Gas Engineer Courses Stoke-on-Trent: College Routes

Over 90,000 Stoke-on-Trent homes heat with mains gas alone, a higher share than in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton or Derby. Every boiler needs servicing, and every rented home needs a yearly gas safety check.

Stoke-on-Trent at a glance

How homes are heated: 81.7% of Stoke-on-Trent households heat with mains gas only and 6.1% with electricity only. 479 homes use bottled or tank gas, 236 solid fuel and 99 oil. Only 1.3% have no central heating. Source
Gas training: Stoke-on-Trent College runs a 24-month Level 3 Gas Engineering Operative apprenticeship and ACS Gas Training (1 to 4 days, £210, full cost) at its Burslem campus. Source
Landlord gas checks: Landlords must arrange a gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer every 12 months and keep each record for 2 years. Source

The apprenticeship

Stoke-on-Trent College runs the Level 3 Gas Engineering Operative apprenticeship at Burslem over 24 months. It asks for GCSE grade 4 or above in English or maths, or equivalent, and an employer willing to support you throughout.

The Level 3 Diploma in Gas Engineering is mandatory. The end-point assessment includes a knowledge test, a portfolio assessment with Gas Safe registration, a competency test and a work log review with an interview.

ACS courses

The college also offers ACS Gas Training at Burslem, lasting one to four days and costing £210. It is a full-cost course with no fee remission. ACS certificates are what Gas Safe registration is based on, and working engineers renew them every five years.

New entrants without gas experience will need a managed learning programme and portfolio before ACS assessment.

Choosing your route

If you're starting from scratch, the apprenticeship is the most complete route, but you need an employer first. Local heating firms and social housing contractors are the places to ask.

If you already work as a plumber, the ACS route through a managed learning programme is usually quicker. Avoid any course that promises Gas Safe registration in a few weeks without a portfolio of real work.

Local demand

More than two in five households in the city rent, from the council, housing associations or private landlords, so gas safety checks provide steady work. Hard water in the south of the city also means plenty of combi repairs.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover Stoke-on-Trent work across areas including Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke, Fenton, Longton, Trentham, Meir, Bucknall and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

View Stoke-on-Trent on Google Maps

Questions people in Stoke-on-Trent ask

Does ACS cover oil or LPG?

ACS has separate LPG categories. Oil work comes under OFTEC, with its own courses.

Can adults do the apprenticeship?

Yes. There's no upper age limit, but you need an employer willing to support you for the full 24 months.

Where do Burslem trainees usually find work?

Local heating firms, housing association contractors and national boiler service companies all take on engineers. Ask the college which employers it already works with, since that's often the quickest way to an apprenticeship place.

Sources

Also nearby: Gas engineer courses in Derby, Gas engineer courses in Wolverhampton, Gas engineer courses in Manchester

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