It seems this post has caused quite a stir, with many thinking that I was going to start my own training centre in Nottingham; glad your laughing too because I thought it ridiculous also. I'd love to know where I would find the time for such a venture. Anyhow there'll a new post to follow on from this, not sure when I'll get it written as we're very busy at the moment.
For the last few months I've been getting more and more enquiries about running tiling courses in Nottingham. Some are asking for just wall tiling others for wall and floor tiling courses, but you have to remember I'm a tradesman not a teacher, so running training courses is definitely not something I would choose to do. Anyone who knows me would vouch for my shyness and inability to convey anything to a crowd without barking orders (military training).
Now I don't know of anyone doing decent courses in Nottingham; they're all based in Staffordshire. But lord knows there are a lot of really bad tilers in Nottingham; but there's also some real craftsmen out there - yes you know who you are.
Anyway back to the Nottingham tiling courses. The problem I find with all these courses set out in warehouses, industrial units and the like is that the areas in which you work are pretty much perfect. What's wrong with that? Well for a start how many jobs to you think you'll take on which have perfectly plumb, square or level walls, floors, worktops etc? I've never found any. So while these courses may teach you how to fix tiles and set out correctly, they don't take into account the problems tilers face on a day to day basis. So all theory and gets turned on its head and you have to adapt plain and simple.
You could say that you "have to start somewhere" but that means that the customer is paying for you to learn 'real' skills. Sorry to sound negative, but what these tiling courses need are realistic environments as well the perfect ones. That way you can truly learn the ropes so to say.
Then we have the courses which don't full explain the difference between ceramic, natural stones, porcelain and their specific fixing and grouting requirements. Or if they do that's part of a more expensive course.
But naturally these are my own thoughts and I'm always open to learning new ways to improve my skills, so please feel free to invite me to your courses and I'll be happy to write about them.