Am I too old for an Apprenticeship ... 21 yr Old Glasgow

[Martinc90]

Hey! New on here

Basically ive been told on many occasions by people that I should give up looking for an apprenticeship as I have no chance of gaining one due to my age 21, I mean is this true does 1 or 2 years really make a difference to employers ? Am I really in the lost Generation now im in my twentys ? I left school with pretty good Standard Grades and was confident of gaining an Apprenticeship .. Now as the years go on I feel my chances have got slimmer and slimmer, Have I really missed the boat ?

Thanks.

 

[Zeespark]

An apprenticeship is a form of training contract, not an employment one. There is nothing wrong with you even being classed as a basic trainee Martin. Jobs are few and far between unfortunately, and as we come out of the doom and gloom, your age may actually work to your advantage.

AndyGuinness

 

[celtictaz]

My apprentice just got his time out and let go but he was 45!

It might be harder for you to get one not being a school leaver but it's not impossible, keep applying to anyone you can think of and look at colleges as well cos they might be able to get you job placements within a company

 

[Martinc90]

Thanks for replies lads some positive advice

 

[Terry W]

personlly I'd rather have 21 yr old trainee than a 17 yr old,

 

[lkayelectrical]

Started mine at 20 (2005) and found it hard but then found my first company saying they preferred older people as they are more able, it was hard took me a fair few months to find one and lucky stumbled upon one that my dad was on the same building site as,

Normal truth they normaly o for the younger ones as they can get away with paying under 18s

 

[PC Electrics]

Trouble is that for the college course to be fully funded you have to be 19 or less on day of enrolement. My apprentice was 3 days before his 20th on his enrolement day - the college pulled out ALL the stops to achieve this for me. After that the employer has to partially fund or even fully fund the course. There's simply no way I could have done that - it would not have been financially viable.

 

[Martinc90]

Trouble is that for the college course to be fully funded you have to be 19 or less on day of enrolement. My apprentice was 3 days before his 20th on his enrolement day - the college pulled out ALL the stops to achieve this for me. After that the employer has to partially fund or even fully fund the course. There's simply no way I could have done that - it would not have been financially viable.

yeh having a look around the web ive noticed that funding for these apprenticeships are only for 16-19 year olds. Bit of a bummer but there must be other ways of gaining funding.

 

[Zeespark]

Why not go to your local college and find out if there are other ways of funding this Martin?

AndyGuinness

 

[johninlondon1]

I found this link to an apprentices site that may help. Apprentices - Apprenticeships If you cannot find an apprenticeship, look at your local college an go along and chat to them, they may have a careers advice department or student help department and they will advise you. I am 45 and completing Level 3 in EAL electrical installation, as I was claiming JSA it cost me

 

[flyingsparky]

I run a company near Gatwick and we have always taken on apprentices. I would much rather take on a 20+ trainee than a teenager. Go for it and hassle the firms around you. We get calls all the time but our quota is full so we have to turn them down. Keep trying and if you look and sound the part it will pay off.

Good luck.

 

[Martinc90]

Cheers lads! Definitely going to dig out the yellow pages and Contact a few Companies in Glasgow see what i can find out.

 

[SeánH]

Good luck with your search Martin. At 21 your not too old, I was 25 when I started mine and i'm 15 months in

 

[ashleycowx]

Hi there,

i looked into this and the age limit i beleive is 24.

Ash

 

[Steve M]

I should have went to college at the tender age of 17 but like all young people I thought I knew best. I didn't start college until the age of 28 so it's never to late as for a job just keep trying mate all the best.

 

[Revved Up Sparky]

Anyone of any age can get trained up to become an electrician. All you need is determination and......"...... dedication ooooo dedication .... dedication that's what you need... if you want to be the best and want to beat the rest then ooooooo dedication's what you need.......|" < cue that trumpet>

 

[cr0ft]

When I ran my business down South I was getting to the stage where I was looking to take an apprentice on. Unfortunately I went through 5 trying to find one that was decent and who had a good attitude and could pick things up quite quickly.

From a financial perspective you are at a disadvantage as the government gives employers large grants to take on unemployed school-leavers. My reality though is that I don't want an unemployed school-leaver in my business. There's usually (although not always) a reason why people are unemployed straight from school, i.e. they don't have the skills employers are looking for.

If you bring a good attitude to your work you shouldn't struggle getting a foot in the door - if you can find an apprenticeship that is!

Good luck.

 

[dsmith10]

You

 

[baldelectrician]

You can go on the normal appretnicship in Scotland until you are 22

Once you are over 22 (when you start) the adult scheme kicks in

The rate of pay is

 

[timgdean]

Know how you feel mate. went to college from 16 to 19 stopped at level 2 . few things got in the way and now back to do my level 3. Hard tofind a job and get the experince for the exams :-(

Good luck

Tim