What would you look for in a groundie?

[Stoatally]

I may have been a bit ott there. There doesn't seem to be much demand for an over 40 inexperienced and, when I started looking un-ticketed, newbie.

 

I shall be starting my looking again in earnest over the next couple of weeks.

[inthewoods]

I may have been a bit ott there. There doesn't seem to be much demand for an over 40 inexperienced and, when I started looking un-ticketed, newbie.

 

I shall be starting my looking again in earnest over the next couple of weeks.

 

I'm 39 this year & 1 of the first questions I usually get asked when offering subby services is "how old are you?" most employers prefer over 25 for insurance purposes & In reality it is a young mans game & 35 can be a ceiling for some firms I've experienced.

 

I've been doing this for over 10 years (50% power lines & 50% domestic) now & the quality of the new guys coming in is pretty poor really imo. Some of them wouldn't last the day in UA!

 

As long as you're prepared to graft, don't chat utter sh1te all the time, get stuck in with the lads, don't take personal phone calls outside of breaks & don't stand there gawping at peeps working then you will be OK

 

I used to work down that way, when I'm back home I'll pm you some old numbers for you to ring. Have you tried hi-line?

[Stoatally]

Waiting to hear back from Hi-Line. They were very interested, especially with my background in training but at the time were looking for climbers. I said I'd do my own 38/39 and they said they might be able to find me something after I'd passed, so it's still a possibility.

[eggsarascal]

I think a lot of the problem is firms want good grafters but don't want to pay a decent rate for them. I know if someone takes a job for eighty quid a day they should graft for it........ Don't expect to get the cream if you don't want to pay for it........ Peanuts and monkeys spring to mind.

 

Two man gangs should be earning enough so that both parties feel they have been fairly paid for a day's work.

[inthewoods]

Agreed, a fair days wage for a fair days graft.

[oldwoodcutter]

Just as an aside, at an interview for a groundie,I talked to 2 applicants, the first told me over the phone he was 38 and used to outdoor work. He showed up and said he was 'in his fifties, and had just moved up here after a lifetime driving tube trains, and I would estimate he weighed at least 30 stone and had hands softer than Mrs oldwoodcutters.The second fellow, about the same age, had been "incapacitated for many years" but had at one time 'called a bit of bingo' .

[felixthelogchopper]

Just as an aside, at an interview for a groundie,I talked to 2 applicants, the first told me over the phone he was 38 and used to outdoor work. He showed up and said he was 'in his fifties, and had just moved up here after a lifetime driving tube trains, and I would estimate he weighed at least 30 stone and had hands softer than Mrs oldwoodcutters.The second fellow, about the same age, had been "incapacitated for many years" but had at one time 'called a bit of bingo' .

 

You could take me on, Tim. I'm 23 and have been running marathons since I was a toddler.

[oldwoodcutter]

You could take me on, Tim. I'm 23 and have been running marathons since I was a toddler.

 

That's a good one Felix, you always make me chuckle.

[felixthelogchopper]

That's a good one Felix, you always make me chuckle.

 

What? It's true!

[inthewoods]

Just as an aside, at an interview for a groundie,I talked to 2 applicants, the first told me over the phone he was 38 and used to outdoor work. He showed up and said he was 'in his fifties, and had just moved up here after a lifetime driving tube trains, and I would estimate he weighed at least 30 stone and had hands softer than Mrs oldwoodcutters.The second fellow, about the same age, had been "incapacitated for many years" but had at one time 'called a bit of bingo' .

 

Which one got the job then? Tough call I bet :-)