How can you get into the industry?

[kirch-your-handOffMyOhms]

Hello, I was put on to this site by someone from reddit so sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place. Unfortunately I (24yo male in Norfolk, UK) was swept up in the hype of going to university and went on to get my undergrad and postgrad in geology, thinking i'd walk into a job fairly quickly and I did, and I hated it. The smallest amount of geology possible and completely hands off work, it made me miserable and I was only earning above minimum wage to boot. So I decided to quit and moved on to labouring on a job site, anything to escape that field. Whilst labouring onsite I met a few electricians that reignited my interest that I had in college but was buried by people telling me how much more I could earn in other fields (more fool me) i've been loving the practical, hands on work on site but I am still envious of the guys doing the electrics, my question is: how do I get in? I looked at apprenticeships but as i'm 24 with basically no experience, all the companies I approach won't take me, so then I looked at night school and I don't know if I could work all day and then go to college in the evening as most of the colleges are at least an hour each way, so then I looked for online courses and hit a minefield of scams, finally I approached companies to see about working as a kind of psuedo electrician's mate, basically an apprentice by another name, but was understandably turned away. I understand that all of this is my fault for not taking advantage of the oppurtunity as a kid but i'm eager to train up or even get experience. I've had a passing interest in it but as I mentioned above I trusted teachers and parents to have my best interests at heart. This has been really rambly and I apologise of this is the wrong place to ask, but I want something interesting and hands on that has a constant supply of work and this is one of the few things that has consistently had me interested over the last decade. Any advice on getting a taste of the work or worming my way into the field would be much appreciated!

 

[Electrics]

Hello, I was put on to this site by someone from reddit so sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place. Unfortunately I (24yo male in Norfolk, UK) was swept up in the hype of going to university and went on to get my undergrad and postgrad in geology, thinking i'd walk into a job fairly quickly and I did, and I hated it. The smallest amount of geology possible and completely hands off work, it made me miserable and I was only earning above minimum wage to boot. So I decided to quit and moved on to labouring on a job site, anything to escape that field. Whilst labouring onsite I met a few electricians that reignited my interest that I had in college but was buried by people telling me how much more I could earn in other fields (more fool me) i've been loving the practical, hands on work on site but I am still envious of the guys doing the electrics, my question is: how do I get in? I looked at apprenticeships but as i'm 24 with basically no experience, all the companies I approach won't take me, so then I looked at night school and I don't know if I could work all day and then go to college in the evening as most of the colleges are at least an hour each way, so then I looked for online courses and hit a minefield of scams, finally I approached companies to see about working as a kind of psuedo electrician's mate, basically an apprentice by another name, but was understandably turned away. I understand that all of this is my fault for not taking advantage of the oppurtunity as a kid but i'm eager to train up or even get experience. I've had a passing interest in it but as I mentioned above I trusted teachers and parents to have my best interests at heart. This has been really rambly and I apologise of this is the wrong place to ask, but I want something interesting and hands on that has a constant supply of work and this is one of the few things that has consistently had me interested over the last decade. Any advice on getting a taste of the work or worming my way into the field would be much appreciated!

My advice would be learn how to do stuff in the trades. They need to know you're not going to be useless on site - you need to be able to measure stuff, cut accurately, figure out the basics like how to make things level, how to use tools, which tools to use for which jobs etc.

Really i don't know why people take on 16 year olds, they're mostly absolutely disinterested. The lad at our work is literally the most useless worker i've ever seen and he's lazy. First lull in the action he is off to the cabin to stare open mouthed at tiktok when he should be working, and otherwise stands with hands in pockets talking nonsense.

It's not too late though. You might just have to suck it up and go to college if you can't get someone to take you on.

I'd ask if you can take on some more handy man type stuff at work. Site agents are always up for that since if you can for instance plaster, and for some reason some snagging needs doing, they can give it you instead of getting the spreads back in. Saves a load of hassle and is cheaper for them.

Once you have some skills, your own tools, transport etc you're much more attractive to an employer.

At 23 i was a uni (uni of East Anglia, no less) drop out and wanted to get into electrics. It's taken me 10 years and i finally bagged an apprenticeship at 34. It's never too late but if you go the college route you could be grafting in the trade within a few years.

Good advice is always to start at college as your back up plan and if you get an apprenticeship along the way they will simply transfer you over onto that.

 

[Petej999]

My advice would be learn how to do stuff in the trades. They need to know you're not going to be useless on site - you need to be able to measure stuff, cut accurately, figure out the basics like how to make things level, how to use tools, which tools to use for which jobs etc.

Really i don't know why people take on 16 year olds, they're mostly absolutely disinterested. The lad at our work is literally the most useless worker i've ever seen and he's lazy. First lull in the action he is off to the cabin to stare open mouthed at tiktok when he should be working, and otherwise stands with hands in pockets talking nonsense.

It's not too late though. You might just have to suck it up and go to college if you can't get someone to take you on.

I'd ask if you can take on some more handy man type stuff at work. Site agents are always up for that since if you can for instance plaster, and for some reason some snagging needs doing, they can give it you instead of getting the spreads back in. Saves a load of hassle and is cheaper for them.

Once you have some skills, your own tools, transport etc you're much more attractive to an employer.

At 23 i was a uni (uni of East Anglia, no less) drop out and wanted to get into electrics. It's taken me 10 years and i finally bagged an apprenticeship at 34. It's never too late but if you go the college route you could be grafting in the trade within a few years.

Good advice is always to start at college as your back up plan and if you get an apprenticeship along the way they will simply transfer you over onto that.

A short course seems to work well these days.

 

[Vortigern]

From the way you have explained your predicament, it would seem it is unwise to give you any advice as you may blame us for it later on. Having said that, please look at the link below which will tell you what you need to enter the trade. This does not constitute advice merely giving entry requirements so that you can plot a course for yourself.

Morris Services - Getting Started

I hope that is of some assistance.

 

[telectrix]

mostly it reads > 1 Gig Ohm on my MFT. ??.....less if it's had a plumber near it .

 

[kirch-your-handOffMyOhms]

My advice would be learn how to do stuff in the trades. They need to know you're not going to be useless on site - you need to be able to measure stuff, cut accurately, figure out the basics like how to make things level, how to use tools, which tools to use for which jobs etc.

Really i don't know why people take on 16 year olds, they're mostly absolutely disinterested. The lad at our work is literally the most useless worker i've ever seen and he's lazy. First lull in the action he is off to the cabin to stare open mouthed at tiktok when he should be working, and otherwise stands with hands in pockets talking nonsense.

It's not too late though. You might just have to suck it up and go to college if you can't get someone to take you on.

I'd ask if you can take on some more handy man type stuff at work. Site agents are always up for that since if you can for instance plaster, and for some reason some snagging needs doing, they can give it you instead of getting the spreads back in. Saves a load of hassle and is cheaper for them.

Once you have some skills, your own tools, transport etc you're much more attractive to an employer.

At 23 i was a uni (uni of East Anglia, no less) drop out and wanted to get into electrics. It's taken me 10 years and i finally bagged an apprenticeship at 34. It's never too late but if you go the college route you could be grafting in the trade within a few years.

Good advice is always to start at college as your back up plan and if you get an apprenticeship along the way they will simply transfer you over onto that.

Thanks so much for the advice! I've only been labouring a month but i'll definitely see if they'll show me something, so far i've been kept sweeping and filling skips but i'm fairly sure i'd do well with other bits that need doing around site, i'm glad to hear it's not too late! Sounds like you spent a while getting their so thanks for the experienced advice

 

[kirch-your-handOffMyOhms]

From the way you have explained your predicament, it would seem it is unwise to give you any advice as you may blame us for it later on. Having said that, please look at the link below which will tell you what you need to enter the trade. This does not constitute advice merely giving entry requirements so that you can plot a course for yourself.

Morris Services - Getting Started

I hope that is of some assistance.

I'm sad it came off that way, I don't blame anyone for doing their best to try and advise a kid on how to plot out the rest of their lives, I just wish I personally had gone with what I wanted, but as a kid if someone offers you an easy way out, it's easy to take it, but at the end of the day those were choices I had the last word in and I followed it through and it didn't work out, so I am a bit upset about it ??‍ but thank you for the link, i'll definitely have a look

 

[kirch-your-handOffMyOhms]

A short course seems to work well these days.

I have been looking at a few but mostly unless they're in person courses then they turn out to be a scam or at least a ripoff. It's unfortunate but after talking to people on here and on other sites, the general consensus seems to be that going back to college is the best course of action, I am still gathering opinions though

 

[Electrics]

Thanks so much for the advice! I've only been labouring a month but i'll definitely see if they'll show me something, so far i've been kept sweeping and filling skips but i'm fairly sure i'd do well with other bits that need doing around site, i'm glad to hear it's not too late! Sounds like you spent a while getting their so thanks for the experienced advice

Just ask for more responsibility. Tell them you're happy to crack on with some snagging or anything like that in addition to labouring. You will probs need some tools.

In terms of the electrical side, unfortunately the options are limited to:

1. Get someone to take you on as a mate. Quite hard without any experience but not impossible by any means.
2. Get someone to give you an apprenticeship. Not impossible at your age since they've changed the rules - anyone now over 25 is funded through the apprenticeship so it makes no difference to the employer whether you're 25 or 45. Under 25's get an extra £1k of grant which goes straight to the employer though.
3. Get the qualifications off your own back - this means either going to college or doing a 'short course'. Neither will prepare you for the real world but college is a lot better in this regard because it's going to be more in depth just due to the sheer amount of hours you will be required to put in. The short courses cover all the same stuff but it's quick fire and so you won't get to put anywhere near as much practice time in the workshop compared to going to college, and you won't know how to do the real job out on site imo.

If i were in your position, i'd carry on labouring, try to take more responsibility at work gearing towards being a handyman and sign up for night college to get your 2365 Levels 2 and 3. The entire time you're doing this, relentlessly apply for anything electrical that you can, and follow up with phone calls. Also let people at work know what you're up to. If any sparks come on site, let them know. The more people that know the more opportunities could open up. People know nothing about you unless you put yourself out there.

If all else fails at least you'll have the quals to be able to know how to get started yourself on some domestic electrics after the 2 years at college and you'll have been working the entire time.

 

[MoserV8]

First - Its never too late , Ive worked in the past with a 45 year old X Farmer! Who learned the Trade and now is self employed! Ok sign up to college and start on your 2365 2 & 3 - this will enable you to start gaining your knowledge it wall also show any potential employer that you have the initiative and drive to become an electrician. Are you labouring for an electrical company? Do you have any basic tools yet? You do need to build a high level of practical skills too, this is where you could ask your current employer to give you more responsibility - do this though once youve started your course. Learn to think ahead! This will get you places, especially with helping an electrician! If they are installing conduit for example, get the saddles dismantled ready, get the right screws and plugs ready, drill bit in drill etc - This will make the Electrician happy and in turn will be more receptive in passing their skills on to you.

 

[ElectroChem]

I'll chip in on the 'never too late' bandwagon. I was 31 when I started my apprenticeship, and yeah it sucked applying for every job in sight with no responses.