The easiest way to become a chimney sweep:
There are some seriously easy ways to become what some people might refer to as a chimney sweep.
Who wants to learn the best way to be a chimney sweep, when they can learn the easiest way?!
The Chimney Sweep Academy (CSA) offer a 1 day course for £649 that will make you ‘fully insurance approved and certified’.
Wow. That’s great, right? £649 for a course on Monday, and on Tuesday you’re a skilled, competent tradesman ready to go and work in peoples houses. An on site assessment by the CSA isn’t even necessary! What a relief.
The customer also benefits from the reassurance of a trade association logo at the top of their ‘insurance approved’ certificate, issued by the 1 day trained sweep. Result!
Better even than that was the The Institute of Chimney Sweeps 1 day Zoom chimney sweeping course. It seems to have disappeared from their website now, but that would have made life so much easier. Learn to sweep chimneys at the comfort of your desk! Remember to have your dustpan and brush to hand for the practical element.
Instead of that though, you can undertake their 2 day ‘intensive chimney sweeping course’. Only £1125 for the two days. That’s cheaper per day than the CSA – £560 and some change per day. Bargain.
The best bit is, according to the timings on the website, you don’t need to start until 10am. Plenty of time for a buffet breakfast at the local hotel.
Minimum effort, maximum reward?
Yea, I know what you’re thinking. It doesn’t seem to work like that in this case, does it?
I remember a quote. I can’t remember who said it. In fact, maybe I made it up in a dream. If i did I’m pretty chuffed with myself. Having said that, not only can I not remember who said it, I can barely remember it accurately. But it goes something like this:
“We cannot learn without pain. There are no shortcuts in life without consequences. Input determines output”
And my favourite bit:
“The discomfort of exertion is the price of postponed happiness.”
Input determines output. And if you exert yourself, and put a lot into your development, and a lot into you business, your life down the line will be easier.
The first law of thermodynamics. I reckon it’s relevant as thermo means relating to heat and heat is pretty fundamental to solid fuel and chimneys. The first law is conservation of energy. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. What you put in must come out. It might well be in a different form. But out it comes.
Stop pi**ing about, what’s the BEST way to learn to be a chimney sweep?
The trouble is, the best way for most people isn’t achievable.
The best way is an apprenticeship. Work with someone. Learn slowly and organically over a couple of years. Acquiring a real holistic understanding of chimneys and appliances over a long period of time. So all that knowledge can be absorbed.
The best way is real life work on site with professional, knowledgable chimney sweeps. Technical courses to develop knowledge. Periodic assessments to highlight where you’re excelling and where you might need to ‘brush up’ a bit.
Not a few days in a class where information is relentlessly thrown at you:
‘BS EN 8303 this, BS EN 13384 that. And don’t forget the minimum flue size for a stove is 5 inch. But only if it’s DEFRA exempt or exclusively burns smokeless coal. And if it’s DEFRA exempt but has a 6 inch outlet it can’t have a 5 inch flue. Unless, if the manufacturer says it’s okay and gives you some calculations nobody understands from the aforementioned 13384 that’s probably okay too’.
Don’t worry if none of that sinks in though. The training organisation might be kind enough to give you a 300 page booklet containing all the information you can’t remember. Tiny font and confusing diagrams for good measure.
You’ll be find wading through that, even though you’ve had so much information thrown at you you can’t remember what the subject even was, let alone the content.
This blog isn’t actually very helpful
I agree. I’m not really helping, am I?
We’re in a bit of a catch 22 in the chimney sweeping industry right now.
We need better training. It should be longer. There should be much more on site training. It should be more technical with in depth courses about principles of combustion, flue principles, fault finding, report writing and so much more.
As it is though, who would bother paying out for long term training packages, when theres an alternative which is go and pay £649 to become a chimney sweep in a day?
Anybody with any sense would tell you there would be a massive difference between someone that does a one day course and someone who went through an apprenticeship or similar.
But to the customer, what’s the difference? They don’t know that one sweep managed to learn the intricacies of their craft in 8 hours (2 of that spent drinking coffee and eating lunch).
JUST TELL ME WHAT THE BEST F**KING WAY IS
The best way to learn to be a chimney sweep. I will tell you what the best way is now. Not the best possible way, I am trying to be realistic with all things considered. To make life easy I will do like a step by step thing. You deserve it after reading this far.
- Try to get out for a day or two with a chimney sweep to see what the job actually involves
- To a chimney sweeping training course, like the APICS one
- Get out sweeping with chimney sweeps as much as possible (APICS arrange this if you do their course)
- Keep getting out with other sweeps. Make friends and ask to shadow them
- Do as many courses as you can, such as our CPD courses for chimneys sweeps and installers
- Work hard every day and don’t try to take shortcuts
- Never believe your standards are good enough. Strive to be better. Those that think they’re good are usually crap. Remember that.
Mentoring
Beyond all that, look for a mentor. We offer a mentoring program for new sweeps, or any sweeps who are lacking confidence or want advice etc. Simply get in touch by email or on our contact page, and we can talk through the options.
Your mentor doesn’t need to be anything to do with us though.
Just look for the best. And the best at each aspect of the job isn’t usually the same person.
Find the best person at sweeping chimneys. Find the best person at inspections. Then find the best at marketing their business. And the best at the technical aspects of the job.
Befriend the best people. Not the loudest. The best.
The best way to learn to be a chimney sweep now is to surround yourself with the best. Attend the best courses. Talk to industry stakeholders like the BFCMA. And work hard.