Home Gas engineer courses Derby
Gas engineer courses in Derby
Derby College is on the government's list for the Level 3 gas apprenticeship, and experienced plumbers can take the ACS route.
About 86,000 Derby homes heat with mains gas alone, and the city's housing includes many larger homes with system boilers and cylinders. That's a lot of servicing, repair and replacement work for registered engineers.
Derby at a glance
- How homes are heated
- 81.3% of Derby households heat with mains gas only and 7.1% with electricity only. Just 36 homes use oil only and 236 are on a communal or district heat network. Source
- Gas training
- Derby College is listed by the Department for Education as a provider of the Level 3 Gas Engineering Operative apprenticeship. Source
Apprenticeship at Derby College
The Department for Education lists Derby College as a provider of the Level 3 Gas Engineering Operative apprenticeship. You need an employer to take you on, and you train while you work.
The standard covers installing, servicing, commissioning and decommissioning gas appliances and ends with an assessment leading to Gas Safe registration. Ask the college about entry requirements and start dates.
The ACS route
If you're already a plumber or heating engineer, a managed learning programme followed by ACS assessments is the usual route. You'll need a portfolio of real gas work under a registered engineer.
Avoid courses that promise registration in weeks with no portfolio.
Where the work is in Derby
Private landlords rent out about one in five Derby homes, and every one needs a yearly gas safety check. Social landlords run their own programmes of checks and planned boiler replacements.
Derby's larger homes give engineers experience with system boilers, unvented cylinders and multi-zone controls, which pays off later when moving into installations or heat pumps.
Extra skills
Unvented cylinder qualifications are useful in Derby's larger homes. F-Gas and MCS open up air conditioning and heat pump work.
Derby sits between Nottingham, Leicester and the Peak District villages, so engineers who also gain LPG competence can pick up off-gas work in the surrounding county.
Areas covered
Engineers who cover Derby work across areas including Allestree, Darley Abbey, Mickleover, Littleover, Chaddesden, Normanton, Alvaston, Oakwood, Spondon and Chellaston.
Questions people in Derby ask
How long is the apprenticeship?
Usually around two years, depending on the provider.
Does ACS cover oil?
No. Oil work comes under OFTEC.
Do I need GCSEs?
Most colleges ask for GCSE English and maths at grade 4, or a Level 2 equivalent, but check with the provider.
Is Derby College's Gas Network Craftsperson course the same?
No. That apprenticeship is for people working on gas networks for licensed transporters, not on boilers in homes.
Can adults start an apprenticeship?
Yes. There is no upper age limit, but you need an employer willing to take you on for the length of the programme.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Find apprenticeship training, Gas engineering operative (level 3)
- ONS Census 2021, TS046 central heating (Nomis)
- Gas Safe Register
- Derby College: Gas Network Craftsperson
Also nearby: Gas engineer courses in Nottingham, Gas engineer courses in Leicester, Gas engineer courses in Sheffield, Gas engineer courses in Stoke-on-Trent