high towerI've got to disagree with you wholeheartedly - not everyone knew what they wanted to do when they left school, and making the change later in life is the first chance some people get at making a go at something they really want.
As for the "craft and skill" being gone, I've seen some pretty dodgy work carried out by time-served sparks, and some pretty spectacular carried out by Electrical Trainee. As for the passion being gone - I disagree with that the most. I work 40-hour weeks full-time, then maybe another 10-15 hours in the electrical industry every week, added with 6 hours per week spent at night college, and every spare minute I get reading other technical books, or searching this place so I can learn as much as I can. Okay, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I left school, but I'm fortunate enough to have found out in time to do something about it. But your comment is nothing short of a sweeping statement, and tarring me (as well as others I know who work just as hard) with that brush displays nothing but closed mindedness. And it's that sort of attitude, that elitist snobbery, that the industry could do without in my honest opinion.
you have a lot to learn discipline for one thing. If you care to read your reply you have a desire and passion the operative i mentioned did not otherwise he would have bought a few tools and done willing to show a bit more interest( we advised him to get CSCS ECS cards to give him a try a few months later when we contacted him he had not bothered).
Been in the game 37 years + to know if someone really wants to be a sparks or just a job with the status that glorifies them (a couple of really good electrical labours I know are better electrical installers) I for one minute made no reference to quality of work being churned out yes there are some qualified chancers out there.The craft and skill has demised if not gone We used to manufacture bends brackets etc now you buy it off the shelf I have seen it my time in the trade dramatic changes i have not had to fabricate on a large scale for years (craftsman not just our trade were it has almost vanished)on that note keep up the passion!
and good luck
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