Apprenticeship Tips...

[sjohnson93]

I'm about to start my electrical apprenticeship a week on Monday. I'm very excited but also a tad nervous. Was just wondering if anybody has any tips etc for me to ensure I really make a good impression at the firm I'll be working for. Anything would be great! THANKS!

 

[Knobhead]

I was a CP so you outrank me, I took permits not signed them so it was my --- working on the gear not yours.
I've also heard about AP's switching main incomers to circuit earth so your grade means nothing.

That interests me. It can’t be done by accident. It would need a deliberate act of crass stupidity to close a live feeder to earth. The moment the breaker contacts start to get near a live terminal the sound gives it away.

 

[mark ju]

Interesting as it is, getting back to the original question..
Some very good advice given, particularly about not lazing around and talking or texting on mobiles. Winds people up seeing lads spending most of their time doing that.
Also, learn to take a joke, because believe me you will be the butt of them many a time.
Also try not to get too lippy.
One other thing, when you get to do a bit of conduit work, try not to start grunting and puffing the minute you have to put a bit of effort into it and complain that your arms/ back/ wrists ache after only five minutes work.
Other than that you'll be fine I'm sure. Someone in management has decided you deserve the chance so prove them right.

 

[Sparkysoldman]

Well done and good luck

to me the most important non work related advice is DONT TAKE YOU PHONE AND IF U DO LEAVE IT IN THE VAN

If you've got nothing to do pick up a broom or sort out the van
Dont be scared to ask questions most professionals will be proud to pass on knowledge
Buy a reasonable (not to expensive) set of tools and look after them replace any that get damaged with the best you can afford (they are the ones u are using most)

above all enjoy and you will find you learn fast

 

[Hawk81]

No offence here Tony but nearly every thread I read ends up in being about you and your great experience. Granted you do have a wonderful vast knowledge but can the threads stay on topic more often.

 

[Stroppy]

I agree they need to stop treating us like kids

As someone once pointed out to me: H&S wouldn't need to treat us like kids if idiots didn't try to do things like working balanced on the top of four paint pots as they haven't got a ladder, then try to sue their employer for millions when they fall off their paint-tower and break themselves.

Reminds me of an apprentice I worked with a while ago who wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, and was up a stepladder doing chases with an angle grinder, but had the ladder side-on so he pushed himself over on it, with the grinder still going. Could have been very nasty - my toolbox was nearby and could have been cut up...

 

[stuartcourt]

I am not saying we dont need H&S as I believe things have got a million times better from when I started, but they need to concentrate for example on farmers who move dangerous tractors to out of the way fields not kick you off site for standing on a crate (the sue the --- off anyone another thread)

 

[Des 56]

H+S also has a negative impact

When someone learns to look after their own rear end,it instills greater thought on the job or the project to be undertaken

A high dose of this modern overbearing culture,it strips a persons personal responsibility to a bare minimum to the point where reliance on others for your own welfare sometimes ends up creating a more dangerous workplace for that individual