Mature age apprenticeships - any success stories?

[dhs]

G'day

Bored with manufacturing industry so pulled the pin
I still regret not finishing my apprenticeship (light vehicle)
years ago.

Not particularly interested in going back to LV mechanics so just
sort of putting the feelers out about other apprenticeship career paths
and wondered if any of you guys are currently during a mature age
apprenticeship, what it is, do you enjoy it?

If you are 26 like me you can claim centerlink (lol) and get
rent assistance on top of your wages so financially it's tight but doable.
At the moment I think I might have a lead on some basic labouring work
which will at least give me access to BICTF rebates and maybe network
with a few tradies

Sparkles/plumbers and gas fitters/carpenters etc would you do
your trade again or pro's con's? Any recommendations on group
training places to hit up or anyone looking for an offsider to do a
bit of work experience?

So far I only have fork/dogging/white card, what's some other good ones to get?

Thanks

[Pete]

I'm mature age ( 31 this year ) apprentice, I'm about to start my 3rd year of Carpentry and Joinery.

I basically got sick of tyre fitting after 6 years, and went out to a civil site doing labouring for a company, and after 3 months they offered me my apprenticeship.

Definite pros are that for mature age you get 75% of a full tradesmens wage, but, you don't get payrises like a younger apprentice.

You also get slightly higher tool allowance ( 1200 over the normal 1k).

I definitely enjoy it, and I think it was a great choice I've made. A lot happier, and make nearly twice as much as I have doing tyre fitting.

Hit up places like Trainee and Apprenticeship company, CCI, and Apprenticecentre.

Mine is through CCI/Apprenticentre.

Couple of good tickets to get depending on what you want to do is EWP, working at heights, confined space, and if you can even a bobcat ticket if you want to do commerical/civil building.

[MMM]

Would you consider doing a apprentiship in Refrigeration and airconditioning? Ive worked for a few companies that have employed mature age apprentices. Some companies prefer them.

[5ltrs of fun]

If you want to continue down the mechanic path be a hd mechanic and some of your lv tafe can be accredited and will cut down your time. Try somebig companys like bryne cut they take on maily mature age apprentices and pay well but you will be doing fifo work i did most off mine with gulf group who are now bis and they paid great. pm me for anymore info if you need

[scottiedoesntn0]

Just taken on a factory laborer as a mature age apprentice at my work as a stonemason,
Hes been with us for 6 months and he's by far one of the best guys in our team.
Walked in the office door one day, explained the situation he was in and asked for a chance....

Having him at 36 vs the younger guy who is turning 17 we can see the difference maturity brings, as well as the advantages of having worked in other industries (drivers licence, forky, is pretty well set up to get to and from work, can work with people without being shy/weird/argumentative/always txting gf's etc etc).

Just remember as an apprentice, be open minded, learn don't argue and be ready to stick it out, totally worth it in my books and any extra overtime/out of hours work you can get, do it you learn shitloads more.

Have had 3 fired apprentices and one leave over the past 3 years and umpteen others that couldnt last 2 weeks trial/3months probation.
Problem seems to be most can't hack it, go off in a huff after dreaming they are worth $60+ p/h or can't let there ego go and this is in a team of less than 10 people.

In terms of apprenticeships there is a huge range of things to do.

Figure out what you want to learn/be successful at then choose is My 2c.

And tool allowance is now $5000 over 3.5-4 yr apprenticeships, thanks to Mr Rudd/the Labour stimulus package... that I missed out on lol

Good luck! :)

[dhs]

MMM - for sure

Thanks for the advice guys. I hit up Skill Hire east Perth for some
construction site labouring, hopefully next week. they were real helpful put me onto the group
training branch in kewdale who pretty much fobbed me off.

I am signed up to wagts in wangara as well but it's only been a couple days. Nothing heard back

Scottie - I agree, Once you know how the world works and in mid 20's defiantly be more grateful for an apprenticeship I reckon. I am 26 so still a pup really but the playing with ya phone thing for the WHOLE fucking shift pisses me off too

5ltrs of fun - I did my preapp and ended thru first year cause ended up in dealership full of bong heads. I thought successfully doing ya cert 1 made you a second year but apparently not. I did notice Detroit diesel and sandvik looking for apprentices but competition for applicants at places like those would be incredibly tough I imagine

I will try that CCI place as well, still open to any avenue it seems like its Gunna be tough to get one (pretty quiet out there) but sounds like it will be worth it if I get lucky

Cheers :)

[Pete]

Don't stress, something will definitely come up.

It's definitely worth it in the long run to stick it out. My boss said the same thing about having an older apprentice, he prefers it as the older guys are more punctual time wise, and always try to learn, they fired or transferred so many younger guys, they actually gave up.

Only thing is I forgotten a lot of my maths etc, so I had to relearn Pythagoras and a few other maths stuff. Wasn't too hard, just a few extra hours during tafe weeks relearning and reading. The lecturers will also tell you they prefer older students as they aren't there to stuff around.

[Gurney]

I'm a mature age apprentice plumber/gas fitter, where are all these extra dollars on top of your tool allowances coming from? I got $800 for my first year and $1000 for my 2nd!

[siladee]

I got 5000 in cash over 4 years and an 800 tool voucher :)

[Pete]

Got 800 for first 3 months, then 1200 at 1 year. Got 1200 at 2nd year, then i'm about to get my 3rd year form in the next few weeks which is also 1200. Then when i've done my 3 years they give me another $800 payment to finish me off.

[ovaxitd]

im in same boat atm, looking for mature age apprenticeship at fitter/ hd mech etc.

cci was sweet but atm nothing available in my area. they seem to be a good company to be trained for and in process of another position.

for me its about securing future with ticket as without one i have nothing to "fall back on" so to speak.

im looking at going t/a and then try for apprenticeship... shall see what happens.

its all a sacrifice that you need to weigh up, im offshore fifo and earn pretty good money and only work 6mth but willing to give it up to secure future.

my 2 cents.. stick to it ...

a young mate is a good boat mech an started with another mate as apprentice.. of course earning f_all and after 2 months threw it in today as couldnt see the bigger picture...

[dhs]

I'm a mature age apprentice plumber/gas fitter, where are all these extra dollars on top of your tool allowances coming from? I got $800 for my first year and $1000 for my 2nd!

Did you have to do preapp? How did you score that?

Ovaxited: I was same on good coin but fixed plant a bit soul crushing and
want something to ensure I will always be on good coin, even if means short term sacrifice + opportunity to work for self in future good to

Rexhunta- I noticed forgotten maths thing when I was doing my dogging ticket stuff like trig would be a bit intense at first but rewarding I'm sure. I'm not stupid Maths wise I ran CNC machines but being able to do stuff without a calculator needs work

Also can u describe what you actually do as a carpenter? An old mate did it he was mostly building roofs on residential construction must involve a fair bit of balance carrying heavy shit Across those beams or is it done with a franna?

Carpenters don't just do wood anymore but hey? Like a guy I did dogging tiket with was a carpenter but worked on commercial stuff which I don't understand. Bit more info about ur typical day or the different types of carpentry would be gold :)

[crabman]

Anyone know of a good company to try and do an instrumentation electrician app through, oil and gas specific?? Im thinking of new career path as HD mech isnt for me anymore with my back. I had a quick look on the apprenticenter website but it looks like they just whore you out to different companies for amounts of time. Want something solid with a company thats staying put and I would get good experience from. Mech app at Westrac leaves alot to be desired these days, I think I am one of the last lot to finish back in 2008 with a half decent skills set.

More details on this centerlink and rent assistance money, does rent assist still happen if you are paying a mortgage?

[Pete]

Rexhunta- I noticed forgotten maths thing when I was doing my dogging ticket stuff like trig would be a bit intense at first but rewarding I'm sure. I'm not stupid Maths wise I ran CNC machines but being able to do stuff without a calculator needs work

Also can u describe what you actually do as a carpenter? An old mate did it he was mostly building roofs on residential construction must involve a fair bit of balance carrying heavy shit Across those beams or is it done with a franna?

Carpenters don't just do wood anymore but hey? Like a guy I did dogging tiket with was a carpenter but worked on commercial stuff which I don't understand. Bit more info about ur typical day or the different types of carpentry would be gold :)

First Job I was on which was doing Civil work out at Binningup on the De-Sal plant meant chippies were basically doing formwork all day, everyday. Building edges of slabs, building big plynths, precast panels etc. Dogging ticket comes in handy when using CEVA/MEVA panels, lifting with the crane of franna etc. Was there for 18 months, so was handy, needed all the other tickets because of some of the places you had to do work in ( 11 metre holes, up in the air in a man cage, using EWPs etc. )

Currently I'm on a Commercial site down here in Treendale which is Retirement Village containing 120 3x2 and 4x1 units, and a large Community Centre in the middle which is about 2 weeks from being handed over. Basically in the units doing 1st and 2nd fixing ( doors and doing timber wall framing for things like cavity sliders, trimming out roofs for bulkheads and things, fascias, aluminum, timber and MDF skirting. Also fit all the door hardware and anything else that needs to be done. ) Also I go back down to the 30 units we've done now if there's a problem and see if I can fix it, if not they call in subbies ( just things like locks not working or drawers get misaligned and the old people can't work it out.

In the community centre basically doing whatever I can to keep busy, get in the bobcat and clean up around site, helping the labourer out grabbing shit, and getting stuff for the other Subbies. Basically same deal, cutting in the 15 million manholes and aircon vents, precast panels, patching, repairing ceiling framing which is all metal, install grab handles etc, , but, I also got to on this job use Jarrah and make up some massive gates for a bin store, but i've also poured a crapload of concrete and done other things. Basically If there's work to be done i'll go do it, I don't mind, as I know my employer does appreciate it and gives me extras ( got my skidsteer ticket through them, lets me take time off whenever I need to do something, take home bits and pieces I want. Things like that.). Also coming upto handover I'm smashing out a lot more hours, so that helps big time. Also do all door hardware, aluminium weather stripping, random things like door grills.

Bobcatting out the pool inside the building was pretty bloody fun though !

If you need anymore info let us know, goodluck and I hope you stay with it, and just ignore the little pricks you'll get in your tafe class !

Pete.

[dhs]

Anyone know of a good company to try and do an instrumentation electrician app through, oil and gas specific?? Im thinking of new career path as HD mech isnt for me anymore with my back. I had a quick look on the apprenticenter website but it looks like they just whore you out to different companies for amounts of time. Want something solid with a company thats staying put and I would get good experience from. Mech app at Westrac leaves alot to be desired these days, I think I am one of the last lot to finish back in 2008 with a half decent skills set.

More details on this centerlink and rent assistance money, does rent assist still happen if you are paying a mortgage?

Dunno mate I haven't spoken to 'em (I rent anyway)
I have my heart set on apprenticeship either way it was only the other day I found out looking on centrelink website:

"Austudy provides financial help if you are aged 25 years or more and studying or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship full-time.
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/austudy.htm"

Reading further into it looks like you get fuckall, probably easier just to do cashies on the side lol.

[Gurney]

Did you have to do preapp? How did you score that?

Ovaxited: I was same on good coin but fixed plant a bit soul crushing and
want something to ensure I will always be on good coin, even if means short term sacrifice + opportunity to work for self in future good to

Rexhunta- I noticed forgotten maths thing when I was doing my dogging ticket stuff like trig would be a bit intense at first but rewarding I'm sure. I'm not stupid Maths wise I ran CNC machines but being able to do stuff without a calculator needs work

Also can u describe what you actually do as a carpenter? An old mate did it he was mostly building roofs on residential construction must involve a fair bit of balance carrying heavy shit Across those beams or is it done with a franna?

Carpenters don't just do wood anymore but hey? Like a guy I did dogging tiket with was a carpenter but worked on commercial stuff which I don't understand. Bit more info about ur typical day or the different types of carpentry would be gold :)I was labouring on a work site and got sick of it, asked who the head plumber on site was and asked him everyday for about 3 weeks until he said yes. Didn't do a pre-app either, apparently I "got lucky".

[RBS13]

i start my mature age apprentiship in a few weeks (im 22) as a boilmaker,so cant coment if i like it or not, but have been working in the metal/steel industrie for 5 years now so do like working with metal, not sure if my rate is any different to others as we are in a union but i start on $20.70 and bumps up to $21.50 in november, being in a union everyone gets a pay rise no matter what, im currently a forky at the current company so did make it easyer for me to get, originaly i wanted to do a electrical apprentiship and did apply to 7-8 different electrical companys but never got a call back. only thing i regret is i didnt start one earlyer. good luck with the search and defently do one, better in the long run!!

[Pete]

i start my mature age apprentiship in a few weeks (im 22) as a boilmaker,so cant coment if i like it or not, but have been working in the metal/steel industrie for 5 years now so do like working with metal, not sure if my rate is any different to others as we are in a union but i start on $20.70 and bumps up to $21.50 in november, being in a union everyone gets a pay rise no matter what, im currently a forky at the current company so did make it easyer for me to get, originaly i wanted to do a electrical apprentiship and did apply to 7-8 different electrical companys but never got a call back. only thing i regret is i didnt start one earlyer. good luck with the search and defently do one, better in the long run!!

You'll find once you start your apprenticeship Union rights go out the window, found it with mine. I was on a full union site, everytime they had meetings or striked i just sat in the crib huts or cleaned out the containers. Basically there's no union rights for apprentices as you're actually signed and being an apprentice ( like I am through CCI which is the government.)

Yes if the employees get a payrise you do too, but you don't get the normal every year pay rise with being a mature aprentice.

[dhs]

i start my mature age apprentiship in a few weeks (im 22) as a boilmaker,so cant coment if i like it or not, but have been working in the metal/steel industrie for 5 years now so do like working with metal, not sure if my rate is any different to others as we are in a union but i start on $20.70 and bumps up to $21.50 in november, being in a union everyone gets a pay rise no matter what, im currently a forky at the current company so did make it easyer for me to get, originaly i wanted to do a electrical apprentiship and did apply to 7-8 different electrical companys but never got a call back. only thing i regret is i didnt start one earlyer. good luck with the search and defently do one, better in the long run!!

hey man
did you end up sitting an aptitude test or did it get waived because of your experience/same company?
if ya did was it difficult as I have one tomorrow and not really sure what it involves

-dave

[Evman]

Bump.

At 26 I'm leaning more and more into doing another apprenticeship (already an Aircraft Mechanical Engineer) and have been working offshore for the last 4 years. I'm pretty keen to get into the electrical scene and would love any feedback from people with experience, particularly on the pay side of things. Any help would be appreciated!

[Blekky]

THREAD REVIVAL

Looking at doing an Electrical apprenticeship in the near future, at 21 years of age do I qualify for mature age or is it around 25??

Anyone else recently completed a similar apprenticeship?? Interested in gathering knowledge regarding placement, employers, rate of pay etc.

[regi]

25 yo

[thrtytwo]

Hit up places like Trainee and Apprenticeship company just saw this. Would NOT reccomend going through these guys. Nothing wrong with their professionalism or service in general, but they take a huge cut. Basically they charge your host company, lets say, ~$35p/h and theen pay you $16p/h. I went through them as a mature age apprentice at 21 and was only getting a dollar or so more than the normal apprentices through the. But even worse, all the 16 year olds at tafe who were hired directly through a conpany were on $20 p/h.

Using a third party company gives you some security, they will try to find you a new placement if your host has to cut employees, but you get payed a bit less.

Fortunately for me my employer appreciated the quality of my work and the effort I put in, so when I asked for a raise they gave me a $250 a week bonus (so the apprentice and traineeship company didn't get as much of a cut)

[crabman]

Is it just me or is it near on impossible to get a mature age apprenticeship these days. I heard companies don't actually have to pay mature age wages and with cost being a factor it's been tempting to mention in my cover letter I can go without the mature age wage lol.

Been going for inlec and electrical apprenticeships for the last few years with no luck over and over, I'm a HD mechanic already. Anyone from a HR background care to share how mature age applicants are filtered?

[Brett_J]

The Government foots a huge part of Mature age Apprenticeship wages, they also get bonuses around the same time as the apprentice.
I was on $28-32/hr on my Apprenticeship.
I can't see why more employers wouldn't do it !

[schnoods]

The hardest part for employers to take on mature age apprentices is prior experience.


We have a few apprentices at work, all are under 22 purely on the fact that they are a blank canvas, basically you can "train them up" right from the start. In the fabrication/welding field, bad habits can be costly and dangerous.

Had issues with previous mature age apprentices, some would backchat and say "i've been taught to do it this way or At my last place".. Had guys that were mature age on a good wage that didn't have a clue, worked in a exhaust shop prior before coming into a heavy plate and pipe shop. You cannot train someone how to take a sharp edge off with a 5" grinder when he has been doing it wrong for 10 years.

Plus the wages, coupled in with the lesser likelihood of "i gotta drop the kids off/Kids are sick" and broke ass 18 year olds will rock up for any overtime so they can party hard makes it easier. Plus the fear of god (boss) keeps them inline.

When industry will pick up then it will be easier, to better your chances a pre-apprenticeship might help stimulate interests.

[crabman]

Well, I was almost at the point of offering someone 5k out of my own pocket for one, considering the money earnt later on as an inlec sparky would have more than been worth it. Hell, I have even start identifying myself as Aboriginal.

Will try do some course before applying for Process Operator traineeships next year otherwise that's me until I return from Canada circa 2020 lol

[Brett_J]

The hardest part for employers to take on mature age apprentices is prior experience.


We have a few apprentices at work, all are under 22 purely on the fact that they are a blank canvas, basically you can "train them up" right from the start. In the fabrication/welding field, bad habits can be costly and dangerous.

Had issues with previous mature age apprentices, some would backchat and say "i've been taught to do it this way or At my last place".. Had guys that were mature age on a good wage that didn't have a clue, worked in a exhaust shop prior before coming into a heavy plate and pipe shop. You cannot train someone how to take a sharp edge off with a 5" grinder when he has been doing it wrong for 10 years.

Plus the wages, coupled in with the lesser likelihood of "i gotta drop the kids off/Kids are sick" and broke ass 18 year olds will rock up for any overtime so they can party hard makes it easier. Plus the fear of god (boss) keeps them inline.

When industry will pick up then it will be easier, to better your chances a pre-apprenticeship might help stimulate interests.

Must be your industry

99% of the apprentices I saw at Tafe under 25, were all YOLO flat brim wearing fucking morons, that focused more on partying, their fake blonde slapper slut missus, and doing skids in their Hire Purchased commodore.
All the Mature age guys were there to learn, were grateful for the chance and worked fucking hard.
Plus my boss used to tear strips off the guys way older than me if we fucked up, you shut and took it :)

[Fozzy]

I would love to get into an adult apprenticeship as a Sparky. Tried a few times with no luck sucks really as I was keen as mustard.

[schnoods]

Must be your industry

99% of the apprentices I saw at Tafe under 25, were all YOLO flat brim wearing fucking morons, that focused more on partying, their fake blonde slapper slut missus, and doing skids in their Hire Purchased commodore.
All the Mature age guys were there to learn, were grateful for the chance and worked fucking hard.
Plus my boss used to tear strips off the guys way older than me if we fucked up, you shut and took it :)

Well mind you we do pick up the blokes when they are younger, most have done a pre apprenticeship at 16 years old, so we get to them before 18 years of age and tested them out in the workplace for a few weeks before signing them over.

Of course there will be bad apples regardless, but we've had alot of glorified T/A's try out from an apprenticeship with aspirations of being a tradie being too high, or struggling with English let alone detailed drawings.

In the fabrication side of things, it is a pretty sink or swim type of trade. if you cant get the skills or the knowledge down pat, it is gonna be hard.

[forde]

This also relevant to my interests. I'm 22 and a qualified Electrician but want to get a HD mechanic apprenticeship. Would love to stay working on the mines. Any idea on where i should apply?

[Pete]

just saw this. Would NOT reccomend going through these guys. Nothing wrong with their professionalism or service in general, but they take a huge cut. Basically they charge your host company, lets say, ~$35p/h and theen pay you $16p/h. I went through them as a mature age apprentice at 21 and was only getting a dollar or so more than the normal apprentices through the. But even worse, all the 16 year olds at tafe who were hired directly through a conpany were on $20 p/h.

Using a third party company gives you some security, they will try to find you a new placement if your host has to cut employees, but you get payed a bit less.

Fortunately for me my employer appreciated the quality of my work and the effort I put in, so when I asked for a raise they gave me a $250 a week bonus (so the apprentice and traineeship company didn't get as much of a cut)

Must've been your industry etc. I was on 30+ site as a first year mature apprentice, when the tradies were on $37.80+.

Never had any problems with them

Also, my employer was only for mature age apprentices as he's sick of 18 yo who don't give a shit.

[Brett_J]

This also relevant to my interests. I'm 22 and a qualified Electrician but want to get a HD mechanic apprenticeship. Would love to stay working on the mines. Any idea on where i should apply?

Usually it's the other way around, I'm a HD Plant Mechanic, I wish I'd done an Electrical Apprenticeship, as do most I know.
Most sparkies I know never run out of work, Fitters are a dime a dozen these days, makes it hard to get into the mines, back when there was a shortage of them, Mining companies would hire any qualified mechanic, small motor included, and since they've been there for years and have site experience, they get precedence over newly qualified.

[Risk10k]

Keen for MA apprenticeship now. $30p/h is more than I fucking earn now! Albeit I get 20 hours a week over time, and I take home over a G, still keen to learn new skills and better myself.

[crabman]

I figured I would have an ok time crossing from HD Mechanic across to inlec as it is pretty much an entirely new skills set so 'bad habits' would be minimal. Would just have the advantage of someone who is familiar with site/safety systems and obviously mature enough to know what they actually want to do and do it to their up most ability. Ah well..

[Fozzy]

Im a HD mech by trade also.. Took a different path for a couple of years and I have been wanting to go to a sparky for a While just having no joy.

[forde]

Although i don't recommend it, if you are dead keen on doing electrical. You're best chance is to go through EGT.

[Fozzy]

Not that desperate.

[caibs]

i started an electrical apprenticeship at 25 with EGT and now i'm 27 and in my 3'rd year. its pretty grim wages, $14.50 ish an hour. most sites give travel so bank on a rough base wage of 600 a week. its pretty crap but you can manage living out of home. i landed a job with downer industrial a few months ago and was bringing home about 900 for a 40 hour week. the job kicked off just recently and with overtime its about 1200-1300 in your pocket which is fantastic.

egt sucks though. they take on as many apprentices and more or less hire you out. but they have a few pros and cons.
pros:
job security. you can get the boot from a host if you're shit (or if they're shit) and they'll eventually find you a new host.
variety of experience.
if they cant find you a host and you have no leave left you're on 'downtime' and get paid for sitting at home. not as good as it sounds.

cons:
terrible pay
jack of all trades, master of none.
alot of kids get used as cheap labour hire. (i've painted houses, dug soak wells, vacuumed under floors). basically cheap non electrical work.
egt will use your annual leave up if you are inbetween hosts. this is infuriating if a job finishes up and you've saved up bulk leave and they "can't" find you a new host. you have no power to stop this either.
when there's a downturn they will 'randomly' drug test people and cull numbers.

but with that said. if you land a good host with EBA rates you're on great money. either way i dont regret my choice. i love going to work every day even on the bad jobs. i hated what i did before and now i have a feeling of worth. i look forward to being qualified, there's such a variety of fields that you can go into.
the only other thing i would consider is being a plumber. i think if the economy collapses, plumbers would be better off than sparkies. and i'm good at digging. yeah boy.


/rant

[SSICK]

Left school at 16, got a job by working all my school holidays as work experience. Love being an electrician. Disgruntled a few mature age boys as I was qualified at 20 and telling them what to do as I ran my own jobs....decent multi million dollar jobs.

Recently have so much work on that I have had one day off in 8 weeks. Would I change a thing? Hell fuckin no. Give up your time and prove yourself to an employer for free for a couple of weeks. Show them you are keen, shut the fuck up and listen, sweep all fkn day if you have to. Don't stand around, wear pocketless pants and leave your phone in your tool bag. Do a BORGZ and call 137 companies if you fkn have to. You can do a communications cabling course/fiber optics course in a few weeks and make the same amount of money a sparkie would, 50% of my work is comms. Heaps of work out there.

[crabman]

Do EGT do instrumentation electrical apps or just 240v spec?

[SSICK]

You need to be a qualified electrician to do instro now. No cert 3 in electro tech = no cert 4 instro.

[crabman]

So you can just do a 240v apprenticeship then go do a Cert 4 after you have finished and you are good to go? Still would be a shit load better doing it with an oil/gas mob. Heard its near on impossible for people that work inlec in mining etc to get into oil and gas.

[SSICK]

I have a few mates doing inlec in oil and gas after mining. I do a few shutdowns at kleenheat gas doing instro.

As far as I know you can do your instro course but won't get certification until you gain your cert 3 in electro tech. A few egt guys I know have done that.

Stop calling it 240v! We can play with up to 1000v!!

[mxracer]

240v , still call it cable jerkers .

been out of my electrical fitter trade (industrial motors , rewinding etc ) for 10yrs , all the rules/trades/qualifications have all changed , god knows what i can even do now . wouldnt mind expanding the qualy one day .. which way best to branch off or have to start all over again ?

[crabman]

Wow, I actually progressed in an application for next year. Comms Tech apprenticeship with Rio. It was only through to doing those weird english and maths quizes online. Hopefully I know whats happening there within the next week.

[-Luke-]

240v , still call it cable jerkers .

been out of my electrical fitter trade (industrial motors , rewinding etc ) for 10yrs , all the rules/trades/qualifications have all changed , god knows what i can even do now . wouldnt mind expanding the qualy one day .. which way best to branch off or have to start all over again ?

Railway Signals Technician. Rio are going to need a metric fuckload in the next few years to support the autohaul infrastructure. It will be name your price until the numbers are built up.

[Dom]

Wow, I actually progressed in an application for next year. Comms Tech apprenticeship with Rio. It was only through to doing those weird english and maths quizes online. Hopefully I know whats happening there within the next week.

What the pay like? would be interested in something like this myself, would having a tafe diploma take any time off?

[crabman]

What the pay like? would be interested in something like this myself, would having a tafe diploma take any time off?

No idea tbh, but FIFO mature age with Rio... if I got it and was on 65 i'd be happy and manage to get by on it.

[Dom]

crabman if you get this do you mind sharing some info??

The job i am in atm i have a feeling will finish up mid 2015, i have pretty much finished tafe diploma in comms and would love to go to uni however would need a job.

[carlos spicy wener]

started my carpentry apprenticeship at 22. best thing i ever did, and been qualified now for 6 months. pay was shit, but everyone goes through that period i suppose. i was getting a fair bit more than all my mates at trade school. majority of guys in my classes were around the same age as me.
plenty of opportunities out there, just have to be pro-active and speak to alot of people. i was lucky and got a job with the first guy i rang out of the paper.

[Marti]

I was 22 when I started looking for an apprenticeship. I did work experience for 4 weeks at a dealership and got offered an apprenticeship. Maybe try doong work experience and proving your self ?

[UK-Rushy]

Wow, I actually progressed in an application for next year. Comms Tech apprenticeship with Rio. It was only through to doing those weird english and maths quizes online. Hopefully I know whats happening there within the next week.

How did you go with the test? I just did them for diesel fitter apprenticeship. Havnt done percentages for years haha

[crabman]

Yet to hear anything back. As soon as I saw pounds and pence I was freaking out, thought the weird poms had money like feet and inches haha

Ran out of time on the last question for the maths one, went full retard on an early one and cost me time. Hopefully I hear something this week.