Has anyone got an apprentice

[oscar21]

If not, would you take one one?
for the second time and against my better wishes we have got one but my business partner always seems to have a family member that "wants to become an electrician". The first one was just hopeless and a wannabee gangster, only lasted a few months. This one started quite promising and has actually done a course at the local college although I'm not quite sure what his qualifications are but my god, his attention span is woeful and always on his phone every chance he gets away with. That woman from C4 summed it up perfectly when she said young people have the attention span of a tiktok video.

Personally I couldn't care less whether the younger generation learn anything or not, I don't see myself as some kind of Yoda who has to pass his knowledge on to future generations, its solely down to them if they want to learn anything or not so why do they have such an awful attitude to work, take today for eg, nearly an hour to 2nd fix a single twin socket (obviously been on his phone most of the time). We pay him £60 a day and to me its just money down the drain, in the time it takes to explain something to him I could have done it myself.

 

[littlespark]

Useless apprentices are down to people not taught the practical skills at school like they used to, and it’s down to health and safety, and insurance rates.

Don’t get me wrong…. I’ve always advocated for safety. As soon as an accident happens, however unlikely, safeguards should be put in place so it can’t happen again.

However, it means kids nowadays don’t get to use sharp objects at school. Cooking, sewing, woodwork… anything that can hurt if not used properly…. And it’s all for fear of the school being sued by a parent.

Then we expect a 17 year old apprentice to know the difference between the sharp end of a screwdriver and the other.


I wonder when sports will catch up?
Ban darts because of the sharp bit… ban snooker because someone choked on a chalk….
And just wait until some footballer loses a lucrative skincare contract just because of a broken nose.

 

[nicebutdim]

Times change. There are still kids out there doing the stuff you describe, but probably many fewer than in the past.

I wouldn't assume anything about an apprentice I was charged with training and would explain everything to ensue they learn the trade in a manner I deem acceptable. Some will get most things first time and others will require repetition before they stick.

I'd much rather an apprentice coming as a blank slate, than with the assumption they already know everything as the later will cost considerable amounts of wasted time, energy and money.

Also try not to be that person you hated when learning the ropes. I wouldn't suggest treating them with kid gloves, but days go better when there's no resentment from either side.

 

[oscar21]

That may well be true, but I'm willing to take time out of my day to train him in electrics, I don't see why I should have to potty train him as well. I agree about the school bit, when I was at secondary school in the 80's we had a woodwork class with sharp chisels, razor sharp planers, big drill bits etc etc. As for the metal work class we had big old lathes, a milling machine, powered hacksaws, open brazing hearths (the teacher blew himself up one day) even an oxy-acetylene set up which could have easily taken out half the school if it was mistreated.

In fact I remember one day the acetylene torch started burning and the lad using it dropped the torch and ran for his life down the corridor as we'd all been briefed about how dangerous it was. Luckily the set up had flash-back arrestors on it so it all went out of its own accord but when the lad nervously came back into the classroom about 10 minutes later the teacher said "look lad, it wouldn't have mattered how fast you could run, it would still have got you". Happy times and you learned so much more back then.

 

[oscar21]

Times change. There are still kids out there doing the stuff you describe, but probably many fewer than in the past.

I wouldn't assume anything about an apprentice I was charged with training and would explain everything to ensue they learn the trade in a manner I deem acceptable. Some will get most things first time and others will require repetition before they stick.

I'd much rather an apprentice coming as a blank slate, than with the assumption they already know everything as the later will cost considerable amounts of wasted time, energy and money.

Also try not to be that person you hated when learning the ropes. I wouldn't suggest treating them with kid gloves, but days go better when there's no resentment from either side.

The problem is as well as teach him, I've still got a job to do, I still need to install lights and sockets as the bills still need paying, if I was a teacher in a school it would be easy as there wouldn't be anything else to do but when I have to keep getting up and down a scaffold to show him how to get a piece of conduit straight it can be frustrating to say the least.

 

[nicebutdim]

How long has he been with you?

 

[oscar21]

How long has he been with you?

I'm not entirely sure, he is a relative of my partner so he actually did a bit with us a while ago even before he did his college course, he started with us for a couple of days officially as he needed employment to do the course which was for a year or more and he has just turned 19 and he finished the course when he was 18, so full time about a year and even longer on and off. Its not like I just get him to clear the rubbish up I actually try and explain things to him. I just don't think he is suited to physical type work, not everyone is.

Edit: with the risk of sounding like an old fart the thing that really got my goat today was this - The job we are on is having a grid ceiling fitted but only 90% of our conduit work was finished. The perimeter wooden batten for the ceiling was being installed and they way they did it was to cut it either side of our conduit so they can run the metal grid carrier over the top of the conduit.

When we came to fit the last couple of pieces of conduit I told our apprentice to get the multi tool and cut a 20mm slot out of the wood where the conduit was going up, 10 minutes later I heard the sound of a hammer and chisel. I walked in and he was hitting a chisel (not even a wood chisel but a cold chisel) against the batten damaging the newly painted plasterwork next to it. I said WTF and he replied "there's still a bit of wood left in the slot, even though all he needed to do was run the multi tool through it again until it cut all the way through it.

I'm not sure what went on in his mind, it was almost as though he was totally normal and then got possesed by some zombie gene that turned him into Terry F**kwit.