Plenty of firms hire you to do a job and leave you exactly where you started. We'd rather grow people — because a business that trains its engineers keeps them, and engineers who keep learning do better work. Here's what progression actually looks like at MCR Gas, in plain terms.
We publish the pay ladder
Most heating firms tell you pay is "reviewed annually" and leave you guessing. We put the bands in writing. You can see, on day one, what the next level pays and exactly what it takes to reach it — and we fund the tickets that get you there. No mystery, no having to be the loudest person in the room to get a rise.
The routes we actually run
Apprentice to qualified engineer
A proper apprenticeship, one-to-one with a named engineer who's responsible for you learning something — not free labour with a broom. College and tools paid for, real work from early on, and when you qualify you go straight onto the engineer pay scale rather than waiting around to prove yourself.
Plumber to gas engineer
If you're a plumber who's ever fancied gas but been put off by the cost of qualifying, we remove that barrier — we fund the ACS route and move you onto the gas ladder when you pass. It's one of the biggest jumps in earning power in the trade.
Domestic to commercial gas
Hold your domestic ACS and want bigger plant and better pay? We do serious commercial volume across the North West, so you learn plant rooms alongside people who work them daily — and we fund the commercial tickets (COCN1 and the rest).
Gas to renewables and HVAC
Heat pumps, solar and air conditioning are the growth end of the trade. A strong heating engineer who adds renewable or F-Gas skills becomes far more valuable, and we fund that training as we grow those parts of the business.
Why we do it this way
Our directors are still on the tools most weeks, so this isn't HR theory — it's built by people who remember being the apprentice, and the engineer stuck on a job at five o'clock. Funding tickets, building rounds by geography, and a written rule that the office can't book you a new job after 16:15: it all comes from the same place. Look after engineers and they do their best work.
Where you'd start
Wherever you are on that ladder, there's a route up from it:
- Apprentice Engineer — learn the trade properly, one-to-one
- Plumber — with a funded road onto gas
- Gas & Heating Engineer — against a published pay ladder
- Renewables Engineer — get into heat pumps early
Every advert has the real numbers on it. Have a look, or just ring us on 0161 660 6063 and ask what we pay — we'll tell you.
Work with MCR Gas
We’re a family-run plumbing, heating, renewables and commercial HVAC firm in Bury, hiring across Greater Manchester and the North West. See our open roles — every advert has the real salary band on it.