Talking about apprenticeships

[Evans Electric]

What are the general observations of members ?    I  do not see or hear of any apprenticeships being offered or taken up ...........I don't see any apprentices at the wholesalers ...the lad who works with  us off & on reckons none of the college class  are getting offers or answers to CVs .

On jobs I only see tradesmen , no apprentices .   One a cottage refurb last year , sitting drinking tea , theres  painters , chippies, plumbers , two sparks, plasterer, brickie  .... someone says  " Look at us lot , bunch of old pharts ...is there no one young in the trade these days"  ?    

 

[sprocketflup]

I was thinking of taking an apprentice on, and so voiced on here about the pros and cons. Ive now changed my mind.

And its not just this trade either.

 

[Andy™]

as much as i would like to take an apprentice on, i just cant justify it. and then there are all the employment laws etc to go with it, its just too much hassle

 

[Blue Duck]

Not just aapprenticeships there is very little full time work out there, it's all subbing, agency carp and franchises.

No one wants to directly employ anyone any more.

 

[Andy™]

No one wants to directly employ anyone any more.

with all the employments laws, im not surprised

 

[Evans Electric]

with all the employments laws, im not surprised

yes its a good point ...  the last person you can lay off is the apprentice , which will obviously scare people. 

 

[SeánH]

The firm I'm at takes on a few apprentices a year,   they work with local colleges who put forward names and details of a students that they think have the ability and attitude.  

I'm not sure what the deal is with it,  it's not a big company but they seem to pride themselves in training apprentices and then promoting from within.

 

[Kurt]

I have one, was a lot harder to find the right candidate for my type of business than I expected. So if the colleges are struggling to find places for apprentices and businesses (like mine at least) struggle to find the right candidate, something must be seriously wrong.

All I wanted was.

1. Ability to get to work reliably at 9:00am

2. Enough experience to not be an immediate danger to themselves on-site

3. Have either L2 or L3 theory to grasp the concepts of being an electrician

I offered support to get the NVQ element done and practice and guidance for AM2.

 

[Tony S]

With your line of business he’ll get a damn good grounding on the industrial side of the trade.

 

[rapparee]

All I wanted was.

1. Ability to get to work reliably at 9:00am

2. Enough experience to not be an immediate danger to themselves on-site

3. Have either L2 or L3 theory to grasp the concepts of being an electrician

I offered support to get the NVQ element done and practice and guidance for AM2.

That's putting the cart before the horse, whenever i started i couldn't wire a plug. You achieve level 2 at the end of first year.

 

[SeánH]

To add to my earlier reply, myself, another spark and an apprentice were talking about this today.  

We all came to the conclusion that alot of school/college leavers don't take up an apprenticeship because they can't see past the low wages at the start when their friends are earning a couple of hundred quid a week working in a call centre selling dodgy products.

 

[steptoe]

To add to my earlier reply, myself, another spark and an apprentice were talking about this today.  

We all came to the conclusion that alot of school/college leavers don't take up an apprenticeship because they can't see past the low wages at the start when their friends are earning a couple of hundred quid a week working in a call centre selling dodgy products.

That was like me when I started,

Most of my friends were in factories making £150-£200 a week, I was earning £40, 

Now, all these years later they are still doing the same for minimum wage, and I've been fortunate enough to see a bit of the world and have a life.

 

[Slowhand]

Speaking as a one man band, not a large company....

years ago you could take a lad on to work with you and try to pass on knowledge and give them the benefit of your experience.

If they were interested and wanted to learn ( and if you had enough work to keep them on long enough ) they could go to college.

That way they'd get the best of both worlds, qualifications and work experience.

Bearing in mind that for the first 6 months or however long it takes for the lad to pick up enough knowledge to start thinking for themselves....

To actually start earning what you're paying them, you're taking a chance and paying wages for little return.

They are taking a chance on you too.

So you mustn't let them down.

I've had two lads that came to work with me who made it all the way and I'm proud of that.

They still keep in touch.

These days I wouldn't even contemplate taking someone on like that.

The responsibilities and consequences these days are a nightmare.

It's a shame but it's the truth.

 

[binky]

yes its a good point ...  the last person you can lay off is the apprentice , which will obviously scare people. 

 laying of an apprentice is not a problem, 4 out of 6, sacked, I have. :shakehead

Trouble is no-one thinks about an apprentice until they are too busy to train one, and they do need training! Plus most trades are now 1 /2 man bands as nearly everything is subby / self-employed, so the medium and large companies have disappeared, and it was these companies that used to train most apprentices. There is also a selfish aspect, why train your competition? Skills shortages are good for wages.