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For as long as we have tight-fisted, short-sighted employers who perceive apprentices as a cost rather than an investment, then I'm afraid we are never going to get to the root of the problem. What a sad day it is when the industry has to resort to imported labour and Electrical Trainee courses to address the issue of skill shortages within the industry. I don't care what anyone says, it just isn't possible to become an electrician in five weeks. If it is, then why are apprentices still having to go through years of training? This makes no sense at all. I'm totally against these short courses. Granted, this route has worked for SC and she has turned-out to be a first-class electrician and a shining example to those seeking to enter our the trade, however, she is very much the exception rather than the rule.
My apprentice is in the first year of his training. He's an adult apprentice who has just turned 30. He wanted to become an electrician when he was 16, but couldn't find a single company in the Glasgow area who were willing to offer him an apprenticeship. What a sad state of affairs. So instead, he trained as a painter and decorator (he at least had the sense not to become a wetpants ). He decided last year that it was very much a case of now or never if he was to realise his dream of becoming an electrician. So he started contacting electrical contracting businesses in Glasgow. I was impressed with his ambition and determination and offered him a work trial. That was a year ago. He's been with me since then, initially as a CIS contractor, and as a registered bona-fide apprentice since August. I see him as an investment, not a cost.
My apprentice is happy to pay his dues, so to speak, and complete a three-year apprenticeship that will allow him to gain the knowledge and skills that he needs to become a qualified electrician. He's happy to initially work for £10.08 an hour because he knows that in three years from now the sacrifice he is now making will eventually reap big rewards. So, if a 30 year-old married man with 3 kids to support can sustain himself and his family for the duration of an adult apprenticeship lasting three years, then so too can all the people with £££ signs in their eyes who sign-up for Electrical Trainee courses with the aim of becoming 'electricians' in five weeks so that they can then enter the electrical contracting industry and make **** loads of money.
Just done something similar myself JK.
Local lad (26) started his SECTT training in August. I Wanted to give something back to the industry our local community and give someone worthy a trade for the rest of his life. I don’t have many years left in me, maybe 10; and by that time he should be more than competent to take over from me completely. That’s what I’d like anyway. He’s as keen as mustard, on a low apprentice wage and having to work other weekend jobs to make ends meet. I help him as much as I can and am very proud. In 3 years time he will have finished his apprenticeship, have a SJIB grading and a job for as long as he wants it
BTW the original pictures that started this thread are appauling regardless of who did it. Nothing will change until the government regulate the building industry properly and lets face it, as not enough people die it won’t happen.
As for diabolical workmanship see my thread about a electrical trainee!