240 replies to this topic

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

I want fries with that

[sonikk4]

If its of any help Craig both my Nephew and Jo's son are now full time mechanics and my nephew Grant has just got his MOT testers ticket.

It is a case of taking the rough with the smooth. Its the same in Aviation. Apprentices are treated as gophers but they know in the end they will be earning good money. And my son is one of them.

[Noah]

Better than nothing, Just one of those things.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

I'm not complaining about him making money out of me Sean, if I started in September, then yeah, I'd be fine with that. But I'm working for 20 months on 2.65, not one which I thought I could probably just get by on? Honestly, I'm not complaining about the wages, if I was training and actually progressing through an apprenticeship then yeah, I'd be happy, but instead, I'm getting up at 7am and getting home at 7pm for 20 quid a day, and not getting any kind of recognized qualification from it right now.

[sonikk4]

Here's something with regards to apprentice wages
https://www.gov.uk/n...imum-wage-rates

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Here's something with regards to apprentice wages
https://www.gov.uk/n...imum-wage-rates

Thanks mate. That's where I got the information. So at this point in time, having received no training, signed no contract, taken no entry tests for college, and had nothing from anybody apart from turning up at work and fixing cars, am I an apprentice, or an '18 to 20' worker? Am I officially an apprentice, or do I become an apprenticein September, but giving my employer the ability to exploit me for 8 months for cheap labour?

Edited by Mini-Mad-Craig, 11 February 2013 - 09:20 PM.

[Shifty]

But its something thats gonna happen and its sooner rather than later.

Did you not say that he was gonna buy you tools as well, thats gonna be a bonus later on.

Hell, the amount of utter crap jobs I did as an apprentice was un-real!! A mate of mine was an apprentice mechanic for ford and one of their jobs was cleaning the roof of the body shop!!(don't worry though they were given a pint of milk to drink!!)

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Yeah he will, but given how tight he is with his own tools, I dont know what to expect

And yeah, ofc. It isnt the jobs that I'm complaining about Sean, at all. They cleaned the roof of the bodyshop between doing jobs in their 'apprenticeship'. Not for the same wage 8 months before they'd started college?

[sonikk4]

Here's something with regards to apprentice wages
https://www.gov.uk/n...imum-wage-rates

Thanks mate. That's where I got the information. So at this point in time, having received no training, signed no contract, taken no entry tests for college, and had nothing from anybody apart from turning up at work and fixing cars, am I an apprentice, or an '18 to 20' worker? Am I officially an apprentice, or do I become an apprenticein September, but giving my employer the ability to exploit me for 8 months for cheap labour?

From the way i read that its the apprentice rate you are on and that may get boosted by your employer. The other figures are for non apprentice workers.

You may or may not get a yearly increase as to be honest i don't know how the garage apprenticeship scheme's work with regards to incremental increases.

And by the looks of it he is getting cheap labour until you officially start.

[Shifty]

I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you, ******* travels downhill and you're at the bottom of hill!! Everyone starts at the bottom of the hill, all you need to do is focus on moving up the hill and trying to avoid it as it rolls towards you!!

Things will get better, you will get more respect and more money, but its gonna take a lot of time and effort on your part (being skilled at the art of brown-nosing a bit isn't a bad thing either!!)

Its not about what you're earning now, thats gonna change, what you'll be earning in 4 years time is important as that will set the standard for the rest of your career.

[mini-luke]

Technically you aren't an apprentice as you aren't receiving any training. However, you are lucky to have found an apprentiship so don't rock the boat!

[james962]

Its not about what you're earning now, thats gonna change, what you'll be earning in 4 years time is important as that will set the standard for the rest of your career.

This and what Shifty has said in the last few pages of this thread is good advice/information.

[Black.Ghost]

I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you, ******* travels downhill and you're at the bottom of hill!! Everyone starts at the bottom of the hill, all you need to do is focus on moving up the hill and trying to avoid it as it rolls towards you!!

Things will get better, you will get more respect and more money, but its gonna take a lot of time and effort on your part (being skilled at the art of brown-nosing a bit isn't a bad thing either!!)

I hate brown nosers! There is nothing worse than creepy little weasels who go out of the way to suck up to the boss to try and get ahead of the people they work with. The sad fact of life is it is these people that generally progress further. Not always. Its even worse if the people doing the brown nosing are **** at their jobs.

Can you not just talk with him and say, ok if my apprenticeship starts in September, I'll see you then? I agree finding a good scheme is quite hard, but that doesn't mean you should just be able to be exploited for 8 months as free labour? How can anyone realistically live off 20 quid a day when everything else is getting more expensive? The fact is you can'. If you can agree to start in September, go and get a job in McDonalds, earn 5 or 6 quid an hour or whatever the minimum wage is and save as much as you can for when the wages are ****.

I know apprenticeship schemes are meant to be all about teaching, but if you aren't getting that, you aren't an apprentice, its that simple.

Craig, have you considered other options, such as going to Uni and working part time in a garage or something like that? While hands on jobs can be better, for top end motor sport jobs, which is what I believe you want one day, the degree will count for something more than an apprenticeship.

If you just sit back and take being crapped on now, you will do it your whole life, and that alone will eventually stop you making real progress. I'm not saying you should go in at the top or be on 10 quid an hour, but you and everyone else deserves to be treated fairly. If your apprenticeship doesn't start until Sept, don't start there until then unless he pays you a proper wage for your age.

[Shifty]

I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you, ******* travels downhill and you're at the bottom of hill!! Everyone starts at the bottom of the hill, all you need to do is focus on moving up the hill and trying to avoid it as it rolls towards you!!

Things will get better, you will get more respect and more money, but its gonna take a lot of time and effort on your part (being skilled at the art of brown-nosing a bit isn't a bad thing either!!)

I hate brown nosers! There is nothing worse than creepy little weasels who go out of the way to suck up to the boss to try and get ahead of the people they work with. The sad fact of life is it is these people that generally progress further. Not always. Its even worse if the people doing the brown nosing are **** at their jobs.

Can you not just talk with him and say, ok if my apprenticeship starts in September, I'll see you then? I agree finding a good scheme is quite hard, but that doesn't mean you should just be able to be exploited for 8 months as free labour? How can anyone realistically live off 20 quid a day when everything else is getting more expensive? The fact is you can'. If you can agree to start in September, go and get a job in McDonalds, earn 5 or 6 quid an hour or whatever the minimum wage is and save as much as you can for when the wages are ****.

I know apprenticeship schemes are meant to be all about teaching, but if you aren't getting that, you aren't an apprentice, its that simple.

Craig, have you considered other options, such as going to Uni and working part time in a garage or something like that? While hands on jobs can be better, for top end motor sport jobs, which is what I believe you want one day, the degree will count for something more than an apprenticeship.

If you just sit back and take being crapped on now, you will do it your whole life, and that alone will eventually stop you making real progress. I'm not saying you should go in at the top or be on 10 quid an hour, but you and everyone else deserves to be treated fairly. If your apprenticeship doesn't start until Sept, don't start there until then unless he pays you a proper wage for your age.

Good idea, that would solve his dilemma as the decision would be taken out of his hands. There's a lot of people chasing jobs like that and lots of very keen lads who would replace him in a heartbeat.

Brown-nosing was probably a bad choice of words but being helpful, agreeable, and stuff like that goes a long way.

[Black.Ghost]

It just seems outrageous to me that in the modern day, firms can get away with things like this. Its not the 1970s anymore; 20 quid for a days work is taking advantage, plain and simple. Especially as he is not technically on his Apprenticeship until September. Where does he stand if it gets to August or something, and the owners turns around and says, sorry we aren't/can't do your apprenticeship anymore. He then has worked for 8 months for sod all.

While I see the benefit to an apprenticeship, uni definitely seems a better option to me. If it worked properly and he received full training etc over a period of a couple of years then fair enough.