How do/did you apprentices cope ?

S

solo53

Hi all, might just be me but been an apprentice and getting the mick taken out of you everyday really gets to me somedays.

Just wanted your guys opinions of how you dealt with it if you was in the same position ?
As sometimes it makes me feel like just giving up.

Cheers :o
 
solo53 said:
Hi all, might just be me but been an apprentice and getting the mick taken out of you everyday really gets to me somedays.

Just wanted your guys opinions of how you dealt with it if you was in the same position ?
As sometimes it makes me feel like just giving up.

Cheers :o
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Think of it this way, in 4 years you'll be taking the mick out of other apprentices.

Try and take the mick back., Play practical jokes on your seniors and try and get the other lads involved!!!
 
Look at it as character building. A bit of tongue and check won’t hurt you. Once your qualified and out into the big wide world on your own, it will help you deal with all those that try and insult your intelligence. And believe me, there will be loads of it. Learn to give some stick back…lol If you get stuck, come back on here and we will sort them out for you. ;)
 
We all have to start at the bottom of a ladder, weather it's buying property, learning to drive or training for a new career. Just keep your head down with your studies and you will soon find yourself gaining more respect.
I myself started as an apprentice for the family firm, with my old man and grandad both being on the job. Needless to say I was made an example of with regard to apprentice duties. I kept to it and after a couple of years gained new skills that made me shine when compared to the skills of the existing sparkies. I then had my own apprentice, and have had a couple since. I treat them with respect as I know what it is like to be in their position. However some electricians do take advantage of their apprentice and it is quite often for the apprentice to be given the crappy end of the stick when it comes to manual tasks.

What's the problem in your case? Is it the way you are treated? The work you do?
 
Cheers for the replies guys, widdler, I dont have a problem doing all the crappy jobs, cleaning up, carrying etc.. its more to do with a bit of respect and how they talk to me sometimes really, I must admit sometimes ive got to bite my tounge.

And I dont think it helps with it been a 2 man company, who are best mates and have worked together for the past 11 years.
Suppose its just something ill have to deal with.
 
It can be tough mate, try to grin and bare it.
I had one guy who really had it in for me, drove off and left me on site more than once, had me round the throat against a wall, threw hammers at me and more. I hated that time but had to try and carry on.
I did eventually leave the company because of it, I don't recommend it as it stuffed my indentures.
 
I'm an apprentice.

I find that if you are willing to give a load of stick back, while running around and working hard at the same time. The sparkies will give you a break.

You have to remember that you need confidence and charachter to work on a building site or in a trade. I've often found that the lads without that are normally the ones who get the most stick.
 
kwcfc, yes I think thats where i struggle a bit as im naturally a quite person and only usually speak out if spoken to and have something to say.
 
KWCFC has pretty much hit the nail on the head......

If you really can't take the banter you're in trouble, cos there's always jokes and mic taking on sites between trades and you're going to get it for the rest of your working life. Just try thinking of what they are saying to you as them saying it to someone else, you may then see the funny side. Basically you need a good sense of humour, so if you ain't got one, develop one! Try and be confident in what you do - the key thing is to give as good as you get, BUT as KWC has said you need to be doing your job better than you're supposed to in order to do this. If you are, they'll respect you for it. If not, you'll just look like a lazy, chopsy little ********.
 
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hiya mate just look at it this way , they may take the **** but if they didnt want you they wouldnt keep you. should count yourself lucky to have a job at the moment, im sure they dont mean any harm in what they say.
 
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solo53 said:
Hi all, might just be me but been an apprentice and getting the mick taken out of you everyday really gets to me somedays.

Just wanted your guys opinions of how you dealt with it if you was in the same position ?
As sometimes it makes me feel like just giving up.

Cheers :o
Click to expand...

If you can't take a joke - then go be a H & S officer. Its all part of the male bonding process son, WORRY when you don't get the p*** taken out off you. Just consider yourself lucky that you wasn't an apprentice forty years ago. S*** in your boots, tallow round your nuts and every crap job you could think of.
 
give back as good as you get,ive always loved a good p take with the yougun's,its what gets you respect once you have a good bit of banter on site the days goes quicker,also you will have to toughen up,once your out on your own on sites,you have all the other trades to deal with in a working way,if you dont stand up they will take the p and your work gets harder wait till a plasterer starts a wall you havnt got your cables in,sometimes you have to tell them to ! off and hope they take the hint..its all expeirence i wouldnt worry..
 
that was just you ken!!

the firt year is the worst i think all will agree but when you start to show you are listening and can solve problems yourself its gets better Prove yourself by listening and never grumble that is the worse be keen and ask questions if you are not sure. Nothing worse than getting a somebody who "thinks" he knows everything after 6 weeks
 
If there is onlt two of them play one on the other , offer to clean one 's tools but tell the other one you were told not clean his as they never come out the box,
but don't put eye drops in ther tea!
 
Fight back with grandad jokes! youth is on your side.
Hair loss pick on that. Size of there bellys(You have nt got a big nail, Just a big hammer to bang it in with)
Your so ugly only your mum could love a face like that :)
Im either helping you out or giving them fresh idea's!
 
Stick with it, your not the first and won’t be the last. It’s a part of you rite of passage in to the real world. Believe me when your let out in to the real world you’ll need the thick skin you develop.

I had a great time with the last apprentice I had. He’d had two years of p**s taking before he came to me so I laid off. He turned out to be a good friend never mind a good apprentice.
I enjoyed showing him little tricks in things like faultfinding, installation and maintenance. Leaving him for a couple of hours on his own didn’t bother me as he had the nouse to look after himself.
 
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Tony said:
Stick with it, your not the first and won’t be the last. It’s a part of you rite of passage in to the real world. Believe me when your let out in to the real world you’ll need the thick skin you develop.

I had a great time with the last apprentice I had. He’d had two years of p**s taking before he came to me so I laid off. He turned out to be a good friend never mind a good apprentice.
I enjoyed showing him little tricks in things like faultfinding, installation and maintenance. Leaving him for a couple of hours on his own didn’t bother me as he had the nouse to look after himself.
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There you go son, this post says it all. To be honest with you, its alright for some of the administrators and other senior members to just post 'welcome' messages to apprentices/mates BUT thats because they are usually senior blokes on site anyway; and they usually have little to do with their employees on site on a daily basis - yes I know that some of them, do actually get out of the portacabins and onto site, but I reckon for the most part, most of the senior blokes on here couldn't even name half of their crew.
Never mind actually having the chance now a days to be one of the lads. As I stated in my earlier post, being able to take a joke and enjoy the banter in work is what makes going to work one of the most enjoyable experiences of it. Who wants to go to work where you are governed by PC rules that forbid this, that and everything else.
 
I still get the urine extracted out of me on a daily basis at 5yrs post time served, even the apprentice gets in on the act! being the bosses son etc, just smile and take it, it's just fun listening to the new jibe of the day that they think is the finniest thing ever.
 
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Can only echo what's been said. As long as it's just banter and not anything more than that. Was a guy I used to work with who could be a particularly vicious **** sometimes, went a bit beyond banter, but you just need to keep your chin up, carry on and not bite
 
robsparx said:
Can only echo what's been said. As long as it's just banter and not anything more than that. Was a guy I used to work with who could be a particularly vicious **** sometimes, went a bit beyond banter, but you just need to keep your chin up, carry on and not bite
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Sorry to keep going over old ground but the OP needs to understand that there is a big difference between day to day banter and real victimization. A friend of mine was put with a old school sparkie who hated apprentices/mates. He got my mate to spend the entire time that he was with him to thread lengths of conduit, under the pretence of making up bushes.
 
grow some fkin skin feller,,or get you mum to write a letter for you,,,,,,,so you kinda thought well im going to go into construction thinking no ones going to give u ****e,,,,,,when you can do something and prove yourself and listen to what others are telling you without getting gobby like 75% of nippers you will get respect and the ---- take will die down,,,my first governor wouldnt let me touch fk all til i could make a propper cup tea,,,,then i spent three weeks cleaning his car every day just to watch him drive through fkin mud ,,,,i stuck it out told the fat git he wasnt going to beat me so he be better off teaching me somethink to earn him money,,,,,,working for him from 16 til i was 19 were some best years of my life,,,,,,,sorry to say feller construction has changed so much i feel sorry for you, moan to your mum when you have to walk the last two miles to your house in your pants,,,,
 
i got hit witha stick when i never knew the answers to questions!!
i had all the ****ty jobs!
but when i developed quicker than lads who had been doing same job for years and started showing them things they never knew i got accepted and cut the slack!!
 
funnily enough we never had any fish on a sub apart from frozen ones with breadcrumbs on them..!

neither did we see any fish as contrary to popular belief we never had windows fitted to see where we are going!
 
no windows so thats how the bloke driving astute managed to put it on the sandbank,,,woops sorry they were on the surface must had captain birdseye blocking his view,,
DurhamSparky said:
funnily enough we never had any fish on a sub apart from frozen ones with breadcrumbs on them..!

neither did we see any fish as contrary to popular belief we never had windows fitted to see where we are going!
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Mate i did 2 years in a rough as arse steel factory and some of those boys really did not play nice.

When i was 16 they put me on night time furnace watch which involved me monitoring a vat of molten iron. 20 minutes into my shift i got dragged into a dark corner by 3 of them and hooked up to a crane and hoisted up 20 feet for 30 mins whilst they all threw wee wee at me.

They were wetting themselves so I waited for my chance and ensured I got my revenge slowly and surely.

It is all part of growing up at work but just be careful and dont bite. You will get more respect for coping with it
 
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A few good posts !
Reminds me of my apprenticeship , two brotherinlaws as my foremen and proper vicious .
Put myself through three years of college three days a week self funded from 16 came out with distinctions for all , to be apprentice at £2.50 ph too one of them who was a ex London fly boy first year day release mature student on £15 ph .
They tried to break me mentally , leaving me to find my own way back from Swindon to bucks coating me nuts in polygrit hand cleaner then dragging me through the pipe fitters metal swarf and cable tyeing me in the back of the escort van with all windows shut for 14 hrs on one of the hottest days for 11 years stuff like that !
But that was how it was then if you got a bad bunch , and i was far from a little s--t at the time .
Trust me mate you do have it easy now days , Don't cry off give them some back but always with respect !!!
Never forget they do not have to give you the gift of their knowledge !
And just remember if you want it , you can get there with hard work and determination !
Good luck fella

PS Since them days i have employed two of my ex bosses currently one at moment who had nearly 40 blokes on for him when i was with him !
 
Penance said:
It can be tough mate, try to grin and bare it.
I had one guy who really had it in for me, drove off and left me on site more than once, had me round the throat against a wall, threw hammers at me and more. I hated that time but had to try and carry on.
I did eventually leave the company because of it, I don't recommend it as it stuffed my indentures.
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end of the day mate dont put up with stuff like that just because you work for them throwing hammer he would be wearing it
the way your employer treated you is disgusting and not the way to get a apprentice interested in the job and willing toput 100% in there is having a laugh and taking the ???? and you wont work hard for them idiots like that mate wind me up
 
brucelee said:
end of the day mate dont put up with stuff like that just because you work for them throwing hammer he would be wearing it
the way your employer treated you is disgusting and not the way to get a apprentice interested in the job and willing toput 100% in there is having a laugh and taking the ???? and you wont work hard for them idiots like that mate wind me up
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I was 17 and scared mate, ended up leaving there and trying to finish my time between a few different companies, hence never got indentures.
The union did have a little word with the chap and i did get small recompense.

Im 40 now, moved on a long way but yes i do still hold a small grudge about it, the knock on effects have lasted.
 
Best thing you could have done mate I gave up on my appreticeship at 16 which i was foolish
I did this because i was sick of being used as a lacky and not learning enough either at college or working for them
they had given a subbie the foreman job he went from being a ok guy to a muppet his head grew and he thought he could have me clearig empty houses on council estate rewire even though this wasnt a house we were going to rewire just being used as a labourer for the whole site and doing nothing whatsoever to do with electrics then when i returned to college the other lads were advancing in there practical skills and i wasnt
so I told him exactly what to do after he told me to do as i was told and go shovel the C??? out of the empty houses
Had to walk home about 5 mile, Rang boss he said to come in and sort it i said there would always be animosity between us now
the head of the CITB rang me to intervene but I had had enough gave up on the only job I ever wanted to do
then a couple of years laer went workig for another electrical contractors who taught me how to wire houses for new build in less than 3 months so it wasnt through me not wanting to put the effort in it was a guy whose head had grown bigger than his authority
Over the last few years I have been trying to get all the qualifications I need to finally be qualified after 25yrs of working on and off in electrics and still learning which my family and I have self funded to the tune of £6000 some people think they have the right to abuse others they dont simple i am also 40 and you live and learn eh mate
 
Sounds a similar story mate, same position here now trying to get back in the game.

The people who did it to us in our younger years either didnt know or didnt care about the impact of their actions. Although the guy with the hammer knew very well what he was doing, he even told the boss i was lazy and slept in the van, utter bs but final nail in that coffin.

My dad and grandad were both sparks and at the time i felt like i had let them down.
At least i did get my 236, nearly ready to register with a scheme so hopefuly things will get back in line.
 
Penance said:
Sounds a similar story mate, same position here now trying to get back in the game.

The people who did it to us in our younger years either didnt know or didnt care about the impact of their actions. Although the guy with the hammer knew very well what he was doing, he even told the boss i was lazy and slept in the van, utter bs but final nail in that coffin.

My dad and grandad were both sparks and at the time i felt like i had let them down.
At least i did get my 236, nearly ready to register with a scheme so hopefuly things will get back in line.
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There is alot of people out there who see the apprentice as the enemy. They know that as soon as he comes out of his time he could take their job and thats when they never teach you anything.

I always remember one bloke saying Il tell you once and once only.... What a pillock. Most lads don't pick it up from the first show. He was just an arrogant pillock putting pressure on me. I then had another prat saying Il tell you once, twice and maybe a third time but after that I won't tell you again....Absolute tosh. It really does put huge pressure on someone and inevitebly affects their learning. I tell anyone ask me as many times as you want, they will soon get it. People who don't tell the youngens don't want to see them have more knowledge than them.
 
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electricalserv I really like what you said. only i cant push the thank you button as Ive exceeded my limit today:)
 
I started out as a labourer for a one man band domestic + alarms. Not an apprenticeship as such, more the case of he would answer any questions I had and gave time and effort in showing me the correct and best ways of doing things. Yes he took the mick but in a friendly way which built up our relationship and we are still friends now almost 20 years later. My turn to get my own back, I remind him at any opportunity that I have more quals than him (although he is an excellent spark and knows all current regs etc but I have the certs to prove it. All good banter).

Reading this thread has shocked me, how cruel some people can be. Yes its a rite of passage to take the p out of the apprentice but by the sounds of what the op and a few others have said boils down to bullying which I hate with a passion.

Some years ago my workmate gained promotion to supervisor. It only took him 2 weeks for the big head syndrome to kick in and he loved the power that he held over us. Before this we were good mates but he turned into a complete "banker". One day it all came to ahead and we had it out in the car park. Both suspended for a week without pay. This was the first clash of heads, the second one I'll have to put in the ARMS (even then the mods may delete it).

If your being pushed ad far as you can go you have 3 options. Shut up and take it, stand your ground and have it out with them or walk away. Each person and situation is different. It's one thing to have a laugh but another when it personally effects you.
 
Have seen many apprentices come and go...some great lads others no hopers, but I always treated them the same way. They did the cleaning and crappy jobs but if they took the time to ask questions I took a lot more time showing them the answers...it is your duty to do that I feel...Bullying lads is just for ----pots and many of you on here look like you have come across them...I personally had a superb apprenticeship with some great sparkies...many have since retired or moved on but would still be my mates now....The only advice I offer is dont be quiet......the worst thing is sat in a van or on a job in silence......try to relate to the ----pots more....just to humour them but always remember you will be a better spark than they are and you will treat your lads with respect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Solo53.

I was given a hard time whilst training but it was just banter and was just ment as fun.

I was made to look the fool on many occasions, however, there was never any malice ment.

There is a huge difference between banter and bullying.

Don't put up with bullying.

I wish you well.
 

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