10 Day Intensive Plumbing Course (optional level 1 add-on)

Build the Plumbing Skills for Your Next Step

Perhaps you want a working life you have more control over. Perhaps you already fit kitchens, tile bathrooms or maintain properties and want the skills to handle more of the job. Giving yourself time to learn properly is a practical step towards that change.

Our 10 Day Intensive Plumbing Course brings together foundation and advanced training at YTA in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Over two weeks, you will work on pipework, bathrooms, kitchens, radiators, repairs and domestic hot water systems, developing your understanding through practical installations and testing.

This is one of YTA’s most popular plumbing courses. Choose the full practical programme or add the Ofqual-regulated Ascentis Level 1 qualification to gain recognised evidence of assessed introductory plumbing skills.

Choose Your 10 Day Plumbing Course

Both options include the same ten days of practical plumbing training. The additional £400 for Level 1 adds the qualification and assessment route.

For September 2026 starts, the prices are £1,800 with Level 1 or £1,400 for the non-accredited course, including VAT. The price depends on your course start date.

Training location: YTA Training, Unit 12a, Factory Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 9NW.

Course times: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, over ten training days.
Centre opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.

View Course Dates & Booking Options

Want help choosing? Call 01274 682199 or email info@ytatraining.com.

Planning to Set Up in Business? Choose the Level 1 Route

If you are serious about building a plumbing business, applying for plumbing-related work or adding plumbing to an existing trade, we recommend choosing the Level 1 option.

You are already investing ten days in developing your skills. For an additional £400 including VAT, you can work towards a named qualification that records your achievement through formal assessment.

If an employer or insurer asks what training you have completed, you can provide details of your Ascentis Level 1 Award in Preparation for Plumbing Operations and the assessment involved. It gives you a specific qualification to include when describing your training and experience.

Always check the requirements of the employer or insurer for the work you intend to undertake. The award provides evidence of achievement at Level 1; acceptance depends on their requirements and the work involved.

What Does the Ascentis Award Involve?

The Ascentis Level 1 Award in Preparation for Plumbing Operations is an introductory qualification with two mandatory units:

• Introduction to Construction Work
• Carrying out Plumbing Operations

Assessment includes a portfolio of evidence and a supervised practical task. You demonstrate skills such as working safely, following a plan, selecting and using tools and materials, and completing the required plumbing task.

Successful assessment gives you a recognised first-level qualification to build on as you gain experience and continue your development.

Who Is This Intensive Plumbing Course For?

You can join as a complete beginner. You do not need to complete a shorter course first. The first week develops the foundation skills you will use during the more advanced second week.

• Career changers who want to start developing a practical trade skill.
• People working towards self-employment who want broader plumbing training and the option of assessed achievement.
• Existing tradespeople who want to take responsibility for more aspects of kitchen, bathroom or property work.
• Landlords, renovators and maintenance workers who want to understand installations, systems and repairs in more depth.
• Committed DIY learners who want two weeks of practical training for their own property projects.

Week One: Build Your Plumbing Foundation

Your first week covers the skills taught on our 5 Day Intensive Plumbing Course. You will work with tools and materials, build installations and test your work under water pressure.

Monday: Pipework, Tools and Connections

Work with 15mm and 22mm copper pipe, learn to prepare and bend pipework, fit isolation valves and practise compression and soldered connections. These techniques support the bathroom, radiator and kitchen projects that follow.

Tuesday: Bathroom Installation

Plan and plumb a bathroom with a bath, basin, toilet, taps and wastes. Understand first fix and second fix, build the installation using copper pipe and fittings, then test it under water pressure and put any leaks right.

Wednesday: Repairs and Fault Finding

Examine toilet cistern components, flushing mechanisms and common faults. Discuss repairs, replacement parts, everyday call-outs and the considerations involved in assessing and pricing plumbing work.

Thursday: Radiators and Heating Pipework

Install a small radiator system, fill and bleed it, check for leaks and work through valve replacement and common faults. Learn drain-down techniques and how to remove, hang and refit radiators.

Friday: Kitchens, Taps and Plastic Pipework

Plumb a kitchen sink with supplies, wastes and an appliance connection. Practise tap repairs, add an outside tap and work with plastic push-fit pipe and fittings. You will also be introduced to the plumbing arrangements for showers.

Week Two: Develop Your Skills with More Involved Systems

Your second week brings together the content of our 5 Day Advanced Plumbing Course. You build on your first week’s experience and spend more time understanding how pipework, components and systems work together.

Domestic Hot Water Storage and Supply

• Install a domestic hot water storage training system.
• Work with an indirect cylinder, header tanks and gate valves.
• Develop your understanding of stored hot water and gravity-fed supply arrangements.
• Read heating plans and learn about different cylinders and their applications.

Radiators, Heating Components and Fault Finding

• Extend your radiator installation skills, including thermostatic radiator valves.
• Work with copper, plastic, compression, end-feed and solder-ring connections.
• Develop your approach to central heating fault finding.
• Build an understanding that helps when planning radiator changes or water-fed towel radiator pipework.

Bathrooms, Shower Pumps and Mixer Showers

• Complete a more involved bathroom installation.
• Fit a shower pump and thermostatic mixer shower.
• Work with traps, wastes and soil pipework.
• Commission and test the installation under water pressure.

Guttering and Drainage

Cover rainwater guttering, hoppers and drainage, extending your understanding of the pipework and water-management tasks involved in property work.

The second week gives you more time to connect the individual skills. You move from learning how to make a joint or fit a component towards understanding a more complete installation.

Choose your ten-day course and start date

Build Towards the Work You Want to Do

Being able to see how a job fits together matters when you want to work for yourself. A bathroom replacement can involve supply pipework, wastes, a shower and changes to a towel radiator. A kitchen project can bring together sink connections, appliances and repairs to existing plumbing.

This course helps you develop a broader understanding of those tasks. Alongside the practical training, we discuss measuring, quoting, call-outs and business start-up considerations, helping you think about how to approach your next steps.

As your skills grow, you can build experience through work suited to your ability and develop the services you want to offer. The Level 1 option adds a formal record of assessed achievement to that foundation.

Why Train with YTA?

YTA has provided construction training since 2006. Our courses focus on practical learning in training bays, with experienced instructors and small classes.

• Work on installations: practise using plumbing tools, materials and components.
• Test what you build: use water pressure testing and fault finding to understand the quality of your work.
• Ask questions as you learn: discuss problems while the project is in front of you.
• Build progressively: develop foundation techniques before tackling the advanced week.
• Choose a regulated qualification: add the Ofqual-regulated Ascentis Level 1 route to the full practical programme.

Read independent reviews from YTA students. You are also welcome to arrange a centre visit before booking to see the facilities and discuss your plans.

Watch Our Plumbing Course Video

Planning a Bathroom Fitting Service? Add Tiling and Plastering

Plumbing, tiling and plastering are closely connected when replacing a bathroom. If you want to develop skills across all three, this ten-day plumbing course can form the first two paid weeks of a longer programme.

Our current offer adds a free standard five-day course when you book and pay for four weeks of eligible training. A ten-day plumbing course counts as two paid weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the practical training different if I choose Level 1?

No. Both options cover the same ten-day practical programme. The Level 1 option adds the assessment route towards the Ascentis qualification.

Is this course suitable for starting a plumbing business?

It is designed to help beginners and existing tradespeople develop practical plumbing skills and plan their next steps. For business goals, we recommend the Level 1 option so you can work towards a named qualification alongside your training. Continue building experience and choose work appropriate to the skills you have developed.

How can I use my Level 1 qualification when discussing work or insurance?

Once you have achieved the award, you can provide its title and evidence of the training and assessment you have completed. Check the requirements for the particular role or work you intend to undertake.

I know City & Guilds. What should I know about Ascentis?

Ascentis is an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation, and the plumbing award offered through this course is an Ofqual-regulated Level 1 qualification. You can verify its details using qualification number 600/6557/6.

When comparing courses, consider the exact qualification, its level, practical content and assessment alongside the awarding organisation’s name. Qualifications at the same level can cover different skills and have different purposes. This award provides assessed introductory plumbing skills to build on through further training and experience.

Is this an NVQ or a gas qualification?

No. The optional award is an introductory Level 1 plumbing qualification. It is not an NVQ Level 2 or 3, a gas qualification or an electrical qualification. Gas work and electrical installation are outside this course.

Can I split the two weeks around work or other commitments?

Split-week dates may be available. Contact YTA before booking so we can confirm a suitable schedule, with the foundation training completed before the advanced week.

I have already completed five days of plumbing. What should I book?

Speak to the team about joining the advanced second week. If you want to complete the Level 1 route, tell us when arranging your continuation so we can confirm the training and assessment requirements.

How do I choose between the two booking options?

At the bottom of this page, select the date you want and choose either the 10 day non accredited option for practical training with a certificate of attendance, or the 10 day accredited option for the Level 1 route. Add only your chosen option to the cart.

Plan Your Visit and Explore Related Courses

Training takes place at YTA in Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 9NW. See our travel information and local accommodation guide. Teaching runs from 9am to 4pm; the centre is open from 8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

• All Plumbing Courses, including the 1 Day Plumbing Taster and five-day versus ten-day comparison guide.
• 4 Week Multi-Skill Course – build a programme around your chosen trades.
• 9 Week Ultimate Multi-Skill Course – ten days each in plumbing, tiling, plastering and carpentry, plus five days of kitchen fitting.
• Tiling Courses, Plastering Courses, Carpentry and Joinery Courses and all Multi-Skill Courses.

Book Your 10 Day Plumbing Course