Shall i give this lad a chance

[uksparks]

Hi,

Just had my first CV through the door from a 16 year old who has previously done work experience with another local firm.

I have a CU change on Friday, what do you say, shall I ring him and see if he wants to tag along?

Got an extension next week too.

Any thoughts? Can it hurt to do so? Do I pay him and if so, what in? Biscuits and tea?

 

[GMES]

Yes uk maybe you could take him on as an apprentice, at his age you should get full funding, and also if he is brand new you can mould him to the shape that suits you and your work.
If you can find enough to keep him busy and maybe look for a couple of extra jobs a month that will pay for him, then you can begin to give him more and more work, everybody wins that way. jmo

 

[uksparks]

Sounds like you've a gud un there.
If he is 16 why is he paying for a course? All basics are funded! I doubt its 2330 as if I'm right in thinking that was phased out in 2011. I think its 2365/6 now but could be wrong. Good luck!

He said he was paying for something for it, not sure what, yes probably 2365, he wasnt sure of the number.

 

[uksparks]

We shall see how it goes, but reading up on it, im not in a position to be commingling to an apprenticeship at the moment, maybe in a year or so, who knows, he said he will look for a proper apprenticeship near the end of his course.

He said its three days a week, so I said, if I make sure I have stuff booked the other two, that gives him two days a week working and earning a bit of cash.

 

[uksparks]

I can certainly see the benefit of having another pair of hands though.

 

[GMES]

I can certainly see the benefit of having another pair of hands though.

I was the same mate, couldn't make my mind up about making the jump, but boy I am glad i went for it.
Your job just becomes much easier with 2 of you.
Also giving him 2 days a week is probably a good idea, there is not as much pressure for you to find more work but also you can get to know each other gradually, But whatever you decide I hope it works out for you both, it is a nice feeling giving someone a chance now and then.

 

[vernam616]

Give the lad a chance, everyone deserves one, someone give us a chance and we wouldnt be where we are now would we?

i disagree though with people who wrap their apprentices in cotton wool by buying their lunch/taking them home/not having them sweeping up etc..

This is a major problem with apprentices now, its a generation of kids who had everything handed to them on a plate, ive had loads within the past few years and there was very few who could stand on their own two feet

When i was an apprentice (12 years ago i started), i had to buy my own lunch, get to and from work (if one of the lads dropped me off one day i saw that as a bonus) and most importantly i had to do the menial jobs like cleaning up, fetching gear etc.. its common sense to teach them these things first, they will end up with a chip on their shoulders once qualified like quite a number of other tradesmen i know.

And what did i get? £40 a week and a bloody good apprenticeship, i also learnt good customer skills and that you always clean up after yourself, plus also earning respect from the sparks who taught me when i became qualified.

without tarring them all with the same brush, they all just seem to roll up from school now and think a apprenticeship is a game which they expect to be paid for, ive had first years who join us earning £150 a week FFS! STRAIGHT FROM SCHOOL, STILL SOAKING WET BEHIND THE EARS, so they have a mentality of beleving its their right to have good pay from day one, i struggled on £40 a week and i knew it, which made me graft my balls off to get taken on by the firm and start earning more by working my way up, it wasnt until i was a 3rd year i started earning £150+ a week

so to summarise, throw them in at the deep-end, they have been wrapped in cotton wool by mummy for 16 years, its now time to enter the real world and start to earn a crust

PS.. i have all the time in the world for apprentices... IF and only IF they are willing to learn and be told what to do, we all started at the bottom once upon a time

 

[shanky887614]

08:45, the customer didn't want me there till 9am, I usually start at 8am on site. GMES, thank you for your encouragement!

This is the board I changed with him, he thought it was only going to take an hour, he had no idea what was involved.

Interestingly, well more annoyingly, the socket circuits, I couldn't label sockets up and sockets down etc, because probably 50% of each circuit was on the other floor, no idea why, they have had the house from new and no works been done. Hence the label on the front to explain, and vague 'Sockets' label on the breakers.

I have never fitted a Hager board other than Invicta as always been an MK person, not a chance im going back to MK now, the Hager board is so much better!

View attachment 25419View attachment 25420View attachment 25421View attachment 25422
View attachment 25423View attachment 25424View attachment 25425View attachment 25426
View attachment 25427View attachment 25428View attachment 25429

is it split into two e.g. right side sockets and left side sockets?

I know of a firm that does this

 

[jaypp]

is it split into two e.g. right side sockets and left side sockets?

I know of a firm that does this

or front and back. Can be easy when splitting ccts like this. drill drops and put pigtail off cuts in so you know where they are from below. Also if there's a fault you don't lose power on whole floor

 

[Pete999]

Yeah go on be a devil

 

[fuel]

Glad you took him on mate, i know what its like trying to find somewhere/someone. Started my apprenticeship at 16, 17 now and about to start my second year. Trying to find someone to even give you a chance was very very very difficult. When they said "what age are you?" On the phone and you said 16 you almost heard them gasp! There are some guys at 16 are genuinely interested and can make a cracker cuppa as you have seen!

 

[uksparks]

No it was weird, it was verging on random, I really couldn't see any logic in it.

I really did enjoy fitting the hager board though, it just felt so good, the mk ones, when you tighten the breakers they all slant, with this they didn't. It just felt good.

 

[GMES]

No it was weird, it was verging on random, I really couldn't see any logic in it.

I really did enjoy fitting the hager board though, it just felt so good, the mk ones, when you tighten the breakers they all slant, with this they didn't. It just felt good.

I used to fit the 3 phase ones with the clear front panel, actually thinking about it the single phase ones used to have clear fronts.
it looks like they have changed !! the one in your pic is a solid front.

 

[atm84]

(null)

Why the hell were you only on £40 a week. I started my apprenticeship over 12 years ago and was getting paid the JIB rate of £2.99 an hour plus overtime. I was taking home around £130 a week.

 

[Plonker 3]

Old YTS rates, I started on £29.50 per week.

 

[Plonker 3]

I daren't think what some of the more senior members on here earned when they first started out.

 

[uksparks]

I suggested £20 per day plus lunch to this lad and I'm not sure how he took it to be honest.

 

[uksparks]

I said I'd get all his PPE etc

 

[dan86]

including boots or has he got some already? I haven't commented on this thread so far, but really hope he works out for you. He sounds keen and you mentioned that he asks the right questions. always a good sign

 

[GMES]

including boots or has he got some already? I haven't commented on this thread so far, but really hope he works out for you. He sounds keen and you mentioned that he asks the right questions. always a good sign

The bit that worried me was uk's last post about not knowing how the lad felt about 20.00 per day, if he wants to learn the trade then he needs to start at the bottom.

 

[dan86]

I actually meant to say about that also.forgot to type it.still got a bloody headache.
yeah, he really needs to know how the lad honestly feels about the money and whether or not it will stop him giving it 100%. If he wants more, I'd personally say no at this stage.if he's happy with the arrangement, great.