Annual Salary
£21,000 to £40,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to New energy or Recycling or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Swap to New energy or Recycling or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Plumbers install and repair water and heating systems in residential households and commercial properties.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; as customers demand
There will be
1.1% fewer Plumber jobs in 2027.
As a plumber, you'll:
Possible green job
This job could help the environment.
For a plumber to be a green job, you could:
Find out more about green careers
You could work at a client's home, at a client's business or on a construction site.
Your working environment may be cramped, at height and outdoors some of the time.
You can get into this job through:
You could complete a college course which may help you to find a trainee position with a plumbing company.
Courses include:
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
You can apply to do a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship to learn the skills needed to become a plumber. Apprenticeships include:
You could also do a Low Carbon Heating Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, if you want to become a heat pump engineer.
You'll usually need:
You may be able to start as a plumber's assistant or 'mate' and train on the job to qualify.
You'll usually need some GCSEs, including English and maths, along with good practical skills.
You could apply directly for jobs if you've got qualifications and several years' experience from related industries, like building services or heating and ventilation engineering.
You'll need to:
You can join the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering for professional development training and industry news.
You can find out more about becoming a plumber from the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering and Go Construct.
With experience, you could:do further training to become a heat pump engineer; work with ventilation and air-conditioning systems, or renewable energy technologies like solar powered heating; get certified with the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC); become a master plumber or move into building services engineering; teach and assess trainee plumbers in a further education (FE) college or training centre.
Find out more about working in FE from Teach in further education.
Go Construct has more information about careers and qualifications in plumbing.
Plumbers specialising in the installation and servicing of heat pumps are needed to work on the retrofitting of existing heating systems and installations for new low carbon buildings across the West of England region.
Click here to find a local provider
Click here to search for a local apprenticeship
For more information on the different routes you can take to get into working as a plumber, take a look at the 'Routes into this job' section above.
Click here for an explanation of the different course and apprenticeship levels.
For more local employment opportunities see the 'Live job vacancies by region' section above.
You'll need: