Advice Needed regarding Apprenticeship proof & new job!!

lillyboo

After 6 months of unemployment my husband got himself a new job! he has passed medical tests, criminal record checks etc and has now come across a stumbling block!
Tha employer said they are now unable to employ him as he does not have official apprenticeship indentures. He does have all of his City and Guilds certificates from 1989-1992 from his day release college course and a letter on official letterhead from his employer at the time stating that he served a 4 year apprenticeship with them which was successful!
They are wanting an official certificate to prove this - which does not exist. I have contacted City and Guilds who confirm that a certificate or letter would only come from an employer at this time and we don't know what to do next? should we persue this? any help and advice would be very much appreciated.

Rockporkchop

What a nightmare. What has happened to the company he did the apprenticeship with - are they still in business?

I may be barking up the wrong tree but if you look at this link http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/A22-2.pdf

it is the Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Act 1999, which obviously only came into force in 1999. Is there a slight chance that apprenticeships were not formally certified prior to this Act and so your DH wouldn't have been supplied with an official certificate?

Best of luck and I really hope you manage to sort it all out and your DH can start work soon.

Zazen999

lillyboo wrote: »

After 6 months of unemployment my husband got himself a new job! he has passed medical tests, criminal record checks etc and has now come across a stumbling block!
Tha employer said they are now unable to employ him as he does not have official apprenticeship indentures. He does have all of his City and Guilds certificates from 1989-1992 from his day release college course and a letter on official letterhead from his employer at the time stating that he served a 4 year apprenticeship with them which was successful!
They are wanting an official certificate to prove this - which does not exist. I have contacted City and Guilds who confirm that a certificate or letter would only come from an employer at this time and we don't know what to do next? should we persue this? any help and advice would be very much appreciated.

Ask them for an example of the certificate that they are on about, as he has his official apprenticeship papers and a letter from the employer and he cannot find out which certificate it is that he needs.

lillyboo

Rockporkchop wrote: »

What a nightmare. What has happened to the company he did the apprenticeship with - are they still in business?

The company my husband originally trained with closed many years ago, he has managed to get in touch with his foreman at the time who has said certificates were not produced for apprentices! Yet the new company says you have to have a certificate , so you could be right with the link you sent, Thank you so much - I will have a read through and ask my DH to query this.

lillyboo

Zazen999 wrote: »

Ask them for an example of the certificate that they are on about, as he has his official apprenticeship papers and a letter from the employer and he cannot find out which certificate it is that he needs.

Thank you for your reply - He has been on the telephone trying to arrange a meeting to discuss what exactly is missing but has had no luck as yet. The problem now is the person who has queried his certificate was not the same person who interviewed him and offered him the job! She has just said the union wont allow him to work without it!!

Oldernotwiser

You don't say what employment are your husband is in, but this link to the Engineering Skillcard, which makes a distinction between an indentured apprenticeship and an informal apprenticeship might throw some light on it.

http://www.skillcard.org.uk/about.html

ohreally

He should have trade papers issued when he finished his apprenticeship. Our apprentices get theirs directly from http://www.select.org.uk. Our employer wouldn't touch someone without these papers regardless of C&G's or HND etc.

lillyboo

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You don't say what employment are your husband is in, but this link to the Engineering Skillcard, which makes a distinction between an indentured apprenticeship and an informal apprenticeship might throw some light on it.

http://www.skillcard.org.uk/about.html

Hi,
He is a Mechanical Engineer a Fitter/Turner by trade. Could it be his apprenticeship then is only classed as informal and some companies will only employ people with indentured Apprenticeships - does this happen?

Someone who he worked with did an apprenticeship in 2006 and he has exactly the same certificates as my husband but has one extra which is to certfiy he has completed an apprenticeship this was from his training provider and this is what my husband is missing!

patman99

Just a q., was he actually offered the job before the problem about the apprentiship came-up?.

donnajunkie

what a ridiculous thing to require indentures. my experience over the past 20 years or so is very few companies that take on apprentices actually give them indentures. how does this company hope to find people if they require them to have indentures.
is your husband a member of a union? if so he should contact them for advise.

edit.
just to add most of my experience is not over the last few years.so i am not aware of any rule or law changes that might mean indentures are back in use. i served my time from 89 to 93. none of the other people i knew who were apprentices had indentures. the impression was that companies had got rid of them because they gave the apprentice too many rights. anywhere i have worked that has had an apprentice since then has not had them indentured. the only person i know who has an indentured apprenticeship is my dad who is now 60.

lillyboo

patman99 wrote: »

Just a q., was he actually offered the job before the problem about the apprentiship came-up?.

Hi,
Yes he was offered the job and was due to start work on Monday until a member of the HR team phoned to say he was missing this piece of paper!