Apprenticeships

20 Times 20 Times

Guys , for years when i was in my late teens i tried to get an Apprenticeship and too no luck , why is it that Electricians don't like taken on Apprenticeship. Like my 23 years of age now and i honestly think that i would sacrifice everything still to do one , but in this country (Ireland) It doesn't seem that someone wants to give you a hand up. In Australia at the moment they are crying out for young kids to take up trades and pay them EXTREMELY well , fully qualified people are really eager to pass on knowledge , why is Ireland in my point of view behind the times.


Stephen

Armin_Tamzarian

Have you tried '<Mod snip, sorry no company names permitted>'.
They used to take on loads of Apprentices but it's been a few years since
I spoke to anyone from there.
Might be worth phoning them up if you haven't already.

20 Times 20 Times

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

Have you tried '<Mod snip, sorry no company names permitted>'.
They used to take on loads of Apprentices but it's been a few years since
I spoke to anyone from there.
Might be worth phoning them up if you haven't already.

A few people actually mentioned this too me before , I never actually did try them. Now B]<Mod snip, sorry no company names permitted>[/B] are a rather large company back to my original question is why don't the smaller joe blogs take on Apprentices any more ? Or even to a lesser extent.

Armin_Tamzarian

Well I suppose with the current slowdown employers are slow to take on anyone.
However, usually most Electrical Contractors will take on a 1st year apprentice handy enough. It's cheap labour.
Suppose it would be alot easier for you if you knew someone who
knew someone in the trade.
I've known plenty of lads who've gotten a start by simply going through all the Electrical Contractors in the Golden Pages and ringing them and asking them for a start.

One piece of advice, if you do get a start get your FÁS forms filled in and sent back to FÁS asap. Your apprenticeship technically only starts when FÁS receive your completed forms...

20 Times 20 Times

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

Well I suppose with the current slowdown employers are slow to take on anyone.
However, usually most Electrical Contractors will take on a 1st year apprentice handy enough. It's cheap labour.
Suppose it would be alot easier for you if you knew someone who
knew someone in the trade.
I've known plenty of lads who've gotten a start by simply going through all the Electrical Contractors in the Golden Pages and ringing them and asking them for a start.

One piece of advice, if you do get a start get your FÁS forms filled in and sent back to FÁS asap. Your apprenticeship technically only starts when FÁS receive your completed forms...

Yeah I'm thinking very strongly about the Idea of taken up a Apprenticeship , but at 23 its a big step and , my age might be seen as a downside my any potential employer. I have the option when i return to Ireland to start back in college as a mature student in September 2008 , so i really have to ask myself a question , which do i really want to do.

Stoner

Sarge at 23 you should be OK.
Apprentices are very necessary in the current market, 4th years are the most cost effective. At 23 you would be in a position where you had to go to the shops for 18 year olds, some guys will take the piss in this regard, so you'd need to focus on how that would feel rather then just jump in and say I can take it.

from a purely business point of view, it is very difficult to deal with too many apprentices. If a contractors work dries up and projects get canceled (happening a lot now) they have to put the apprentices on some form of Temp lay off, this is difficult for all involved, then you have someone who was laid off in second year for 1 year thinking that they are a third year when they come back etc. even though they have done no practicle work in 1 year.
Mercury to the best of my knowledge are changing some of their recruitment policies and may not be taking on many apprentices in the near future, but that is just speculation on my part.
Apprentices are very difficult to discipline due to their unique position within employment law.

If its something you really want to do and you have your leaving cert then drop me a PM . I might be able to organise something.
But you may find yourself laid off in the current market, I don't know if going into an apprenticeship is a good idea at the moment , unless you are prepared to be in another country in 4 years.

fishdog

One piece of advice, if you do get a start get your FÁS forms filled in and sent back to FÁS asap. Your apprenticeship technically only starts when FÁS receive your completed forms...

Best piece of advice ever. I know a guy that served over a year without being registered and it took him over 5 years to qualify!

Have you tried 'Mercury'.

They will give you industrial experience which tends to be the most interesting and best paying. An apprentiship with them will open alot of doors for you in the future. Leaving cert is a must for Mercury.

Being an older apprentice will make you more attractive to most employers in my experience. I started at almost 22 and they pointed this out to me at the interview.

eoghan.geraghty

Your age would be an advantage, I was nearly 22 when I started and had to take orders from guys my age and younger. None of them were arsey about it though.
Stoner's right about being abroad, esp with mercury. They're goin into eastern europe in a big way.

20 Times 20 Times

Hey Stoner , Thanks a million for the reply. To be honest i don't see myself in Ireland in 5 years time. Whether i decided to go back to college or look down the avenue of becoming a apprentice i see a brighter future overseas. Stoner I'm due back in Ireland in the next couple of months , Do you think maybe we could have a chat maybe about doing some experience work ? See if it's something that interests me ? Anyway thanks for the great replies by all , Very reassuring.

Stoner

yeap, no probs sarge, drop me a PM. I use to look after the apprentices and FAS in work. I'll get HR to give you an interview with full feed back if you want, you might get some pointers from it. Drop me a PM anytime and we''ll set something up. BTW any Oz sparks we have had working for us were at a good standard, so they must have a good system over there, but I dont know anything about that TBH.
If you are over 18 we could look at sticking you on a site for a couple of weeks, see what you think of it. Have to get you Safe Passed first though, and you'd be a Gen Operative as it is only a taster for the work , correct?

Cloneegirl

Stoner wrote: »

yeap, no probs sarge, drop me a PM. I use to look after the apprentices and FAS in work. I'll get HR to give you an interview with full feed back if you want, you might get some pointers from it. Drop me a PM anytime and we''ll set something up. BTW any Oz sparks we have had working for us were at a good standard, so they must have a good system over there, but I dont know anything about that TBH.
If you are over 18 we could look at sticking you on a site for a couple of weeks, see what you think of it. Have to get you Safe Passed first though, and you'd be a Gen Operative as it is only a taster for the work , correct?

Hi I’m wondering if you could help me. I am also looking to get an apprenticeship? Sorry I know this is an old post.

Tuco88

The only advise I would give is do E&I if you get the chance.

tweek84

Tuco88 wrote: »

The only advise I would give is do E&I if you get the chance.

Why??

Tuco88

More career opportunities. Its two trades in one. If you want to get into the Oil&Gas/Pharmaceutical/More into Automation side its a huge advantage.

walshtipp

I did my apprenticeship with ESBN and I would highly recommend it. Loads of opportunities.

liveandnetural

<Mod snip: As per charter no company names please. You are free to PM company names> are both recruiting at the moment nov 2020

so free advice find your local electrical contractor and tell them you are looking for unpaid work experience on Saturdays or midweek in you can manage it .now this may take ten phone calls and do it by phone not emails before you get a result then spend a few days on site with then so you get a fell for the job. you might get employed buy that local contractor even if you don't this will prove your intent to learn and get a job to the next prospective employer

look at them few Saturdays as a investment in your future(you might get lucky and get paid something)

remember also you need to be good at maths for the electrical theory so leaving cert maths a minimum of a C if you struggle with maths this is not the career for you

few other basics 1 get a colour blindness test done and have a copy to attach to your cv
2 go do the safe pass course its 50euros you will need it to go on any site
3 get some work gear boots trouser top and hi-vis

as part of my job i interview prospective apprentices yearly if anyone walked in the door with a half decent leaving cert four/six Saturdays work experience colour test and safe pass..........i would instant hire .......start Monday

best of luck electrical work if a really fulfilling rewarding career

farmerval

I worked in the electrical contracting trade. The prospect of getting a mature apprentice most contractors would jump at.
The biggest issue is "mammys" getting their useless lumps of sons an apprenticeship. They have no interest, no transport etc.
For smaller electrical contractors having staff who can't manage their own transport is a nightmare.
Any decent contractor will jump at the chance of getting a lad (or lady) who can;
a. show they actually want it
b. show they are not actually lazy useless tools

Where I worked we often had mammy's ringing up saying, I can't get him to get out of bed, will you give him an apprenticeship??????????? All you need to be able to do is show that you are not afraid of work. It's not rocket science.
A lovely bonus, as a qualified electrician you can go to college and become a qualified electrical engineer in two years not 4. Guy in work did it part time over 4 years in night study.
Also Electrical Engineers who had been "on the tools" are well sought after.

Downside of trades is when things turn to s**t economically they really turn to s**t. Electrical, especially electrical and instrumentation tend to be better than other trades, not by a lot, but there's more maintenance roles rather than just straight site jobs.

tweek84

If your going E&I currently you will only be able to go to college for block release in Carlow (I know CIT were trying to get it aswell), it also depends on where you live, in Limerick I know of a lot of E&I electricians and only 20% of them got work in Limerick the rest are travelling to Cork, Dublin Galway and abroad the industry just isn't in Limerick at the moment. Opinions on E&Is are mixed they come with a bit of an attitude that the are better than sparks I have heard it a few times 'I am not tie wrapping that cable I am E&I' 'I am not terminating that socket I am E&I' and they tend to have a poor work ethic.
Yes I know not all E&Is are the same that is just my experience with them, please dont get offended if you are one.

tweek84

Kirbys are recruiting specifically for a large project in Lexlip at the moment.
@farmerval you are on the ball anyone showing that bit of initiative would have a much better chance than others.

Maths is critical not just to land the job but to actually get through the college phases.

eurokev

liveandnetural wrote: »

so free advice find your local electrical contractor and tell them you are looking for unpaid work experience on Saturdays or midweek in you can manage it .now this may take ten phone calls and do it by phone not emails before you get a result then spend a few days on site with then so you get a fell for the job. you might get employed buy that local contractor even if you don't this will prove your intent to learn and get a job to the next prospective employer

look at them few Saturdays as a investment in your future(you might get lucky and get paid something)

remember also you need to be good at maths for the electrical theory so leaving cert maths a minimum of a C if you struggle with maths this is not the career for you

few other basics 1 get a colour blindness test done and have a copy to attach to your cv
2 go do the safe pass course its 50euros you will need it to go on any site
3 get some work gear boots trouser top and hi-vis

as part of my job i interview prospective apprentices yearly if anyone walked in the door with a half decent leaving cert four/six Saturdays work experience colour test and safe pass..........i would instant hire .......start Monday

best of luck electrical work if a really fulfilling rewarding career

+1 That's the best advice you'll get.
Once you have the brain required, a good attitude will make the world your oyster after that