UrWealthwizard's Blog

In a nutshell, ‘Green Energy’ utilises natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat to provide our daily energy requirement. They’re all considered naturally able to replenish – and thereby ‘Green’. It is easy to think that we may be travelling back in time when we think of items such as wind power and windmills. Generally, this is the result of using up to date ideas, specifically those that are planet friendly and eco-efficient.

The home can use a range of new ideas to help with energy usage – including Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating Collectors. To gain electricity from roof panels you would need solar electrical panels (PV’s). Another key element is that of Biomass Energy, which relates to Stoves and Boilers burning Wood, Fuel and Pellets. Of course, then there is the heating from the Sun – often just called Ground Source Heat Pumps. Finally, we have two of the most traditional forms of energy generation that have gone through some resurgence over the last few years; these being Wind Power, Wind Turbines and Hydropower (including Water Wheels.)

Thermal Solar Energy – This technology is based around two core types of system. First, we have Solar Water Heating Collectors, which absorb energy from the Sun and transfer this into hot water. Then we have the work of the Photovoltaic Heat Collectors, often called Solar Electrical Panels – which transform solar radiation into electricity. Typically, these panels are found on roofs – and need to be away from any light blocks such as trees, chimneys and other buildings.

With Solar Power being so common within the UK, it’s Solar Water Power that is most often used. With the capacity to deliver 50 percent plus of a household’s hot water requirement annually, Solar Water heating systems are crucial to energy in the UK. There are two options to fit these items. The first is to get a professional fit and the second is a DIY system, the first will cost around 2-5k and the second between 500 and 1500 pounds.

Biomass Energy Technology: Historically, this has come from plants and animals, though nowadays this also includes new genetcially engineered ‘energy crops’. Due to its adaptability, it can produce a range of energy forms – from heat and electricity through to combinations of both. It is interesting to note that the UK has some of the largest quantities of Biomass material to generate electricity within Europe. Considering all this, and the relative lack of C02 produced, makes the whole process highly green overall. To that end, many wood crops come from sustainable sources (as one tree is felled, another is planted in its place; thus the new tree absorbs the CO2 produced during the heating process.)

To meet the need, fast growing trees, known as Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) are utilised. Of equal importance is the ability to produce dry matter – and perennial grasses are very good for this. Of equal importance, although maybe less well known, are Municipal and Agricultural Waste. Agricultural Waste is commonly formed as a by-product of traditional agricultural work. However, waste derived from food or wood is another biomass entity – called Municipal Waste.

Geo-Thermal Energy Based Systems – Basically this is the warming of the Earth from the Sun – and is often used in the manufacture of warm water and electricity. By using the ground source temperature of approximately 12 degrees, we can either heat or cool buildings within the UK. Heat pumps are recognised as a very good form of power generation, generally giving back four units of energy for every one used. The energy generated by a heat source pump can in fact be considered 100 percent renewable, if the power to operate the pump comes from solar electrical panels or a wind turbine.

Systems Based On Wind Energy: In use for milling grain or pumping water, wind energy has been with us for a very long time, although its modern uses are complex. That aside, the ability to generate energy and both transfer this into the home or the local grid has been a relatively new option. In the European union, it is the UK which is seen to have the largest wind capacity. Although, within the UK we currently only utilise 1 percent of electricity from wind, yet the potential rests at a surprising 10 percent. Instead of producing electricity at a rate of 2-10p per kWh, we could be generating at 2p per kWh. From this, the estimation of the cost recovery period is around 6-9 months overall.

Finally, we have Hydropower; an area in which the UK does well within Europe. Just like a thousand years ago, we are utilising the energy from water. Interestingly enough, this type of energy production meets around 2 percent of the UK electrical total demand.

A hydropower system transforms the kinetic energy of the moving water into another type of energy by means of a turbine. By using a dam or a natural river drop, these turbines do not require water storage. It is by using the eroded national distribution systems, that allows for outdated sluices and dams to be used by techniques known as ‘Micro-Hydro’. Having said that, this process could still generate 200mW of the National Capacity. The capital cost of installing a micro-hydro system can run between 200 and 3000 pounds per kW of energy output.

It can be seen that the route to ‘Green Energy’ is growing considerably, especially in light of the need for increasing energy outputs throughout the Western World. The UK domestic market appears to be one of the core beneficiaries of this technology.

It is the drive for installations in the domestic sector that looks to favour jobs such as plumbers and electricians. It is the political view of this type of energy generation that results in grants and financial aid becoming ever-more prevalent. It is important to gain the correct qualifications to install these items. You could consider either plumbing or electrical training programs that highlight green installation.

Copyright Scott Edwards. Look at www.electricaltraininginfo.co.uk/SolarEnergyTraining.html or Solar Energy Courses.

It’s notable that a career within the electrical industry, with its attractive options, remains a choice for lots of people. Whilst the original term is ‘Electro-Mechanical Engineering’ we will simply refer to the subject as the Electrical Industry. Equally we’ll focus on those credentials that fit the UK domestic and commercial sector rather than those from around the world. Due to the huge list of opportunities available for a career in the electrical industry, we have to begin by focusing on the main areas and look at the ‘add-ons’ later on.

On consideration, we observe two forms of access into the electrical market. Along with apprenticeships for school leavers, students entering the field at a later phase in their life now have an alternative to more traditional amateur routes. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as ‘Junior Entrants’ and the second simply known as ‘Mature Entrants.’

Primarily, those who join the industry later on, (the Mature Entrants,) generally do so with the aim of becoming self-employed at some point, or to work on their own building projects etc. without having to pay wages to external electricians. On the other hand, to gain further credentials and experience ‘Junior Entrants’ tend to work for a recognised electrical firm. To be fair, young apprentices leaving school will have a lot of supplementary skills to learn during their early years as a working adult.

The different ways into electrical work have two distinct types of training: Junior entrants go through NVQ training in England and Wales, and SVQ training in Scotland. The training itself is similar to non NVQ training, but completion of the full programme means getting the actual qualifications. ‘Junior Entrants’ will have to be in an apprenticeship of some sort in order to achieve the testing and course work required.

By opting to work on a freelance basis, many Mature Entrants appear to focus on those areas that provide profitable and practical solutions other than NVQ’s. Such as obtaining documentation that gives them the best chance to gain from their training endeavours and thereby the best financial rewards. This method allows for a quicker route to the market and does meet the necessary trading elements for the areas concerned despite reducing the overall qualification set.

Between self-employment and general employment we have two routes to consider in terms of typical income. Whilst we will focus on full time employment, there exists the issue as to whether self-employed people are doing this full time or part time. Income levels are also dictated by experience and knowledge gained – usually proven via an accredited proficiency or certification level.

Basic salary for Junior Entrants can start at around 12 thousand per annum, often going above 35 thousand after several years in industry. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. However, it should be borne in mind that a self-employed person must meet their own costs for tools, clothes and vehicles (including insurance and petrol.) Self employed people also have to allow for added expenses. With the current skills shortage in the UK, there is a high work load demand available. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. To be fair, high salaries bounded about by the press do require long working hours or help to achieve them.

It should be noted that the working week for most electricians differs between the Junior and Mature Entrant markets. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. The Mature market is however often reliant as to when their client base is available, especially in the domestic sector. And yet, a huge number of self-employed electricians operate during the main part of the working week by focusing on office and small business systems.

Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. The mature entrant, on the other hand, may seek training outside of their core electrical field, possibly including plumbing and gas work. This gives them the chance to complete work for domestic clients without having to sub contract jobs out every time.

An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called ‘Green Engineer’. The chance to win some big employment and business advantages within the governmental as well as the traditional growth sector means that this area could be attractive to both Junior and Mature Entrants alike.

Author: Scott Edwards. Navigate to Electrician Qualifications or 2392 Courses.

The figures explaining how much Plumbers can earn is often talked about in the papers. Figures of 30-70k p.a. are touted, alongside much talk of the profound shortage in the number of Plumbers within the UK. So, are we being told a story or is this the genuine picture? For the competent and correctly skilled person, this level of salary is realistic. In fact, earnings in excess of 70 – 100k p.a. are achievable – but that is solely for those who work within the self-employed market-place, rather than those who work within established employment routes.

If you are working for a traditional company within the UK, then the hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are normal. Approximately wages of 15k and 30k p.a. are reasonable within the UK, along with standard benefits such as holiday pay and sickness allowance. A self-employed person can earn more money than this traditional approach, but will often need to work outside of the Mon- Fri, 9am to 6pm example. Without a doubt in the domestic market many clients require evening and weekend visits and self employed plumbers have to meet that need.

Also there is the factor of self-employment and whether it goes with some people more than others. Finally there is good ‘business sense’, such as getting the hourly rate correct, advertising and marketing budgets spot on which are all important. Equally, most self-employed people will need to pay additional costs to cover their materials and transport, alongside legal and accountancy fees etc. Although it is expected that these can be relatively small in relation to the earnings overall they can mount up, but then so can the benefits. Plus the profits nearly always beat the odds!

Firstly, it is the ordinary employer who covers most of the needs and teaching prospects that Student Entrants are interested in. Alternatively, the Self Employed Entrant needs to quickly establish those certificates that they will rely on in industry. In fairness it is the ‘domestic’ market rather than the commercial sector that attracts the majority of the self-employed workers in the UK. (Whilst not everyone does the majority do!)

Considering the education in Plumbing, each path into the industry needs some match in the certification modules. There does remain considerable question when the factor of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is realised.

From the outset, it is clear that the Self Employed Entrant does not depend as much upon the NVQ’s as the Student Entrant. In order to meet their client’s expectations the Self Employed Entrant will often need to use a greater range of certifications. Certainly, the self-employed person needs to rapidly gain the key domestic-centred qualifications that will satisfy their typical household-based clients. Once they have covered the core parts the Student Entrant will often carry on their study not dissimilar to an apprenticeship in the workplace (where the NVQ element can be appraised.) Considerable savings potential exists to the Student Entrant by taking on this cheaper form of study. Nevertheless by taking a more commercial viewpoint and gaining qualifications faster than the Student Entrant, many Self Employed Entrants gain greater financial rewards and within a shorter space of time.

It is by covering the study needs along with those of a clear careers discussion that meet the financial rewards. For adults with demands of say a 20kp.a and a family to look after, the prospect of going back to college and spending a further 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work can be very daunting. It should also be remembered that many younger Student Entrants are entering an apprenticeship and thereby have their courses paid for them whereas the mature self-employed students do not. Depending on the level of certification sought and the course itself the costs for people can run into 3k to 10k+.

Self Employed Entrants can consider a wide range of private technical colleges as opposed to the reliance on further-education colleges and that differentiates them from Student Entrants. Often through the use of established training schemes many commercially oriented plumbing courses are now able to deliver the necessary skill-sets and qualifications. This method offers key advantages to Self Employed Students, allowing them to train evenings, part-time or on self-study classes thereby continuing with their existing jobs and maintaining their financial situation. Considering so many options on hand it is clever to gather data from as many sources as one can. To review your options why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and you can come back and review the links and adverts we have provided for you.

To increase their ‘marketability’ many plumbing students will go on to utilise extra courses. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. Gas training has always been a route for Plumbers to consider, as this forms part of the common domestic and commercial heating system.

Gas Training is considered a dedicated training program with key subjects followed by important NVQ’s. It also features many options for on-going training, especially for those who trained as a plumber first and are now looking at some extra skills to add to their stable. In review it is often felt that the mature student responds well to the blend of Gas/Plumbing training. For the Mature Student the emphasis appears to be reducing the NVQ elements and focussing on the core subjects.

It is from this mix of training methods that the self-employed professional appears to benefit. The opportunity to learn a wider range of perceived skill-sets (whilst earning money from them) becomes the attraction. Instead of having to rely upon third parties to complete certain skill-sets, this adds to their commercial viability. Sub-contracting can not only reduce the earning potential of a job, but also erode the value in the customer’s eye, as they may have to wait for key stages to be handled by someone else before the final completion of the job. The higher the skill level of a Plumber the more that they can offer their client base.

In retrospect, the Self Employed Entrant has the potential to achieve a much higher and more readily available income stream than Student Entrant, but to do so they need to develop both their business skills and achieve a broader range of certifications. Note: This information refers to the UK industry requirement and their policies alone.

Copyright Scott Edwards. Check out www.INeedANewCareer.co.uk/FINANC.html or Plumbing Careers.

Are you toying with the idea of doing an MCSE? It’s very possible then that it’s likely you’ll come into one of two categories: You’re currently an IT professional and you’d like to gain accreditation with the Microsoft qualification. Alternatively you might be just about to enter the IT environment, and you’ve found that there are many opportunities for certified networking professionals.

When researching MCSE’s, you’ll hit upon training companies that lower their out-goings by failing to provide the latest version from Microsoft. Avoid such training providers as you will face problems at exam time. If you are studying the wrong version, it will make it very difficult to pass.

Avoid businesses who’re just out to sell you anything. You should be given detailed advice to ensure you are on the right course for you. Don’t allow yourself to be sold some generic product by some pushy sales person.

A study programme really needs to work up to a nationally (or globally) recognised certification as an end-result – definitely not some ‘in-house’ plaque for your wall.

You’ll find that only recognised certification from companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe and CompTIA will open the doors to employers.

Searching for your first position in IT can feel more straightforward with a Job Placement Assistance facility. The fact of the matter is it’s not as hard as some people make out to land a job – assuming you’re well trained and qualified; because there’s still a great need for IT skills in the UK today.

You would ideally have advice and support about your CV and interviews though; also we would encourage all students to update their CV the day they start training – don’t delay for when you’re ready to start work.

It can happen that you haven’t even passed your first exam when you will get your initial junior support role; yet this is not possible unless you’ve posted your CV on job sites.

Normally you’ll get better performance from a specialist independent regional employment service than you’ll get from a training company’s centralised service, because they’ll know local industry and the area better.

A regular aggravation of a number of training providers is how much men and women are prepared to study to get top marks in their exams, but how un-prepared they are to work on getting the position they’re qualified for. Have confidence – the IT industry needs YOU.

Commercial certification is now, without a doubt, taking over from the traditional academic paths into the IT sector – but why should this be?

With the costs of academic degree’s becoming a tall order for many, and the IT sector’s increasing awareness that corporate based study is often far more commercially relevant, there’s been a dramatic increase in Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe accredited training programmes that create knowledgeable employees for considerably less.

Patently, a certain portion of closely linked knowledge must be taught, but essential specifics in the exact job role gives a vendor educated student a huge edge.

It’s a bit like the TV advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. All an employer has to do is know what areas need to be serviced, and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. That way they can be sure they’re interviewing applicants who can do the job.

We can’t make a big enough deal out of this point: It’s essential to obtain proper 24×7 round-the-clock support from professional instructors. Later, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t heed this.

Find a good quality service with help available at any time of the day or night (no matter if it’s in the middle of the night on a weekend!) Make sure it’s always 24×7 direct access to mentors and instructors, and not access to a call-in service which takes messages – so you’re parked in a queue of others waiting to be called back during office hours.

We recommend that you search for training programs that have multiple support offices around the globe in several time-zones. These should be integrated to offer a simple interface as well as 24×7 access, when it’s convenient for you, with no hassle.

Don’t accept second best when you’re looking for the right support service. Most IT hopefuls who throw in the towel, are in that situation because of support (or the lack of).

(C) Scott Edwards 2009. Hop over to INeedANewCareer.co.uk/LINANC.html or HTML Training.

Nearly all aspiring web designers start their careers with Adobe Dreamweaver training. It’s reputed to be the most utilised web-development platform globally.

The full Adobe Web Creative Suite ought also to be studied in-depth. Doing this will familiarise you in Action Script and Flash, amongst others, and means you’ll be in a position to take your Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) or Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) accreditation.

Designing a website is just the start of the skills needed by professional web masters today. It’s a good idea to find a course that includes important features like PHP, HTML and MySQL in order to know how to create traffic, maintain content and work with dynamic database-driven web-sites.

Adding in the cost of examinations as an inclusive element of the package price then including an exam guarantee is common for a good many training companies. Consider the facts:

It’s become essential these days that we have to be a bit more aware of hype – and the majority of us ought to know that for sure we are actually being charged for it – they’re not just being charitable and doling out freebies!

Passing first time is everyone’s goal. Going for exams one at a time and paying for them just before taking them has a marked effect on pass-rates – you put the effort in and think carefully about the costs.

Sit the exam somewhere close to home and don’t pay up-front, but seek out the best deal for you when you’re ready.

Including money in your training package for examinations (and interest charges if you’re borrowing money) is insane. Resist being talked into filling the training company’s account with your hard-earned cash simply to help their cash-flow! There are those who hope that you won’t get to do them all – then they’ll keep the extra money.

It’s also worth noting that exam guarantees often have very little value. Most companies will not pay again for an exam until you can prove to them you’re ready to pass.

Average exam fees were around the 112 pounds mark in the last 12 months via Prometric or VUE centres around the United Kingdom. So why pay hundreds or thousands of pounds extra to get ‘Exam Guarantees’, when any student knows that the best guarantee is study, commitment and preparing with good quality mock and practice exams.

A top of the range package of training will undoubtedly incorporate accredited exam preparation packages.

Ensure that the simulated exams are not just posing the correct questions from the right areas, but additionally ask them in the way that the actual final exam will structure them. This throws students if they’re faced with unrecognisable phrases and formats.

You should make sure you verify how much you know through tests and practice exams to get you ready for the real deal.

Of course: the actual training program or a qualification isn’t what this is about; the career that you want is. Too many training companies over-emphasise the piece of paper.

You may train for one year and then end up performing the job-role for decades. Ensure you avoid the fatal error of taking what may be an ‘interesting’ training program and then spend decades in something you don’t even enjoy!

It’s well worth a long chat to see the expectations of your industry. Which exams they’ll want you to gain and how to gain experience. You should also spend a little time assessing how far you reckon you’re going to want to progress your career as it will affect your choice of exams.

You’d also need help from a professional who can best explain the sector you think may suit you, and is able to give you ‘A day in the life of’ synopsis for each job considered. All of these things are of paramount importance as you’ll need to know whether or not you’ve chosen correctly.

A expert and practiced advisor (vs a salesman) will ask questions and seek to comprehend your current level of ability and experience. This is useful for understanding your starting point for training.

If you have a strong background, or sometimes a little commercial experience (some certifications gained previously perhaps?) then it could be that your starting point will be different from a student that is completely new to the industry.

Where this will be your initial crack at IT study then you may want to start out with some basic user skills first.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Navigate to Website Design Courses or CLICK HERE.