Entering into pipe designing......

I am trying to get into being a pipe designer but am struggling to find any relevent courses to study here in the UK.

My working history is in petrochem and process industries where I served my time as a mechanical fitter and was responsible for all piping installation and mechanical maintenance. After finishing my apprenticeship I continued in the same line of work (contracting for 10 years on various sites owned by Shell, BP, ICI etc) until I took a year out to do a CAD qualification. I am familiar with producing mechanical layouts in 2D and 3D but have not produced any piping drawings on CAD even though I am familiar with all aspects of piping such as valves, flanges, fittings etc and also process flow diagrams and P&ID's. I have bought various books such as 'Pipe draughting and design' by Parisher and Rhea and understand most of their contents.

My question is this....would people on here consider me to have enough experience to apply for any piping designer vacancies. I feel that if I were given an opportunity to train in this environment that I would be able to learn the job but I am weary of applying for something whereby on the first day I would feel 'out of my depth'.

As far as I see it it's a catch 22 position in that there are no training courses to get me to the desired level I need to be at to apply for the job yet I can't get the job I want because I don't feel confident enough to apply.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Finding a relevant course to study in the UK is tough, but you have made a good start.
Being from a background of pipe fitting is a big advantage over someone fresh from college.
Also the fact that you have a CAD qualification and have shown interest in progressing in to piping design is also very good.

I would try to get some contact names for piping leads/managers, in local engineering companies, and contact them directly to explain your situation.
Emphasise the fact that you have the hands-on experience of pipe fitting and would like to train as a designer.

You will most probably find that if they are willing to take you on, that you will be starting well down the food chain, so the money won't be great for a while, but that's the way the cookie crumbles!

I'm sure some of the others on this forum may also be able to share their knowledge with you also.

Thanks for the replies, I'll try some of the suggestions. I know there seem to be a lot more opportunities in Scotland and I'm prepared to work away from home. I also forgot to mention that I have a HNC in Mechanical Engineering and I'm 4/5 through an Open University degree which I hope will come in handy. I've read a few vacancies on various job sites but the job descriptions are vague and I don't want to put myself forward for something that I can't do yet.

Jop, I've just checked the Desurvey website and they are literally on my doorstep so I'll be contacting them tomorrow, thanks.

Just to update.............I've now got an interview on Monday 4th December for a contract vacancy asking for mechanical/piping experience. Can any of you experienced piping people give me some ideas as to the types of questions I might face or specific things I would need to know so I could read up on them. As I posted before, I am from a piping background in the petrochem industry (pipe fitter) and have been draughting for the last 14 years but not in that field. I'm desperate to get into this line of work and put my experience in piping and CAD together if possible. I want to make a good impression in the interview and not come across as a novice. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.