Benefits/Advantages of Taking on an Apprentice

[lame plumber]

your se rate is far to low old son!

 

[SimonG]

in my opinion, taking on an apprentice is a good idea. it's progress, the future, or whatever. if you don't take on an apprentice, you still have to do all the rubbish jobs yourself, you still have to get your own tools out of the van, and put them all away at the end of the day and in 4 years you will still be struggling away on your own as a one man band. there is a risk they can mess up, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. if you have an apprentice, so you charge your customers more money to cover their wage and give them all the simple mundane jobs to do, freeing you up to get on with the real job. think of it this way, if you earn £21.44 an hour, thats what they cost for a day. so then as long as the apprentice saves you one one hour of labour a day, then it's covered. plus you don't actually charge people out at what you pay them (1st rule of employing people) so if you add £4 on your hourly rate then over time the extra money should help pay for tools they break/lose and damage they cause
i know it may sound like "give them all the crap jobs to do" is not a very good strategy for teaching, but theres just not enough crap jobs for them to do ALL day, so at some point they inevitebly end up with nothing to do, therefore watching you work, passing you tools and thus learning the trade. then eventually as long as they are any good, you start giving them more responsibility and more money, untill eventually you have a fully trained man and you can leave them on jobs, pay them an "on the books" rate (i.e £12), and charge them out at a "self employed rate" (£20) and then you pocket the difference!

£20 an hour self employed hmmmmmm.

and after 4 years your back to working on your own as he takes everything you've taught him and sets up in competition knowing all your regulars and what you charge.

Like I said, in my later years I'll take someone on, pass on my wisdom and then they can please themselves, whilst I pick and chose what I do for my beer and holiday money.

Selfish?, probably, but I couldn't give a Shi'ite. I'm a sole trader, I'm happy with what I earn and to maintain the status quo I will train 1 up as I pack in

 

[ExArmy]

yeah a bit low, to be honest i was thinking of a rate for a newly qualified bloke. i've editied it to remove the rates, anyway, the important bit there is the difference between the 2 rates

 

[ExArmy]

and after 4 years your back to working on your own as he takes everything you've taught him and sets up in competition knowing all your regulars and what you charge.

you could always get another one! but seriously, this does and could happen, but not really that likely to happen if you take on a 16 year old, when they are time served they will be 20, at that age you think they are going to WANT to set up on their own? let alone have the money to set up on their own? i wouldn;t worry too much about that

 

[SimonG]

Not for me.

 

[Macca2009]

I agree, remember lads we all started out somewhere.

as an apprentice my self i think apprenticeships are a good thing, we all have to start somewhere some how and less and less people are taking on apprentices.

 

[dom brennan]

im an apprentice just going in my second year doing level 2 and i may slow my boss down on some jobs but when he has a big job on like a full central heating job, he does all the boiler work while i do all the radiators and pipe them all up and on bathroom jobs we do half each so that means we do it twice as quick which means he can get twice as much work which means more money for him. he has just started letting me go to jobs on my own too, which also mean double the money for him so its win win for both of us im getting experience and hes getting more money

 

[jase158]

I have a 25 year old starting Monday, seems keen. only wants £100 per week. I am signing him up for 1 year initially with a pay review in 6 months. If he tidies my van and cleans my work space I will be happy. there wont be much for him to do most of the time but gives me someone to talk to, can get the radio out the van (which I forget most of the time) and hopefully give me more time to think rather then going to the van and smoking so much!!

 

[Macca2009]

Bit Jimmy Savile like there but yeah I see what you mean, might give a different outlok to builders arse syndrome. Tight low waist trouser and thong provided with uniform lol

I wonder if a nice smellimng girlie apprentice might change my mind about having one, as far as lads go I gave up a while back, how can anyone remove a roller garage door from its mountings by just opening it?

girlie interviews only after photos of your last holiday in Magaluff have been received and I have met your mum

 

[SimonG]

Yes, I started as an apprentice, but with a big company. But I don't feel indebted to do the same myself. I'm not empire building and don't need the hassle.

Fair play to those that do take apprentices on, but not for me.

But then why take an apprentice and have to pay when there's a constant stream of people from fast track courses that will work for free? Although a lot seem to disappear when an actual opportunity arises.

 

[SimonG]

I have a 25 year old starting Monday, seems keen. only wants £100 per week. I am signing him up for 1 year initially with a pay review in 6 months. If he tidies my van and cleans my work space I will be happy. there wont be much for him to do most of the time but gives me someone to talk to, can get the radio out the van (which I forget most of the time) and hopefully give me more time to think rather then going to the van and smoking so much!!

I hope you have a get out clause if he turns out to be cack after the first week!

 

[SimonG]

In fact the more I read of this thread the less likely I am to take an apprentice on So I'll leave it there.

 

[ExArmy]

I hope you have a get out clause if he turns out to be cack after the first week!

you can sack them at any time, with good reason.

 

[wetdrip]

you could always get another one! but seriously, this does and could happen, but not really that likely to happen if you take on a 16 year old, when they are time served they will be 20, at that age you think they are going to WANT to set up on their own? let alone have the money to set up on their own? i wouldn;t worry too much about that

At last the voice of reason.
Having gone through many an old thread on here all about taking on an apprentice; which ALL of you were at one point or another.Be it under a time severed journeyman or under a fast track plumbing/gas course teacher/tutor.

The conclusion drawn is: many seem to think they're taking on some sub-species.

I can honestly say, I'd drop many a thread contributor down a hole so deep they'd die of thirst before they hit the bottom.

 

[SimonG]

At last the voice of reason.
Having gone through many an old thread on here all about taking on an apprentice; which ALL of you were at one point or another.Be it under a time severed journeyman or under a fast track plumbing/gas course teacher/tutor.

The conclusion drawn is: many seem to think they're taking on some sub-species.

I can honestly say, I'd drop many a thread contributor down a hole so deep they'd die of thirst before they hit the bottom.

Voice of reason my backside.

So how much plumbing do you do wetdrip?, how many apprentices you taken on? or is it purely based on the fact that your son is looking for an apprenticeship.

Too much sour grapes about plumbers no taking on apprentices as though it's a god given requirement that they need to put something back into the 'plumbing industry'. Well what a load of bull.

If I was going to take somebody on then I would prefer a 30 year old 'apprentice' than a spotty 16 year old oik that has to have his mobile phone surgically removed every morning.

As for dropping posters down a well, well forum rules prevent me from commenting on such a brainless comment.