Apprentice troubles

[theflyingscotsman]

I went through 5 young guys last year...

 

Just not worth the bother.

 

I have teamed up with another skilled self employed chap, he also provides extra laborers when required.

 

Ultimately saves me money on tickets and I don't need to baby sit anyone. Frees up my time to do more quotes and build the business.

 

Young folk maybe cheap but you get what you pay for. Fine if you have 20 charge hands and 40 youngsters and make £50 per head per day, then all the hassle is worth it, but no good if your a two or three man band!

 

#thejoysofbeingtheboss

 

Good luck everyone

[hicksj]

Bit late to this thread. But it is a real shame when young new starters ruin this industry by using it a 'job' not a passion. My background is IT Sales, I have saved and got/getting all my tickets and I couldn't find a trainee role because of idiots giving us new starters a bad wrap. I'm 23 and going self employed straight away, digging for work all time to get myself started out.

 

For me it's not about money or 'filling a gap whilst I find something else', I have left a 4 year career in sales to do what I enjoy doing, not just going through life ticking boxes!

 

Rant over................

[danroker1987]

Should get a girl! I would love am opportunity like this I have all my tickets, just need to have the opportunity to climb more. Were I'm working now all the jobs are landscaping.

 

We've loads of climbing work in notts if you can get there !

 

 

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[pendleton8471]

I had this problem also have a young lad with me for about 5 month myself and other put a lot of time and effort into him and let him do the the good jobs not just being a chipper bitch. But he left about a month ago after becoming more and more unreliable witch again did cost us a lot of time and mess us around no end, its appeared that it was all just a bit to much hard work.

 

I think that a lot not all young people just what to being doing what they view as the good jobs and don't realise that you have to have the experience and earn the right to do this.

[skyhuck]

Pay peanuts, get monkeys, pay quality, get quality

 

 

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When it comes to trainees that statement is utter nonsense, IMO.

[benedmonds]

The one off costs do add up but to me the biggest cost is time. If my apprentice is in a tree, you generally are going to have an experienced climber (often me) on the ground. The job will take longer often allot longer, but as an employer you still have to pay the same but can't charge more.

 

The guys who work for me are now getting to a level where they can be sent to do jobs on there own and we currently have enough work so I can send them to a job for a day, that might take a experienced crew 3/4 of a day. It means they are earning less as a team, but gaining experience without me having to watch them.. It has taken a couple of years to get to this point..

 

Training climbers in small firms is a bit of a catch 22, decent climbers will climb lots as they will earn, but you need to climb lots to become a decent climber. Unfortunately inexperienced (slow) climbers don't get to get the experience as the margins aren't there in many instances... and when they become experienced they bog of and set up on there own!

[skyhuck]

Bit late to this thread. But it is a real shame when young new starters ruin this industry by using it a 'job' not a passion. My background is IT Sales, I have saved and got/getting all my tickets and I couldn't find a trainee role because of idiots giving us new starters a bad wrap. I'm 23 and going self employed straight away, digging for work all time to get myself started out.

 

For me it's not about money or 'filling a gap whilst I find something else', I have left a 4 year career in sales to do what I enjoy doing, not just going through life ticking boxes!

 

Rant over................

 

Rubbish!!! IMO.

 

This can be "just a job", plenty of people do their "job" very well, putting in the required effort and commitment.

 

Many of us work to live, not live to work.

[skyhuck]

Sometimes, there is a far bigger picture.

 

 

Ain't that the truth!!!!!

[Eddy_t]

When it comes to trainees that statement is utter nonsense, IMO.

 

 

Really? So you're telling me that if you had a really good trainee you wouldn't offer them more money?

 

 

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[skyhuck]

Really? So you're telling me that if you had a really good trainee you wouldn't offer them more money?

 

 

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A good trainee will be more interested in the opportunity you are giving them than the money.

 

If their only interest is in the money they will soon leave to set up on their own once trained, so I'd not be interested in training them.