Testimonials

Meet some of our current members are hear how being part of the Guild of Master Chimney sweeps have benefitted them and their business:

Jo Thurgur

“The course was fantastic, with excellent facilities and trainers who have been in the business for years and really know their stuff. I met some great people on the course who I am still in touch with.”

Nick Rance

In 2013 I decided to enter the chimney sweeping industry and paid to train as a sweep. After a couple of days training in a classroom I was given a certificate, sold some dodgy tools and wished the best of luck in my new career.

I discovered after a couple of years trading as an incompetent chimney sweep that I needed more than luck โ€“ some proper training was required as I was unintentionally putting peopleโ€™s lives at risk.

“In 2016 I decided to bite the bullet and invest money in some proper training. I researched my options and came to the conclusion that the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps was my best option as I wanted to do things right this time.

From the moment I contacted the Guild I havenโ€™t looked back. The training was very thorough, from the week in classroom with the excellent instructors through to practical on-site training with some excellent sweeps. All of them have been extremely helpful and if you donโ€™t quite understand something they take the time to explain.

Since I joined the Guild my business has really taken off and I now feel properly qualified to deliver a very professional service. Iโ€™m still on a learning curve and when I encounter a problem on a job thereโ€™s always someone who can give me advice and reassurance which makes the job so much easier.

I look forward to being part of the Guild in the future and taking my career forward with them.”

Jason Ross

Jason Ross

โ€œAnd what do you do?โ€
โ€œIโ€™m a chimney sweep.โ€

โ€œThe reactions can be interesting, from amusement to sympathy. But what people donโ€™t often realise is that chimney sweeping is probably one of the best jobs in the world!

โ€œI have been sweeping for 7 years and have found it to be a very good way of life. Not only do we regularly enjoy the satisfaction of inspecting a flue that we just swept and see that it is looking spic and span, but much more besides.

โ€œI get to travel throughout my region (stopping of for a bit of fly fishing โ€“ on the fly), meet interesting people, some of whom become friends and are given access to some very fancy homes and castles, where we usually wouldnโ€™t be able to set foot over the door.

โ€œWhat I like most about sweeping is the lifestyle. I have come to be at ease with the quiet period and enjoy a relaxed summer. The rest of the year is busy, but I can fill the diary to suit myself.

โ€œThe income is good โ€“ although it takes time to build up the business โ€“ and it will be more difficult in some areas than others.

โ€œIn the past year there have been two changes to my business. Firstly, Alasdair has come to work with me. He has a share in and runs a second branch of Fire Work. We have also begun more surveying work; I did the chimney survey course a few years ago, but only now feel confident to begin this type of work.

โ€œA chimney sweeping business can be moulded to suit you. It does take a lot of time, cost and effort to build it up, but in my case, and for lots of other Guild members, the hard slog at the beginning has paid off.โ€

Ali Swainston

โ€œDuring my research I had come across some forum talk online which was very negative about the cost of the Guildโ€™s training program. I guess it does seem like a lot of money to start with but, like most things, there is more to it than meets the eye and you get a lot more than just a few days in the class room. Once I understood what I was getting for the money, I was happy about committing to the scheme.

โ€œThroughout my time at Sure Fire and on the work experience days, I heard the analogy of comparing sweeping with driving โ€“ once you have passed your test, then you start learning.โ€

Richard Lawson

โ€œI found the course to be very knowledgeable. Being a Guild sweep has given me greater confidence when going to customerโ€™s homes and this has enabled me to become a HETAS approved chimney sweep.โ€

Jessica Hayes

โ€œI have never enjoyed a course as much as I enjoyed the one that you designed and delivered last week. It was, quite simply, faultless.

โ€œThe training environment at Ripley was high quality and well equipped. The materials were well written, well researched, relevant and specific. It was apparent that a lot of intelligent and considered writing and editing had gone in to producing the excellent training manual. It could quite easily have veered toward the type of inaccessible and technical-loaded, jargon infested manual that one never looks at again. On the contrary, the Guildโ€™s training manual will be a well referenced work book for me and, I suspect, for everyone who attended the course. I also anticipate that other organisations will be quick to utilise it.

โ€œThe trainers themselves however were the most impressive. You have amongst you a team of inspiring, understated experts, who delivered a perfect course. It was the blend of several things that made it, in my view, excellent; technical information in a no-nonsense, understandable form, good use of technology to impart the necessary information, great training aids to back up and, best of all, a passionate delivery by clear experts.

โ€œThere was enough practical, skills-based training to support the theory, and the right amount of time for delegates to network and build relationships.

โ€œThe trainersโ€™ communication skills were great โ€“ I loved the blend of anecdotes with tips and real life experience, and felt you carried a tough schedule really well.โ€

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