[rich fraser]

had a letter through the door from the bwca the other the other day offering courses in window cleaning, health and safety, access e.t.c. it had city and guilds all over it. has anyone actually been on these courses? there in swindon apparently. Im thinkin of doin it just so i can say i have some sort of qualifacation other than a gcse. I cant think of what else I might learn as I have been in this trade for the past 8 years

[mci services]

my worker has one but he did not learn anything from it, it more a case of them assessing him on site

[Window Washers]

The nvq, city and guilds is not only in swindon, I did mine in birmingham but was not though the bwca. I used impact 43 and they do these all over the place

http://www.training43.com/

Hope that helps.

Ian

[mikecam]

had a letter through the door from the bwca the other the other day offering courses in window cleaning, health and safety, access e.t.c. it had city and guilds all over it. has anyone actually been on these courses? there in swindon apparently. Im thinkin of doin it just so i can say i have some sort of qualifacation other than a gcse. I cant think of what else I might learn as I have been in this trade for the past 8 years

I think its a useful thing to have. I can give some examples.....
 Customer........"don't need you anymore love, i got a cleaner two pound cheaper"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner......"yes, but is he qualified like me"
Customer............"no, i don't think so"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner........."Well there you go, you never know what to expect from him"
Customer............"Yeah, you're right i'll stick with you for an extra two quid i know what i'm getting"

Then get them to move to plant pots and garden gnomes out of the way when you come to clean as these are an idendifiable hazard. Clear the window sill of all crap too. There's so much more to it all than a lot of guys think. 'Proffesionalism' thats the way forward. Eventually we will become like bin men who will not move a wheelie bin because the lid is up by a centimetre, but so be it !!! Thats the way forward, not sure if we'll still get paid though !!
 But yeah, i think NVQ is the way to go , it could open doors for you, although probably not back gates. Then there is the CRB check to consider as well, to long to go into here !!

[woody1]

had a letter through the door from the bwca the other the other day offering courses in window cleaning, health and safety, access e.t.c. it had city and guilds all over it. has anyone actually been on these courses? there in swindon apparently. Im thinkin of doin it just so i can say i have some sort of qualifacation other than a gcse. I cant think of what else I might learn as I have been in this trade for the past 8 years

I think its a useful thing to have. I can give some examples.....
 Customer........"don't need you anymore love, i got a cleaner two pound cheaper"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner......"yes, but is he qualified like me"
Customer............"no, i don't think so"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner........."Well there you go, you never know what to expect from him"
Customer............"Yeah, you're right i'll stick with you for an extra two quid i know what i'm getting"

Yoy talk a lot off cack don't be stupid your a window cleaner not a rocket scientist mate the customer does not care as long as you do a good job you lot make me laugh, nvq in window cleaning, i think its the biggest p take i have heard 

[LWC]

Whats the point! I could see customers laughing at you for saying you have a NVQ in window cleaning...as if it warrants a qualification...lol

[Window Washers]

Whats the point! I could see customers laughing at you for saying you have a NVQ in window cleaning...as if it warrants a qualification...lol

I have mentioned it a few times, and a few have said at least you take what you do seriously unlike some 

[LWC]

I could see their heads spinning right round after a comment like that.

[lyndy]

Nvq is the way every job is going,When we have the money our staff will be doing it,if you want to grow like we do you have to keep up with new things

[Paul Coleman]

I've recently done this myself.  Paperwork plus an onsite assessment.
Apart from a few H & S tips, I found that I was doing things fine already.  It would have been surprising if I wasn't considering that I've been window cleaning about 20 years.
However, a lot of the course was really more geared up for employees and employers.  As a self-employed sole trader, it felt like I was the hole in the doughnut with some of the questions.

[Susan @ MB Window Cleaning]

had a letter through the door from the bwca the other the other day offering courses in window cleaning, health and safety, access e.t.c. it had city and guilds all over it. has anyone actually been on these courses? there in swindon apparently. Im thinkin of doin it just so i can say i have some sort of qualifacation other than a gcse. I cant think of what else I might learn as I have been in this trade for the past 8 years

I think its a useful thing to have. I can give some examples.....
 Customer........"don't need you anymore love, i got a cleaner two pound cheaper"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner......"yes, but is he qualified like me"
Customer............"no, i don't think so"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner........."Well there you go, you never know what to expect from him"
Customer............"Yeah, you're right i'll stick with you for an extra two quid i know what i'm getting"

Yoy talk a lot off cack don't be stupid your a window cleaner not a rocket scientist mate the customer does not care as long as you do a good job you lot make me laugh, nvq in window cleaning, i think its the biggest p take i have heard 

I don't just do a GOOD job, I do an EXCELLENT job, I am professional in the way I go about operating my business.

Why ridicule the NVQ?
You try getting commercial work in 3-4 years time without it? you won't get it, I can promise you that!

Sure it doesn't teach you how to clean windows faster or easier, but it does teach you how to operate in a safer manner, but its a piece of paper that you will need to get commercial work in the future.

The local Asian guy that runs a pund shop or corner shop won't give 2 hoots, but then again he will only pay you £2 for cleaning the inside and outside of his shop!!


Matt

[Susan @ MB Window Cleaning]

had a letter through the door from the bwca the other the other day offering courses in window cleaning, health and safety, access e.t.c. it had city and guilds all over it. has anyone actually been on these courses? there in swindon apparently. Im thinkin of doin it just so i can say i have some sort of qualifacation other than a gcse. I cant think of what else I might learn as I have been in this trade for the past 8 years

I think its a useful thing to have. I can give some examples.....
 Customer........"don't need you anymore love, i got a cleaner two pound cheaper"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner......"yes, but is he qualified like me"
Customer............"no, i don't think so"
NVQ Qualified Cleaner........."Well there you go, you never know what to expect from him"
Customer............"Yeah, you're right i'll stick with you for an extra two quid i know what i'm getting"

Yoy talk a lot off cack don't be stupid your a window cleaner not a rocket scientist mate the customer does not care as long as you do a good job you lot make me laugh, nvq in window cleaning, i think its the biggest p take i have heard 

Window cleaning is classed as a trade, ALL other trades have NVQs.
Rocket Scientists actually have PHDs not NVQs, they spend 5,6,7 years at University!!
Wall tiling and plastering isn't rocket science either.

Matt

[andyM]

It depends on which level NVQ you have doesn't it? Surely if the NVQ is only a level 1 qualification it isn't worth much because thats only a foundation level.
NVQ's go from level 1 to 5, I don't know the syllabus of the Window Cleaning NVQ but I wouldn't imagine that it is a minimum 3 year + course of study?
Other trades won't consider you competent until you have an advanced level NVQ which is 3 years of study and work based training.
I would not of thought it takes 3 years to learn how to clean a window? 

[andyM]

Just looked on the BWCA website and the NVQ they are offering is a level 2 qualification which in my opinion doesn't hold much merit.
I think if you are after commercial work you would be better off spending your money on IPAF, IOSH courses and learning about risk assessments.

[Paul Coleman]

Just looked on the BWCA website and the NVQ they are offering is a level 2 qualification which in my opinion doesn't hold much merit.
I think if you are after commercial work you would be better off spending your money on IPAF, IOSH courses and learning about risk assessments.

You're right in that NVQ2 isn't high level.
A point you may not have noticed though is that the course costs nothing - well a couple of days off work plus a small delay while having the onsite assessment.

[darren clarke]

the gov is wanting to bring out NVQs for everything,   it will end up like every other trade no NVQ no job simple as that, it will be a miminum standard in a few years,

wc go on about this trade being held back as is seen as a numptys job, yet when stuff comes along that trys to show the trade is professional  they say i aint taking that, i dont need some one to show me how to clean windows etc,

you probably have wc who maon about other wc wearing a uniform try to look all professional,  with there van, what is wrong with a car, football top and tea towels, they say other there beer at dinner times

[Paul Coleman]

The NVQ2, put simply, just shows that you know how to clean a window and that you have a reasonable degree of safety awareness.  It should be regarded as a stepping stone rather than a goal in its own right IMO.  To expect much more from a free, short course would be unfair IMO.
The free tea/coffee, fruit, and biscuits were fine too 

[andyM]

The NVQ2, put simply, just shows that you know how to clean a window and that you have a reasonable degree of safety awareness.  It should be regarded as a stepping stone rather than a goal in its own right IMO.  To expect much more from a free, short course would be unfair IMO.
The free tea/coffee, fruit, and biscuits were fine too 

Yes thats a fair point 

[Window Washers]

The NVQ2, put simply, just shows that you know how to clean a window and that you have a reasonable degree of safety awareness.  It should be regarded as a stepping stone rather than a goal in its own right IMO.  To expect much more from a free, short course would be unfair IMO.
The free tea/coffee, fruit, and biscuits were fine too 

Yes thats a fair point 

it is, but we never got fruit at ours 

[mci services]

unfortunately if you live in Scotland and are self employed it is not free. I was quoted £1200 to go through it although I was able to put my lad through it for free.
pretty annoying knowing my staff are more qualified than me on paper