help im a girl

hi every one

i was wondering if any one could help me. Im trying to get into the painting and decorating business and am finding it tough because i don't have any qualifications to write on paper, although i have done a some of work on my mums house.

Can any one give me any tips, i would prefer not to leave my part time job at the moment because i need the money. But i am very keen and a hard worker, I need a kind sole to give me a chance so i can prove myself.

I have seen week long courses running in Dartford for things like tiling, plastering ect. Im sure these will be useful but would employers recognize these?

Any help would be much appreciated, im at a dead end at the mo.

Probably best to post in the painting and decorating forum...

"MODDDDS!"

Glanza_Amy said:

hi every one

i was wondering if any one could help me. Im trying to get into the painting and decorating business and am finding it tough because i don't have any qualifications to write on paper, although i have done a some of work on my mums house.

Can any one give me any tips, i would prefer not to leave my part time job at the moment because i need the money. But i am very keen and a hard worker, I need a kind sole to give me a chance so i can prove myself.

I have seen week long courses running in Dartford for things like tiling, plastering ect. Im sure these will be useful but would employers recognize these?

Any help would be much appreciated, im at a dead end at the mo.

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Painting and decorating is not what it is cracked up to be, mate who had a brush with it told me, perhaps you could fill in at your part time job, untill things smooth over, just don't give any one a good pasting while you are waiting for a better opportunity or else you will be given a new coat, just sit tight and try not to stir things up.

It must be a bit emulsional being stuck at a part time job, not the peachy job you have as the apple of your eye, try not to feel to blue,

i wish you luck


Learning to use a forum would help

(question about painting and decorating in the appliances forum)

... yes i wouldnt want to GLOSS over the facts but the decorating world can be a bit of a ROLLER coaster ride,

painting ,decorating is a hard go but if its your thing then you might try the large reno stores,they have easy 123 books on most subjects.
you depending on your time might take a second part-time for a few hours a week with one of these stores to learn your intended field.
they also have free seminars on how to.
goog luck

AndyBill said:

... yes i wouldnt want to GLOSS over the facts but the decorating world can be a bit of a ROLLER coaster ride,

Click to expand...

BOM BOM!

Perhaps the whole thing is just a pigment of her imagination

Take pictures of your work. A portfolio would look good to a prospective employer (shows your abilities), or for mates etc to spread the word

Have you thought of starting with evening classes?, as no one will take you on just cause you have decorated your mums place, no offence but there is more to it than that.

I am a girl, admittidly I use the girl loosely but I did an apprenticeship with a major building firm many many years ago, I still went to collage, and I sat for my exams.

However I found it difficult at first for companies to take me seriously, as I am a little thing, very slim and girly in appearance, and they would laugh at me, as they couldnt believe I could do the job.

If I did get someone to take me seriously, they would laugh and say start monday Luv, , and turn round and laugh with the other
workers, thinking I wouldnt take them up on it.

I turned up, hair tied back, no make-up, old clothes, and got stuck in, and guess who had the last laugh, yes, me, the little girly.

I wish you well, try and get some training, and get some city&guilds, and get some experience.
Even if you offer to work for a firm for 1 day with no pay, just to get some sort of insight into what actually is involved.
That myth, 'if you can pi55 you can paint', is a load of rubbish, as there are toshers, and there are decorators.

Good advice there Spice..didnt know you was a 'bird'..otherwise I would have bene more chauvenistic!

But These days going to college isnt enough to get a qualification.

You cannot get an NVQ anymore from just going to college..and most places wont offer it via night classes.

The thing that amazes me is the ignorance in the trade of some men..they just cant see the value of a woman on the books..they dont realise that some people..ok women, single women or those that have had a bad experience with men etc might actually prefer a woman in the house as opposed to a bloke.

I worked for the CITB (construction industry training board) for years and a big part of my job was placing trainees with companies...I have had firms ask me for trainees but stating 'no birds'!

Luckily some employers are forward thinking enough to take women on..and in my experience from working for the CITB and teaching decorating women make very very good trainees.

One employer pointed out once 'yeh but they aint no good with a bucket of masonry paint and a 10 inc roller up a ladder on a roughcast exterior'

Ok..they may struggle..but who wants to do that work when you can be indoors doing a bit of fancy stuff for twice the money!!??

Contact your local CITB office Amy...they start their main recruitment in April / May for September starts...they have massive targets for fems and will fall over backwards to help find you an employer.

Be prepared for a 3 year course.

http://www.citb-constructionskills.co.uk/

On the 'recognising qualifications' front...I wouldnt worry about that too much at the moment..the main thing for you is getting on site experience, I have only bene asked for my qualifications a couple of times in 30 odd years!

Dont get me wrong, im not rubbishing them, im proud of mine, you should be too..and if your filling in an application form it looks better if you write NVQ Levels 1,2,3 etc as opposed to 'done loads of painting stuff'

One thing though...you enjoyed doing your painting job...probably becasue it suited you to work that way..pace, times, standards etc...its going to be different 'out there'...think about scraping pidgeon turds off a window cill in the middle of winter..on a scaffold 70 feet in the air..

If that aint put you off keep posting on here for advice off the pros and if you want any guidence on the job front e-mail me.

Nice one Zampa........

Thanks for the help Zampa. Don't think you could put me off I'm currently working as a health care assistant in a hospital and you would be amazed at the amount off human poo I have to clean up etc. You get the picture

I was due to start a college course back in September which meant I was going to have to leave my job and travel by public transport to the middle of London four days a week which i was prepared to do but as it happened there were far too many applicants and 40 people on the waiting list, so that was a big disappointment.

I will contact the CITB people at least I no what direction to head in now.

Thanks again I may be in touch

Zampa said:

Good advice there Spice..didnt know you was a 'bird'..otherwise I would have bene more chauvenistic!

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Lol Zampa, I have had it all, I can assure you, and I am pretty thick skinned now, I wasnt in the beginning, but working on building sited does harden you up.

They dont have that efect on me