New Career Skills Reviews & Feedback
Thinking about a new career as a plumber, electrician or renewable energy installer? Maybe you are wondering if certain training providers are the real deal and actually provide value for money training. So you should.
We often get asked is New Career Skills a scam or can you give any New Career Skills feedback? It’s not just NCS we get asked about … but as they are the largest, most established training organisation they seem to come up the most. So let’s address the question about New Career Skills.
Who Are New Career Skills?
"New Career Skills was founded in 1998 as a specialist training provider. Recent years have seen New Career Skills expand and in 2008, we were named one of the 100 fastest growing companies in the UK. We believe the secret to our success is delivering a service that’s best in class." - From NewCareerSkills.co.uk
Are New Career Skills a scam, do you have any feedback or reviews?
No they are not a scam! I have heard of many people successfully changing career with them … here is a transcription of 2 of them.
Gary Ribeck the Plumber - My Review Of New Career Skills
My name is Gary Ribeck. I'm 46 years old. I live is Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. And I decided a couple of years ago that I needed a career change and chose plumbing. I started a company, when I finished the course, called GR Plumbing Services and I've been running that company now for 2 years and everything seems to be going well so far.
Well I knew it was time for a career change so I started looking on the internet because I wanted to become a plumber. And I looked at these courses to do and a lot of them were these quick-fix, you know, become a plumber in 6 to 8 weeks, and it didn't look a very good way of doing it. So, I found New Career Skills and I found them very helpful. A chap came down round to my house. We had a nice chat, explained everything to me. And I decided there and then to sign up. It's probably the best move I've ever made.
I found with New Career Skills that they had a whole sort of package and actually a gentleman came to my house to sit down and talk through the whole thing which a lot of the others don't do. So, he came over, we had a chat, we went through everything. Found it very impressive, interesting and signed up straight away to start the course as soon as I could. As soon as I signed up, I was happy, I felt I'd made the right decision and so did my family. My wife backed me up the whole way. She was very happy because she's going to see more of me. And I was very happy cause I'd get to see more of her and my son. So, we were both happy, because with catering you don't see each other a lot – bad hours, unsocial hours, etc etc. So since I've been doing this what 2, now coming up to 3 years. And we are both very much more happy being able to see each other, spend time with each other. I'm not working always nights or weekends which I did with catering. So that was all good.
When I signed up, they sent me a package with all the information and all my course work etc etc. You do the theory at home. You do it on your own time. I was working at the same time. So, it worked well for me, because I could do the theory at home when I wanted to. You know, if I was tired one night, didn't have to do it, could do it the next day, whatever. The whole course from start to finish took me about a year. And you could spend a bit longer on that. You could probably do it shorter. It's up to you and the pace you want to work at.
I found that the staff down there were very friendly. The tutors got on well with everybody else. In fact I met a couple of guys in the – one plumber in the last week – with who we then got together cause he lives locally – lives in Hemel Hempstead, just about 10 miles down the road. And he's done some jobs for me and I've done for him, we work together. So it's helped us both off at the beginning when we both just passed our exams. And in that centre, they do plumbing and electrical. And I actually now use one of the guys from the electrical side who does all my electrics or I give him all my work if anything needs to be done – I put it in electric share or something like that – he does the work.
You have to go out there and get the work yourself and I found that one of the most beneficial things for me is putting business cards through people's letter boxes. I find that leaflets people tend to throw away but surprisingly how long people keep your little business card. I've had people phone me a year and a half after I've posted them through their door saying, "I've got your card here." And, you know, it's worked out great. I've been self-employed now for 2 and a half years coming up to 3 years will start in September. And I'm getting a lot of repeat business now because I'm very polite to my customers etc., which I've got from my catering days as a manager. So I treat the customers nicely. They've invited me back. I've done their bathrooms. Now I'm doing their kitchens or some other work. And it's nice that people are inviting you back into their homes to do the work. They trust you with it.
And one of the best things that I like about it also is that when you finish the course, you're not left on your own – off you go, there you are. You have a service there that you can phone one of the tutors at any time if you have a problem. And I phoned, specially in the early days when you're not a 100 percent sure about something – just a phone to them saying, "Am I doing the right thing?" They're quite happy to help you, talk you through things. And it's very reassuring, you know. Sometimes you might not need them but just to double-check your own self then it's very nice that somebody at the end of the phone is there to say, "No, you're doing the right thing."
Matt the Electrician - My Review Of New Career Skills
Hi! My name's Matt Bone. I'm 35. I live in Somerset in Glastonbury. Previous employment – I was a graphics designer for 15 years. And basically just got a bit bored with sitting behind a desk all day and just fancied a new lease on life. So I found myself a job working on a building site for a friend. Enjoyed that a lot and then fancied trying to get into it myself. So I started looking around for a course and found NCS via a Google search, went into it, met their chap who came around to see me. Very helpful guy. And liked the sound of the course. It fitted my lifestyle and enabled me to continue working and also learn at the same time. The course took me roughly 6 months. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Started my own company quite soon after, I’ve been operating for about 9 months.
The size of the classes at NCS is really good. I think we had 10 to a dozen people in each course. The nice thing is you actually get to meet different people each time you do a course because the rate everyone goes through their particular assessments is slow or fast depending on how much time you can dedicate to it. So you do tend to meet quite a few different people over the entirety of the course, which I found was really nice.
Enrolling on the course at NCS has been a worthwhile decision. It's really changed my life. It's given me the flexibility I need as a parent and as a businessman. I'm enjoying it, meeting a lot of different people everyday. Yes, it has it's pressures, but I think it has really kind of enabled me to do what I want to do with my life.
The tutors are fantastic. All of them are professional electricians who kind of stepped into the roles of tutoring at NCS. Really good guys. Very friendly. Very knowledgeable. And really just kind of where I needed to ask any questions I felt comfortable to do so.
I really enjoy doing what I do purely because whereas before I sat in an office day-in day-out looking at the same old, the same computer screen, this is a total change of lifestyle. I'm running my own business now. I'm out meeting new people everyday. I've currently got an apprentice working with me. Young man, 18. I'd like to kind of take my apprentice on up – maybe get him his own van and just expand the company. Take a few more guys on. We'll have to wait and see.
Go read more real life examples on their cases studies pages click here.
If You Are Thinking About a New Career Choose Something You Will Enjoy
Most people who are considering a new career have either become bored with their old job or they have lost their job due to economy or market changes. If boredom was the problem, you need a job that you will find interesting, something stimulating. If your old job left you, you will need to look for a job that has better long-term possibilities. Having to find a new job can be very scary but it could also be the most rewarding thing you have ever done.
Think about what you really enjoy. Will it fit into a new career? Choosing a new career that involves something you care about or something you know a lot about will make working a lot easier. You may find that working forty or sixty hours a week can actually be enjoyable. It is also a lot easier to get other people excited about something that you know a lot about, something that you are excited about.
Do the necessary research to learn how lucrative your new career choice will be. You will need to determine whether this business will be something that can supply your needs, not just today but also long term. Is this a flash in the pan career like some parts of the computer industry was, or is this going to be long term such as the medical field? Will this be an opportunity for you to have medical coverage if you need it? Will you be able to build for your retirement? Be realistic about what your needs are and whether or not this new career can satisfy them.
Once you have an idea what path you want to pursue in your new career, you are ready for the next step. If your new career requires you to have special training or certification, you will need to check into how you can get the education you need. There are many colleges and universities and training centers that can offer great diversity in education choices.
If you are not sure that classroom education is for you, there are a great variety of online courses offered that will allow you to study and learn at your own pace. Most new career training courses offer you the ability to do your work at three o’clock in the morning if you choose. And you can still have access to professors and other students via email and forums. Of course, you may be required to have a few hours of actual campus instruction. You need to be sure that whatever course you choose, it is an accredited program so that your future employer will recognize the certification you receive.
While getting started on a new career can be overwhelming, once you make your decisions and begin, it will get much easier. Forget everything you knew from your old job and start over. Be open to new experiences and get to know new people. Having a second chance to choose a new career can be the best thing that ever happens to you, it all depends on you.