apprentiship 25+

[not_today]

finally a bit of good news!

a friend of mine rang me and told me an old school friend of hers told her that the company her husband works for is looking for an apprentice. I've just got of the phone with the owner who seems rather impressed that i was not a spotty teenager but when i told him my age (28) he said he would have to go away and see if the funding is still available.

ive just had a quick Google and from what i can make out, since 2009 all 25+ apprentiship are funded at 90% of the 19-24 rate. can anyone tell me if this is correct? i am prepared to self fund my apprentiship if needs be but i would rather not pay anything or just the 10%.


I am hopefully going to have a chat at the office with the owner either this week or next and i am unsure what questions he is going to be asking me, can anyone give me some advice on what to prepare for. will he be looking at my technical knowledge at this stage or will it be a more informal chat to see if i am up for it?

any advice would be most welcome.

Sam

 

[Floody]

I think it's gone be down to you putting effort in if anything. That's all an employer can look for in a first year apprentice, basically that your not wasting his time and money.

as a first year apprentice I suppose an employer isn't going to want to know if you can wire anything, because your a first year. Your basically going in blind folded. If you know ANYTHING about the trade, it will always be a plus in his books.

telling him your keen as hell and willing to work hard and really hit the ground running with the apprenticeship will should certainly impress him.

thats my 2 cents worth,

I suppose the sparks that post here would have had apprentices and hey can tell you what they would be looking for from someone who is applying for one with them.


i hope you get it. And for the love of god, chase it up!!! These people don't wait around to call YOU... You want the job...YOU chase it up!!!! Let him know you want it!!

 

[Paul.M]

Your age is a good thing in my opinion and good for you for getting your foot in the door

What I would look for in an 28 year old apprentice (or any age really) is:-


Safety, need to make sure your not going the shock yourself or others (or me!), or do anything silly with power tools.

Time keeping and appearance should be good.

Able to listen to orders, understand them and carry out the task (I've got an agency mate under me at the moment which cant do this, yes it winds me up but I love him to bits because he is a great bloke BUT others may not have the same view as me, nor would they give a ++++ about how hard he works due to his age but thats another thread lol).

Respect other peoples homes, other peoples tools and other people. It goes a long way trust me.

If you dont understand anything, ask. Just dont ask too many questions that will hold up the head spark, he has a dead line to meet etc.

Keep your eyes open to see if he needs a hand although he did''nt tell you, you can always offer.


Look at it through his eyes, what would you want from an apprentice?

Most of all talk with him and ask for feed back, good or bad. That way you will become a better spark via self improvement.

 

[trev]

Nothing much to add except to say that it will work in your favour that you're not a daft kid who will spend half the day on his mobile texting his girlfriend or fannying around on some ****e social network site. You'll obviously know that if you run out of stuff to do pick the brush up so the only thing I can now say is best of luck to you mate.

 

[not_today]

cheers chaps,

still have not heard from him so will call him at some point tomorrow to make sure he hasnt forgotten about me.

im helping a sparks tomorrow morning and then we're off to investigate my uncle and aunties outside study and why it keeps tripping.

will let you know how i get on!

Sam

 

[Marvo]

Good luck, I hope the apprentice position works out for you.

 

[not_today]

wont find out for another 6 weeks according to the owner. i dont think i'll get my hopes up!

 

[Marvo]

Hmmm, 6 weeks is a long time for a decision if the guy really is looking for an apprentice. You never know but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

[not_today]

exactly, he told me he was looking for one but wasnt sure if they were looking for a "senior" apprentice. i thanked him for his time and left my email to contact me when he makes his decision.

I have had a few interviews in the past 6 months (not electrician related) and only one company had the good manners to send me a letter telling me ive been unsuccessful. i needed something in writing for the job centre and told every company i went to. All of them assured me that i would get something in writing.