Looking for an apprentice job

[Joshua Melrose]

 I am currently looking to become an electrician apprentice. I have passed the SECTT test and have completed a pre-employment electrician course at Glasgow Clyde College. Is anyone hiring electrician apprentices? or does anyone know any companies that are hiring electrician apprentices? I live in Glasgow, Scotland. Thank you!

 

[Evans Electric]

Hi  Joshua .

I have no idea what the trade is like in Scotland  ,  our Pro- Dave  will have a better idea .

I can tell you that in the Midlands  my conception is there are very few     REAL     jobs going for apprentice electricians .   Lot of lads on the college courses but no real employment  when they come to  the level that requires them to be working with a contractor.     (  Not well up on  the course numbers)  

SECTT is a Scottish thing  , we don't know what that is .   Is there a JIB in Scotland      ( Joint Industry Board for Electrical Contracting )    They  should have schemes for placing apprentices .   

I think the larger contractors  are possibly the best bet  or possibly whoever runs the power network in your area  ( Although that isn't actually being an electrician )  You could opt for switchgear work   or cable jointing .  

Small outfits can be great to work for  ...from  1 to 4/5 guys  BUT beware of being used as cheap labour .......OK you have to do whatever needs to be done  but you are there to learn  so make sure you are .  

Sorry to be downbeat but in  my part of of the country seeing an apprentice  is like seeing a Golden Unicorn grazing on the centre of the M6 .  

Just to add :-    a few sparks  I know who did take on an apprentice  got shut of them fairly quickly  and used a self employed youngster as & when they needed a hand .

Among the reasons were ...........

1)     Main reason ...the  lads could not be parted from their cell  phones  .

2)    The standard of basic education was not good enough to do the job. 

3)     Abject lazyness .  

4)      Poor  communication skills .  ( Other than texting)    Specially with grown ups.

5)      Physically unfit to do a weeks work .   

The ones who seem to get on and adapt are mainly the father / son relationships.    ( But not all I must add)  

 

[Murdoch]

Agree with all the above.

i am a sole trader and taking on an apprentice would create problems for me .....

becoming VAT reg .....

holiday pay

sick pay

pensions 

if any government wants to improve things they need to think about the vat threshold would be a good start ....

 

[binky]

taking on any staff is a pain in the neck, plus there no longer financial incentives for training apprentices. 

 

[Joshua Melrose]

 Thank you all for helping! SECTT is a test thing you have to do to be able to apply for an electrical modern apprenticeship. There is a Scottish JIB, I'll have to look more into it. Are there other ways in which I could become an Electrician? 

 

[Phoenix]

Have a look to see if JTL opperate in scotland, they also run schemes and place apprentices with contractors, some contractors will take apprentcies through JTL, some go direct to the college, so by being on their books it casts the net wider so to speak.

 

[Phoenix]

@ Deke, Mordoch, Binky, etc.

I've always thought there needs to be some kind of scheme to rotate apprentices through one man bands who can't justify taking one full time, and or, can't provide a wide enough range of expierence, as well as dealing with all the paperwork it raises. Each apprentice assigned a supervisor who ensures that they get a varried experience*, deals with concerns raised by contractors (i.e. too much time on phone) and has the power to dock pay and kick them out if required

*But limited to a reasonable number, they need to be able to form working relationships with those they work for. In effect it makes it more like working for a larger contractor where they float between guys doing different types of work from one week to the next

 

[Tony S]

The government apprentice subsidy was withdrawn just as I entered my third indentured year. The government and the company had to honour my contract.

We should be looking at the reintroduction of the apprentice subsidy particularly in the industrial sector. We’re running out of people for industrial plants whilst overrun with domestic electricians.

I wish any apprentice well in these difficult times.

 

[Doc Hudson]

Wasn't it Margaret Thatcher and her government that scrapped the proven and working apprenticeship scheme in the 1980's, then introduced the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). I am not aware of any really successful Apprenticeships in any industry since the traditional arrangements were binned. There used to be a phrase, if it ain't broke don't fix it, yet somehow some misguided experts decided that proper skills and training across a broad spectrum of trades and industry were no longer a valuable asset to the UK economy. Crazy! 

I wish you all the best with your search Joshua, it will not be easy, as we have a daft situation all over the UK at the moment, where loads of large industry has closed down, and numerous trades people have started up small business, because the overall demand for electrical work is still increasing year on year. But red-tape and legal obligations make it damn near impossible for a small one-man-band, or two or three partners to afford the liabilities of employing a semi skilled worker. Persistence will be needed, it may be a long slog, but don't give up if you really want to go for it.

Doc H. 

 

[binky]

apprenticeships died with the advent of 'outsourcing' and 'sub-contracting'. When bigger companies were the norm, training your own staff was also the norm. (th dockyard in Plymouth used to take on 200 apprentices a year, many of whom left the yard at some point to persue careers in private companies or self employed) Recent legislation hasn't helped at all, and mobile phones and the general 'getting hands dirty; is to be looked down upon hasn't helped either.

 

[Evans Electric]

@ Deke, Mordoch, Binky, etc.

I've always thought there needs to be some kind of scheme to rotate apprentices through one man bands who can't justify taking one full time, and or, can't provide a wide enough range of expierence, as well as dealing with all the paperwork it raises. Each apprentice assigned a supervisor who ensures that they get a varried experience*, deals with concerns raised by contractors (i.e. too much time on phone) and has the power to dock pay and kick them out if required

*But limited to a reasonable number, they need to be able to form working relationships with those they work for. In effect it makes it more like working for a larger contractor where they float between guys doing different types of work from one week to the next

Thats an excellent idea  ,  and the outfit to run the scheme would be the Part P  brigade ,   at last something useful for them to do .

No one seems to care that very few apprentices are in the system . 

 

[binky]

No one seems to care that very few apprentices are in the system . 

can't say it really bothers me anymore, I've had my share of training youngsters, and a shortage of skills is good for my earnings...