Electrician Apprenticeship

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Hello

I do hope it will be ok to post he following

My son has just left School and is looking for a career as a Electrician. He will be going to collage but he would realty like an apprenticeship with a company or a electrician....

Would anyone be able to offer any advice going about finding/approaching companies or know of any websites in the UK for electricians i'd be able to post in?

Many Thanks
 
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Did the careers teachers not offer any advice, I know mine was rubbish back in the 70s he just offered "have you considered the Army, Navy or RAF to boys, probably should have taken the advice, would have retired on a good pension years ago
 
Did the careers teachers not offer any advice, I know mine was rubbish back in the 70s he just offered "have you considered the Army, Navy or RAF to boys, probably should have taken the advice, would have retired on a good pension years ago
... provided, that is, that you had survived any conflicts you had found yourself involved in (even if only on the streets of Belfast). That's always been the big catch with the "join the navy/whatever to see the world" reason for joining the armed services - which are called "armed" for a reason :)

Kind Regards, John
 
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Find the local, to you, electrical wholesalers and for a few names of both small and large electrical installation companies. Does the lad want to be indentured or be labouring style apprentise? That decision will give you some idea of the size company he will need to go to.
 
... provided, that is, that you had survived any conflicts you had found yourself involved in (even if only on the streets of Belfast). That's always been the big catch with the "join the navy/whatever to see the world" reason for joining the armed services - which are called "armed" for a reason :)

Kind Regards, John
Mmm See the world and kill people, I always thought the RAF would suit me, short sighted so no pilot job, maybe a maintenance guy, one sparky I knew spent his national service looking after the batteries they used for starting aircraft
 
Mmm See the world and kill people, I always thought the RAF would suit me, short sighted so no pilot job, maybe a maintenance guy, one sparky I knew spent his national service looking after the batteries they used for starting aircraft
A long-standing friend and colleague of mine was a medical student in the late 70s and early 80s. As was common then (maybe still is), when he started at med school he joined one of the services (army or navy, I can't remember), for the sole reason that he thereby got the salary of a bottom-rank officer, rather than having to survive on a meagre grant, throughout his training.

However, his timing was very bad. Just a few weeks after qualifying he found himself on a ship heading out into the heart of the Falklands War, where he spent time on a ship that was attacked with missiles - but fortunately he suffered only minor injuries and survived the experience.

Kind Regards, John
 
I worked on the Falklands along side military people, and we would help each other out, much depended on the trade, some trades where very well trained, others were some what lacking, for example I has an auto electrician visit me, he had been trained how to rewire a tank, not sure when you would do that once he left the forces, and many of the trucks were designed for quick repair, the alternator and starter motor plugged in, but all the alternators and starter motors were repaired in UK by non military personal, so he had no idea how to repair a coaxial starter motor, being fair not the easiest of units to repair, but he had never needed to repair one, so when he when on leaving the military to be an auto electrician he was going to have a very steep learning curve.

But of course it is the same anywhere, my dad's apprenticeship was 7 years, 5 years in the wire works that had taken him on, and 2 years journeyman so 6 months in 4 other firms so he had a rounded knowledge. By time I did it day release gave the rounded knowledge bit, and when working on the building of Sizewell 'B' I saw electrical apprentices who never work on any fault finding, and spend nearly all their apprenticeship fitting tray and trunking not really fair on them.

When I started I could flit from installation, maintenance, industrial, domestic, and commercial, but today the Part P law has resulted in the domestic electrician becoming a specialist field, in latter years my main tool was the laptop, repairing machines controlled by computers (PLC) which is very different to wiring a house, which I have also done.

He needs to knock on doors, and ask the firms boss if he can spend a day with an electrician as he wants to become one, he will likely not be allowed to do that, but by asking the boss sees he's keen. We have with local heritage railway people who volunteer from school, well we did, not so easy now, but they would not last long before they got a full time job, as saying I have started to learn by volunteering for the Welshpool railway mean employers knew they were keen and they may return at weekends but don't see them any more on midweek gang.
 
.... for example I has an auto electrician visit me, he had been trained how to rewire a tank, not sure when you would do that once he left the forces .... so when he when on leaving the military to be an auto electrician he was going to have a very steep learning curve.
I can imagine that. I suppose it was to some extent the same with the likes of my colleague, since there's not much call for the treatment of battle injuries in civilian life, but it was never his wish or intent to pursue a trauma-related medical career, anyway - so his (unintended) experiences in the Falklands were only ever going to be 'a spell of something different'!

Kind Regards, John
 
A former colleague was an electrician on the Canberra when it was requisitioned, he volunteered to sail with the troops, the time was filled with playing deck games & training, but when disembarkation time came the reality that these were men going to war really hit home
 
A former colleague was an electrician on the Canberra when it was requisitioned, he volunteered to sail with the troops, the time was filled with playing deck games & training, but when disembarkation time came the reality that these were men going to war really hit home
Yes. In the case of my colleague, although he was relatively unscathed, many of those around him either died or were seriously injured (on the Glamorgan, if I recall). That certainly 'hit home', and I don't think he's ever totally recovered from the experience. He subsequently left the service at the earliest opportunity (I think he was 'tied in' for a period) - but I don't think that even that (for someone who had had a period of non-conscripted service as an officer) prevented him remaining on the 'Reserve List' thereafter.

Kind Regards, John
 
Thanks to everyone who have contributed to this post...He starts collage over a weeks time. Wgt52 suggestion, checking the local electrical wholesalers seems a good call. So we will take a look...Thanks again
 
Thanks to everyone who have contributed to this post...He starts collage over a weeks time. Wgt52 suggestion, checking the local electrical wholesalers seems a good call. So we will take a look...Thanks again
Assuming that he's going to college to undertake a course related to becoming an electrician, do not the college themselves have information on potential apprenticeship opportunities?

Whatever, I wish him good luck.

Kind Regards, John
 

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