was English and had disagreed with Routhan on occasions gave the merit award of excellence for gasfitting to a Maori friend of mine who i got higher marks than (they didnt realise we knew each other and had seen each others papers - another part of my soon to be laid at their doorstep complaint concerning their blatant corruption).
All of the areas i have had issues with are mentioned in the OAG report - the rule changing, the lying, the corruption (although its not called that because they cant tell the whole truth), the appaling exam questions, the even more appaling marking by so-called experts who dont know the basics of some of the areas they are supposed to be experst in, and so it goes on.
I now have just one more paper to complete (Craftsman Plumbing) but to be honest im so pissed off with the whole shitty system over here we had a talk at home last night and are considering going home - I thought corruption on this level happened in Columbia or Nigeria not in New Zealand.
That is how i have approached it Brian - by learning all the codes and standards and getting info from all areas i can - Open Poly / Unitec / friends / trade associations / suppliers - it wont come to you so you have to get off your arse
The PGDB dont have a magic list that is for you to work out - look at the sylabbus's for the exams for a start on the PGDB website
MAT
-
Wow thats an amazing story!
Im going to be really pissed off if I have paid to sit an exam which is about to be scrapped. Not to mention the 900 dollar polytech course. There's going to be some shit flying around from a number of areas if this turns out to be true.
-
Thanks Matt had my rego paper sent back for remarking still waiting phoned the board they said one marker had returned his papers the other had a few more to mark and the third would take two more days how many papers do they mark per hr one ?
get this one
question what domestic appliance is the basis of a heat pump designed on answer a fridge
wrong nil points
A refridgerator
What does a heat pump have to do with plumbers (nothing) what kind of person marks these papers or sets these questions cannot possible tell you what i think i would be locked up sick of this shit might just sit on my ass in the corner of a room and do nothing might just get more respect
-
Well Chilly
Did you pass mate? Love the question about the fridge (you would think they are speaking a different language wouldnt you!)
How about this one in my Gas Craftsman Paper Nov 08 - These are the exact words used.
Q A gas heater is installed in an area where excessive dust, lint or flammable vapours may be present. Explain the TWO installation requirements that must be met? - 2 marks (one per answer)
My answer was as follows -
1. Permanent ventilation (mechanical) must be supplied from outside, fitted with an interlock to prove operation of air supply - (0 marks)
2. Must be room sealed (1/2 mark)
My Maori mate put the the following answers -
1. Interlock supplied (1 mark)
2. Room sealed (1 mark)
These are the exact wordings from our papers - that is why i dont trust a word the bastards say - the so called experts are retired old duffers hiding in the middle of the wop wops because they cant function as gasfittes and plumbers anymore - they dont consult each other over any slightly different answers ever.
-
I have worked on the training side here for 3.5 years and i can tell you that on an annual basis people from the techs were summoned to Wellington to an examiners pre moderation meeting to discuss questions (these individuals were normally the ineffectual personnel more interested in kissing arse and a fillet steak evening dinner at the hotel paid for by our licence fees) and if you asked too many questions or pointed things out as being wrong you were told to keep you mouth shut or you wouldnt be invited back. People dont like upsetting the apple cart here and thats usually because they are fairly spineless or simply dont know enough to question the quality of the questions put before them.
We are told that the questions are post moderated - its bollocks and just goes to show how little knowledge thes so called experts possess - heres another one for you from my Gas Craftsman exam -
Concerning condensing boilers -
Give 3 disadvantages of installing the replacement boiler -
One of my answers -
1. Pluming or spiralling of the flue products can be a problem during start up and in cold weather, causing a visual problem - (0 marks)
Why is someone working as an examiner marking questions on condensing boilers when he doesnt know what pluming is!
I sent the Board 3 brochures on pluming from UK boiler manufacturers and never got a reply - they are next to useless and will not admit their shortcomings - i have absolutely no respect for them whatsoever
-
Mr Mat Bowman...a quick question you might be able to answer for me...unitech is refusing to give me a straight answer...I am charles, one of your students...this year i am to finish my 8000 hours appre...traineeship...and would dearly love to know why the hell has my 3PQ course being pushed out to bloody march next year when it should have been held this year...i am only looking for a straight up ansewr to my question please cus at the moment i feel like tearing someones head off such is the level of my anger at having to be forced to remain a trainee through no fault of mine, my 8000hr finish this year, yet unitech refuses to do my qualifying course this year...Do you please know the real reason as to why this is so...all my mates that switched to the ITO have already done there qualifying gas/plumbing exams...so why are unitech doing this?
I could have been qualified by march now it is being pushed out at the earliest to june so yea i feel a mite pissed off...LOL...now i know how you feel.
cheers charles
-
Hi Matt like you i have been an assessor/instructor but in the uk, i just dont understand the mentality and the logic of the barriers they have put up to hinder, obstruct and confuse. They are obviously very insecure and totally out of there depths. From what i have read on the postings here they have spouted lie after lie they introduce fee upon fee , if williamson hasnt seen it then he is incompetant and must go . Mind you i suppose he is a politician and they are liberal with the truth. I believe the only avenue left for any of us is through the courts where all the muck and shxt that has been dished out for the last few yrs gets aired, and it highlights all the politicians and board members that have been sweeping there responsibilities under the carpet are held accountable. Since finding this site and speaking to federation members i have heard some very disturbing reports , how have they been able to hide this for so long it surely is as the audit general has stated unlawful. They have hidden behind the health and safety issue and used it as a crutch for so long i think they genuinely believe it to be true. I have worked as a plumber for nearly 20 yrs and have never heard of any one who has poisoned or caused harm to the general public here or in the uk. This board and govt have driven the plumbing industry lower than whale shxt