Apprentice Wage Help!?!?

S

Samj167

I've recently been offered an electrical apprenticeship. However I received my contract in the post today and I saw that my wage is going to be £2.65. I'm 19 years of age and have rent, car insurance etc to pay for so I was wondering am I expecting too much? Or as I'm thinking is this not enough?

PS... I know it is within the minimum wage for a first year apprentice I was just hoping for a little more considering my age.

THANKS!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I am afraid its is, I pay £5 an hour to 16 year olds you would get £6 but this is good opportunity you may not get another at moment but it is a joke
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm afraid you're probably expecting too much mate but I'm thinking that your employer will get some sort of government subsidy for employing you so you could ask him if there's any way you could get a bit more. My first pay packet contained the princely sum of £20
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Also there is no other way to become a real live sparky, **** starting wage but hopefully with a bit of hard work a half decent wage in 5/6 years
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
tax credits would probably boost your earnings, but you have to apply for it. my lad's on low wage and gets a £52/week tax credit .
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cheers Stuart. I'm thinking I may just have to take this on the chin and try and make it work the best as possible. I'm very keen to become an electrician so I can live with this.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Good man you wont regret it, make sure you get every qual you can out of company and one piece of advice if you accept the amount you get paid get on with it and dont moan about it remember you are going in right direction. Good luck
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pop along to your Town Hall and ask for claim forms for Housing Benefit,Council Tax Benefit for a start.

Then go on the HMRC website and find the correct way to apply for Child Tax Credits.

I'm sure there will be something to help you along.

And good luck with your apprenticeship.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Lol Ive seen some very bad sparkies on apprentiships they go through it like its gods gift. Depends on the lad and education they recieve on sites...

£2.95 is very bad, but you get all your qualifications and experience on the job, (Price them up yourself, you dont do 17th and Test inspection if i remember right in apprentiship.), ask if you get a van or use your car if VAn then you save money with petrol, If your car then ask for a milage allowance, or claim back at end of year, your entitled to £0.45p a mile this way www.gov etc sry dont know page.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks for all your help guys... I'll phone them up tomorrow and explain my situation and I will see if there's anything they can do for me. If not then never mind! I need the training there isn't much else I can do!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
snowhead said:
The only plus of that wage is you will get nearly 100% pay rise in year 2.
Not many people are getting that sort of pay rise...
Click to expand...

not always true.

im definatly leaving my current company as soon as finished aprentaship (done half off my portfolio)

no ones pay ever increases at all and its low, a guy started an apprenticeship with us and i think was on £20 a day

ive been there nearly a year and same pay as when i started!!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
shanky887614 said:
not always true.

im definatly leaving my current company as soon as finished aprentaship (done half off my portfolio)

no ones pay ever increases at all and its low, a guy started an apprenticeship with us and i think was on £20 a day

ive been there nearly a year and same pay as when i started!!!
Click to expand...

He will get the pay rise because it's the NMW. He is 19 so he starts at £2.65 an hour for the first year then it goes to £4.98 an hour.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It is the brown end of the stick. Get year one out if the way, and your rate will go up with big bump, at least double. But i agree £2.65 for anyone is poor, and i dont know how those who pay it can hold their heads up.

Cheers............Howard
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I will later, but sounds good if what I think you are saying people are really taking **** out of some good kidies who really do want to learn a trade
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
andyd55 said:
That is terrible I was on more working as a waiter in a hotel when I was 16! But needs must now a days, slum it till you are qualified mate!
Click to expand...

You would still earn more today working as a waiter in a hotel at 16. For some reason the government think that apprentices deserve over £1 an hour less than those who aren't training at the same time as working.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The thing is though in ten years time that waiter's wage won't have gone up very much whereas the apprentice will then be well qualified and experienced and so can reasonably expect to be earning a lot more.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Totally agree think I started as a pup on £3 an hour, had no kids or car back then though. But the experience gained was priceless, worked with loads of different sparks at the firm and sub contractors and learnt how the trade worked. 10 years later and I love my job and am still learning everyday.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Young lad of 21 left a message on my answer phone yesterday, doing a 4 year apprenticeship, he was laid off with 1 year to go, I'd love to help him but can't
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
From an employers point of view a 1st year apprentice is a liability. I know some beleive they are gods gift to the trade but that is not the case. I always paid my apprentices more but were they worth it in the 1st year? Probably not. If I was to take an employed apprentice on again, which I wont, I think I`d pay the minimum now.

The alternative is to go to university and get paid nothing and come out with a degree, no experience, probably no job and be in debt of say £30k.

Your new employer could find a dozen lads to fill that vacancy, at whatever age you are the lack of any meaningful experience and the amount of time from experienced guys that you will need dont make you worth more than £2.65 and maybe not even that.

The fact that you have rent and bills to pay is of no relevance to your employer.

Take it, bite the bullet, see if you can get another part time job to supplement your income in year one is my advice. Whatever you do DONT ask for more money before you even start cos if you did that to me you wouldn`t even start.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
stuartcourt said:
you would save £2.65 if your apprentice ran to the van once an hour
Click to expand...

Indeed. You are absolutely correct IF you assume that the apprentice is there to make the tea, sweep up and run to the van. However if you assume that there will be instruction from more experienced guys, who obviously cant do that and do their own jobs, slow completion of set tasks, mistakes to rectify and , certainly in the 1st year, having to get everything checked then I think you will find I`m right.

Unless of course you are advocating using apprentices as cheap unskilled labour?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I dont think your right at all what I am saying is the lads we have taught of course slow you down but make up more than enough time getting stuff from van, tidying up, chasing out, feeding cables etc etc and yes they do make the tea
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ok so I rang the firm and explained my situation today. They were brilliant and have sorted the situation by offering me a little bit more. Now feeling incredibly relieved. Thanks all that helped!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Samj167 said:
I've recently been offered an electrical apprenticeship. However I received my contract in the post today and I saw that my wage is going to be £2.65. I'm 19 years of age and have rent, car insurance etc to pay for so I was wondering am I expecting too much? Or as I'm thinking is this not enough?

PS... I know it is within the minimum wage for a first year apprentice I was just hoping for a little more considering my age.

THANKS!
Click to expand...
eh?...just shut up and get on with it....
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Samj167 said:
Ok so I rang the firm and explained my situation today. They were brilliant and have sorted the situation by offering me a little bit more. Now feeling incredibly relieved. Thanks all that helped!
Click to expand...
cheeky get....do a year for em first before you dare go in that office asking for more...
what do you think it is....
 
Upvote 0 Downvote

Similar threads

A
Do an electrical apprenticeship? Or not?
Replies
2
Views
408
Tom256
Tom256

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Green 2 Go Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses Heating 2 Go Electrician Workwear Supplier
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Advert

YOUR Unread Posts

Daily, weekly or monthly email

Receive a daily, weekly, or monthly email containing a digest of new and recently updated threads.

Thread Information

Title
Apprentice Wage Help!?!?
Prefix
N/A
Forum
UK Electrical Forum
Start date
Last reply date
Replies
61
Unsolved
--

Thread Tags

Tags Tags
apprentice apprenticeship help wage

Advert

Thread statistics

Created
Samj167,
Last reply from
vaughant,
Replies
61
Views
6,792

Advert

TrueNAS JBOD Storage Server

Tilers | UK Tiling Forum | Tilers Forums | Find a Tiler
UK Tiling Forum by Tilers Forums UK
Plumbers Forums | Plumbing Advice | Gas Forum
Outside Play
Back
Top