Poor standard apprenticeship delivery

[Hodge]

There's plenty of employers on here who could answer this one, tbh when starting out in Arb the main qualifications you need are Good timekeeping, Reliability, Eyes and ears that work and are permanently connected to a functioning brain and the Ability to graft. There are no courses available for any of these.

 

If you have them you'll pick up what you need to know as you progress and a good employer will point you in the right direction for Quali's, but since you asked the basic ones would be Driving licence ( don't overlook this one ) c.s.30, wood chipper, c.s. 38.

 

Can they be done in a year.......yes

 

Can you do it in a year....... Your call

 

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Very good points. As an employer I think it is very important you can use your initiative, I am fed up with young lads coming and giving it large but have no idea how to think for themselves, if you don't get taught it on your 6 week tree surgery course then you don't need it attitude.

[peatff]

I think it's not just tree work but a lot of industry sees apprentices as cheap subsidised labour. My grandson was at college on a joinery course and he is quite good with the tools. He finished the course and got an apprenticeship with a local firm but gave up disheartened after nearly two years as all he was doing was sweeping up and painting. College has refused to give the firm any more apprentices but he is now stuck for finishing his time.

[Syd_B]

The same happened to me Peatff, and I was stuck doing agency & security work for a few years afterwards, despite being told I would get the NVQ3, but cest le vie, if it had worked out I'd never have found arb.

 

Echoing what the others have said, my feedback from doing the odd few days is "Your a good grafter and your switched on, but we need a driver"

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

would you expect me to have my CS30, 31 etc. before the end of the year?

 

 

There are a couple of key problems with the app system in practice; yes, I'd agree, some employers are taking advantage of very cheap labour but also, some colleges are equally guilty of grabbing 'bums on seats' and benefitting from the cash flow that naturally follows high throughput.

 

To answer your question 30/31 by the end of the year, to be honest, both you and the employer should be expecting 30/31 by the end of WEEK 1 let alone year 1 - it's a 4 day course WTF is happening if it takes a year???

[Dan Curtis]

To answer your question 30/31 by the end of the year, to be honest, both you and the employer should be expecting 30/31 by the end of WEEK 1 let alone year 1 - it's a 4 day course WTF is happening if it takes a year???

 

Totally agree. You could have cs 30, 31 and 38 in two and a half weeks from never touching a saw or a rope if you tried. Just a case of getting on a course.

 

I'm not keen on apprenticeship schemes due to a combination of seeing many talented workers held back by the duration of the courses and time it takes to get tickets. The other side of it is that you get someone who's hopeless but can use a rake and drag brush wasting their employers time and money to get through the course, never showing much sign of being a profitable worker.

[Topper]

Totally agree. You could have cs 30, 31 and 38 in two and a half weeks from never touching a saw or a rope if you tried. Just a case of getting on a course.

 

In my experience (and many others) this profile of new employee knows nothing about real life working environments, getting the tickets in two and a half weeks means very little when you are paying out for damaged fences, sheds and equipment.

 

I've let lads go because they are careless ( expensive ), they have basic quali's but no basic training in WORKING

 

Much rather have someone who is trainable slowly by me than trained quickly by someone else.

[Topper]

As an employer I think it is very important you can use your initiative, I am fed up with young lads coming and giving it large but have no idea how to think for themselves, if you don't get taught it on your 6 week tree surgery course then you don't need it attitude.

 

Spot on

[Blandboy]

In response to the question I raised above thanks for the feed back. Fortunately I can already drive so I guess I have the first ticket on most peoples list.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Totally agree. You could have cs 30, 31 and 38 in two and a half weeks from never touching a saw or a rope if you tried. Just a case of getting on a course.

 

I'm not keen on apprenticeship schemes due to a combination of seeing many talented workers held back by the duration of the courses and time it takes to get tickets. The other side of it is that you get someone who's hopeless but can use a rake and drag brush wasting their employers time and money to get through the course, never showing much sign of being a profitable worker.

 

 

It's horses for courses eh Dan! I know many posts have lambasted 'ticket chasers' as being full of confidence but lacking experience but seriously, like you say, it's not like the tickets / training at entry level are particularly taxing. 30/31 should be in the first fortnight of any apprenticeship, it's bread & butter stuff! For those that want to drag their chin all day moaning about duff trainees, maybe they just ain't cut out to be training and mentoring.

 

I answered a post on here early on this year from a guy asking for an opportunity for work experience with no previous arb quals. 6 months later he's self employed, trained up to 40/41 and was rigging out big lumps with me last week.

[Topper]

Agreed, an apprentice provider should offer the training and certification needed by the employer, 'Bums on seats' never lead to more 'Bums on seats', no one is daft enough to repeat a bad experience.

 

The only provider of Arb apprenticeships in my area offers all their apprentices 30,31,38,39,mewp and Chipper.

 

Last year an entire group started in sept, had chipper, 30 and 31 by dec, 38 & 39 by May and are all now employed full time. I think that is a good pace of progression.

 

I know for a fact that a few employers have not only gone back to said college, they have increased their numbers.

 

The magic mix of good apprentice, good training provider and good employer does exist, i've seen it.

 

As for the chin draggers, they seem to be north of the watford gap.