How to become a gas registered engineer

A gas engineer is a highly trained and knowledgeable individual who holds qualifications alongside the skills and knowledge required to work competently with gas installations. Gas Safe engineers will carry out full central heating installations, including the installation of gas boilers, gas cookers and gas fireplaces. The Installation of whole house central heating systems is a complex and rewarding task that takes a lot of training and assessment time to work towards. The engineers attending your boiler breakdown have spent many years fine-tuning their art form to get to where they are, standing in front of your complex central heating systems today. There is a lot more behind every Gas Safe engineer than most of the general public will see, attending breakdowns, carrying out annual servicing work and completing full boiler installations is all the easy part of a week’s work.

A new career in the gas industry normally springs to mind a high-paying salary, It is no myth that skilled and trusted gas engineers are worth their weight in gold. With well above average national starting salaries it is easy to see why there is so much interest in becoming fully qualified and joining the Gas Safe register. Salaries starting around £32,000 without experience are the norm, and salaries at £60,000 are a very common sight. For those wishing to go self-employed, the rewards are limitless. We have seen engineers come through our new entrants gas course and come back after five years for reassessment with over 20 engineers under their belt, it goes to show that it really is all about what you put into this skilled industry.

Looking past high wages, installing central heating systems and attending servicing and breakdown work on gas installations is a very rewarding job. Every day as a Gas Safe engineer is a rewarding challenging waiting to be had as no two days are ever the same. You are never limited by the work you wish to undertake, you are only as limited as your ACS gas qualifications make you. Expanding your skillset simply requires training, holding commercial gas qualifications alongside having the skills and knowledge for domestic gas installations is a very common route to expand your business and salary potential.

Job security as a Gas Safe registered engineer will always be ensured, there is a shortfall of Gas Safe registered engineers in the United Kingdom and the supply of services is always chasing to keep up with the demand.

Talk about banning gas boilers in the popular press could not be further from the truth, most new boilers being made are hydrogen-ready to meet this criteria alongside the other methods of reaching net zero. As a Gas engineer, you will hold the qualifications to allow you to jump straight into air source heat pump training as well as other renewable training courses. The industry has changed from town gas to natural gas in the past, we are now reaching an exciting time in the gas heating industry as we look at taking new steps towards net zero. Rest assured whatever heat source you are working with, if a big switch comes you are only going to be expanding on business opportunities as a huge influx of work appears, this will also build on your portfolio of qualifications for your customers.

It all comes down to motivation, if you are a problem solver who is ready for the unexpected then it will be the career choice for you. The training is vigorous and intense, and the problems are vast, however with the right skill set and knowledge you will have access to all the solutions.

Training for your chosen sector of work is the first step, the real problem-solving comes when you are on the tools and working under pressure with customers waiting. With no two days being the same, the rewarding feeling of having conquered a new challenge awaits at the end of each day for many gas engineers. As an engineer’s diary builds up, so does a list of challenges and rewards, not a job for the faint of heart.

By following our simple three steps you will find yourself on the Gas Safe Register. Becoming a gas engineer will require training – either on a modern fast-track managed learning programme such as the one Gastec has offered for over 27 years, or under a traditional apprenticeship for the young, which we are very close to bringing back!

Once you have completed your training with Gastec, you will need to obtain two qualifications to allow you to work legally as a gas engineer:

 ACS certification, in the area of gas work you wish to undertake.

 Gas Safe Registration. Without these, you cannot start work.