Get yerself a trade son

[Evans Electric]

This advice was given out frequently in the '50s ...'60s ...not sure about the '70s .      It was given out to me ...get a trade and your skills will always be needed .  I think it was true for those of us who were not off to "Uni"   to get a "degree"  then graduate to a "good"  job in high finance or whatever . 

My question is ...is this still true in the 21st century ?    

Speaking for myself I don't know of any youngster who is learning a trade .  As I've said before , the lad who works with us as & when we can fit him in ...cannot get a "proper " job & he is the only member of his class at the local college who has actually worked on the tools.    None of them can get a start anywhere . 

 

[Lurch]

It was still true, to some extent, in some areas, in the 90's. Seems the 21st century put an end to tradesmen, and the fact that every industry is trying to put itself out of business. I probably wouldn't discourage anyone from learning a trade but I don't know if I would say 'get a trade'.

 

[binky]

a trade is still worth having, but with the move to self-employed by virtually all tradesmen the opportunities for apprenticeships seem to be few and far inbetween. There is little motivation to train as it is a pita, plus there's a very good chance your freshly qualified apprentice will pee off and go self employed defeating all the work you put into training the young lad. The good thing is that a lack of trades will drive prices up.

 

[rapparee]

Well I'm getting a promotion and we are advertising for an apprentice for me next week. The reason the decision was taken to get an apprentice instead of a qualified spark to help me was so that we could mould him into our way of thinking and operating.

 

[apprentice87]

I did in fact have a short spell teaching in a college. Loads of the kids would drop out and most gave the same reason. What is the point of all the effort when they can go and earn just the same, if not more, stacking shelves or whatever they do, in the tesco warehouse..

The government did away with industry and took all the trades and proper jobs with it. Now all the kids will get is zero hours contract ****.

If you think a lack of "tradesmen" will drive prices up, [your wages] no it will not, your jobs will be taken be hordes of foreigners, that will work for pennies, [they are not interested in the wages, just access to things like "working families tax credit" and child benefit] that they can send back to bulgaria or whereever..

Now, if working people supported the unions.......

[The people get the government they deserve...]

john..

 

[misssweden]

It's really, really hard to get an apprenticeship. When I was getting towards the end of my 2365 I was looking for an apprenticeship and must have written to over 30 companies in my local area. Out of those I got 3 replies, two who said thanks for asking but we're not recruiting at the moment and one offered me an interview (which was unsuccessful). 

Out of the 15 lads I was at college with I think 4 had an apprenticeship lined up by the time we finished. 

 

[rapparee]

It's really, really hard to get an apprenticeship. When I was getting towards the end of my 2365 I was looking for an apprenticeship and must have written to over 30 companies in my local area. Out of those I got 3 replies, two who said thanks for asking but we're not recruiting at the moment and one offered me an interview (which was unsuccessful). 

Out of the 15 lads I was at college with I think 4 had an apprenticeship lined up by the time we finished. 

Whenever I applied for my apprenticeship, there were 45 other applications for one position. The thing is we go to work and then go to college on day release, you can't enroll unless you have a sponsor employer.

PS I also find it funny that @apprentice87 spoke of hordes of foreigners and the next person to post was @misssweden. 

 

[Blue Duck]

Bloody foreigners taking all our jobs....

Especially the Swedish how dare they come here in hordes like vikings with their SAAB's, flatpack furniture and meatballs.....

As for the unions, 3 words: British Car Industry!

 

[Tony S]

My father insisted my brother and I had a trade. We went to different companies and both served an indentured apprenticeship. Bro started in 1962 myself 1971.

Both companies used the IETB the government still paid the apprentice grant. The horizon looked rosy.

Three years after I started the apprentice grant was stopped, I don’t know when the IETB stopped.

 

[apprentice87]

That is what i mean.. How are the kids supposed to get a proper apprenticeship?? There is no industry left.. How can you do day release to college when you do not have a job to start with.. A good way to judge the state of industry is to count the steel stockholders in your town. Years ago there were lots here, not now... Coal mines turned in to retail parks and steelworks into shopping malls and all "utilities" sold to the foreigners.

The government talk about the "deficit". Is it any wonder they got one, when every time you turn on a light, or a tap, or even cross the severn bridge, it is an import, and money is flowing OUT of britain??.. Real genius's running britain..

To tell kids to "get a trade" is a great idea i COMPLETELY agree with, but where and how??

By the way, it was not the unions that ruined the british car industry, it was management. I had a guided tour of longbridge [in about 1994 i think it was??] and the blokes there on the mini line, told me that it had not changed one bit since 1959 when it was installed..

Now, how much did the japanese re-invest in their car industry, and how much did our car makers re-invest??? Hmmmm

No good blaming the workers....

john..

 

[Andy™]

 A good way to judge the state of industry is to count the steel stockholders in your town.

quite handily, phoenix steel moved last year and is now 1 mile away from me instead of 5...

 

[apprentice87]

quite handily, phoenix steel moved last year and is now 1 mile away from me instead of 5...

Well, that has got to be good!!!

john..

 

[steptoe]

Bloody foreigners taking all our jobs....

Especially the Swedish how dare they come here in hordes like vikings with their SAAB's, flatpack furniture and meatballs.....

As for the unions, 3 words: British Car Industry!

I did in fact have a short spell teaching in a college. Loads of the kids would drop out and most gave the same reason. What is the point of all the effort when they can go and earn just the same, if not more, stacking shelves or whatever they do, in the tesco warehouse..

The government did away with industry and took all the trades and proper jobs with it. Now all the kids will get is zero hours contract ****.

If you think a lack of "tradesmen" will drive prices up, [your wages] no it will not, your jobs will be taken be hordes of foreigners, that will work for pennies, [they are not interested in the wages, just access to things like "working families tax credit" and child benefit] that they can send back to bulgaria or whereever..

Now, if working people supported the unions.......

[The people get the government they deserve...]

john..

That is what i mean.. How are the kids supposed to get a proper apprenticeship?? There is no industry left.. How can you do day release to college when you do not have a job to start with.. A good way to judge the state of industry is to count the steel stockholders in your town. Years ago there were lots here, not now... Coal mines turned in to retail parks and steelworks into shopping malls and all "utilities" sold to the foreigners.

The government talk about the "deficit". Is it any wonder they got one, when every time you turn on a light, or a tap, or even cross the severn bridge, it is an import, and money is flowing OUT of britain??.. Real genius's running britain..

To tell kids to "get a trade" is a great idea i COMPLETELY agree with, but where and how??

By the way, it was not the unions that ruined the british car industry, it was management. I had a guided tour of longbridge [in about 1994 i think it was??] and the blokes there on the mini line, told me that it had not changed one bit since 1959 when it was installed..

Now, how much did the japanese re-invest in their car industry, and how much did our car makers re-invest??? Hmmmm

No good blaming the workers....

john..

John

I think you answer your own posts,

dont blame the workers,

it was the unions made them work to rule,

wouldnt allow any changes to be made to how they worked,

the **** came, took the same worker, in the same factory, and made money,

whos fault was that?

surely not the unions that were holding the country to ransom.?

 

[apprentice87]

Unions never held anyone to ransom. Unions was what got the working man homes, secure jobs, health and safety etc.

The working man deserted the unions, and now anyone can take your job, qualified or not, [the employers will not care] You have zero hours contracts, and as for health and safety, for the time being you might have some [when it suits them] but i bet if YOU go and ask the HSE for help they will simply not be interested.

Give it a few years and you will have to pay for your kids to go to school, never mind the [already privatised and can bill you anytime they like health service] trust me on that one..

john..

 

[Evans Electric]

PS I also find it funny that @apprentice87 spoke of hordes of foreigners and the next person to post was @missswede

Miss Sweden is'nt a foreigner ....she,s Swedish .

As for the unions, 3 words: British Car Industry!

:Applaud

 

[Evans Electric]

Theres a pic of my last union card,    for what good it did me ,   they didn't give a shyrt for contracting sparks because they couldn't be organised , only cared about their comrades , the industrial electricians , and believe me they were certainly NOT our brothers either . 

 

[Evans Electric]

By the way, it was not the unions that ruined the british car industry, it was management. I had a guided tour of longbridge [in about 1994 i think it was??] and the blokes there on the mini line, told me that it had not changed one bit since 1959 when it was installed..

Apprentii  I think it was both of them , certainly the case of Longbridge .    The contractors I did my apprenticeship with did the install on the first Mini lines  ( And on the subject of apprenticeships, there were about 50 on that job alone )

The first Minis were a load of carp ,   they leaked like sieves , they were underpowered at 750cc , they had that dreadful great long , floppy gearshift,  noisey,  the distributor was exposed to incoming rainwater , the suspension was carp , there was no heater , no radio and the sub-frames dropped off.      Compare that with the cheapest little car on sale today and you wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. 

  Issigonnis also designed the Morris Minor  and TBH  you'd be better off with one of those .    He squashed the Minor down to become a minicar, OK inovative work on the front wheel drive etc.    but he thought the great British public wanted a sparse , no nonsense , no radio, no frills motor ,  just like Hitler with his People's Wagon   ( sorry translation :  Volkswagen  )     Sir Alec , by the way , drove a Roller. 

They then decided to badge them up with the other marques in BMC  so there was the Austin Mini ,  Morris Mini , Riley Mini, Wolsey Mini ,  which meant producing a different radiator ...different back end ....different hubcaps , steering wheels badged Austin , Morris etc .  all with different advertising .    Not a clue!!

There was massive interest in these bags of nails ...everyone wanted a Mini .... Ford purchased one of the first available  to strip down and reckoned they were being massively undersold at the original selling prices.      Honda came in and things looked up but I can't remember the story now  other than they were sat upon from a great height.   Couple that with the communist run unions  , ( like ours when the ETU )  , a strike twice a week ...what happens ...everyone buys a Ford Cortina instead.  

 

[phil d]

My old fella taught me plumbing before I left school, he had an apprenticeship lined up for me when I left school but didn't want it, tbh I'd had enough, by the time I left school I could install a full central heating on my own!

My old chap went mental, when I told him I didn't want to be a plumber, "well your going to get a bloody job" was his reply, I did, I became an electrician and never looked back, ok I wasn't always in full time work but you can always get a "foreigner",there's always someone wants a cheap job. A mate of mine was teaching his son to be a brickie, the lad was moaning his dad was being too hard on him, he wasn't he was just teaching him properly. He decided to pack in and ended up working at Maccy's, I told him he was an idiot, lets be honest how many people want a burger flipper at weekends? No "foreigners" if you lose your job. I told him.

Anyway he went back with his dad, did his time and eventually ended up in Canada, job, house, wife, etc, doing very well, ta very much.

Another mate had a lad, Craig, he wanted to be a spark but couldn't get a placement,he began coming out with me, went to college and after 2 years got a placement. He passed all his exams and qualified, he bought a nice car, is buying a house and has a nice girlfriend. He loves the job, has plenty of money and is well thought of by his employer, all thanks to me giving him the initial break and he never forgets it.

It's nice to see young people getting a trade and learning, we need tradespeople if things are to develop.

 

[Lurch]

The problem is though, why do an apprenticeship when you can do a short course and be qualified? There are too many incompetent qualified electricians so if there are apprenticeships going who is going to train them? Inexperienced clowns. The electrical trade is becoming unskilled, and the government apprenticeship scheme seems to be devaluing those too, which is the way things go nowadays, not allowed to exclude anyone or tell them they are doing it wrong so the bar is lowered to suit.

 

[apprentice87]

EXACTLY the point i was trying to make.. If the unions had not been deserted by people that took the hard won "rights" they ALL enjoyed for granted, then NONE of this would be happening. It would be either a peoper apprenticeship or the union would not recognise you as an electrician and no-one would employ you as one. How it should be...

john..