Where are these so called apprenticeships

dithedancer

MY SON LEFT SCHOOL 2 YEARS AGO WITH THE DREAM OF BECOMING AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER ON THE RAILWAY. HE HAD VERY GOOD EXAM GRADES AND SO FAR HAS ONLY BEEN SENT ON SHORT COURSES BY THE CONNEXIONS SERVICE WITH THE ADVICE THIS COULD LEAD TO AN APPRENTICESHIP. NO ONE ON THESE COURSES AS HAD A SNIFF OF A JOB. IS THIS JUST A PLOY BY THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE OUR KIDS HOPE OR TO BRING THEM DOWN TO EARTH WITH A BUMP MAKING THEM THINK THAT THEY WILL BE REJECTED AT EVERY TURN. ARE THESE SO CALLED COMPANIES GETTING PAID LOADS OF MONEY TO LET OUR KIDS DOWN. ONE COURSE HE WAS ONE DIDNT TEACH THEM MUCH ABOUT ELECTRICAL WORK ONLY DRUGS AWARENESS SAFE SEX AND A TALK BY THE BISHOP TELLING THEM ABOUT WHAT HE DOES ALL DAY. IM GETTING SO ANGRY SEEING THESE PEOPLE LET MY LAD DOWN WHILE TIME COULD BE RUNNING OUT FOR HIM.:mad::mad::mad:

Weirdlittleman

Apprenticeships are in short supply.
No one is going to just give them away. Your son has to find one.
The job centre will try and help him with relevent courses that might help him sell himself to these employers but he will need to do a lot of hard work himself to find an apprenticeship and work out why it is he isnt suceeding

How many apprenticeships has he applied for? what reasons have they given him for not being sucessful ? What is your son doing until he finds one?

dithedancer

Its not only him thats failing but all the kids he is with as well. He went on a track laying course to gain qualifications for track safety with advice of 'this could lead to an apprenticeship with us' no one got to hear of anything although he did get the certificate and keeps his eyes on any vacancies. He took a course with a company called d.e.t.a (doncaster engineering training association) thats where he learned about sex,drugs and the bishop ( i know that sounds like the start of a joke) he got another certificate and one job interview but was never given the opportunity to ask why he didnt get it, he applied to network rail got through three stages but didnt get to the main interview again no explaination, although he told me he was probably the youngest recruit so thought that they were looking for more mature students. He has an interview on thursday with another electrical company although not what he was after but a step in the right direction all the same. He's a bright likeable mature lad and i hate to see him so deflated after all these months.

keith1966

Sadly in this country it is all too often not what you know but who you know when trying to get a chance of a job.

Weirdlittleman

Quite clearly not bright enough to chase up feedback or go on relevent courses etc

Might sound harsh but he needs to be far more proactive and I would bet those who are will be getting these jobs in his place.

Simon11

Have you also applied for schemes on companys that look after the track- Jarvis(In admin however being kept running) , balfour Beatty, TFL(if you live in London) comes to mind.

I don't wish to be rude about Connections, but they are really pointless if you wish to do any specialised job. They will hardly have a clue about the railway industry nor have knowledge of how to get a job in this industry.

sporedude

Four rejections is nothing, Ive had atleast 15 since the middle of last year, Im sure people have had more

dithedancer

no its not harsh just common sense really. he is a bright lad but when he asks he is told thats just how the cookie crumbles. he is going on all the courses he can find and all are relevant but they are not what they seem when he attends them i mean whats sex got to do with setting up an electrical circuit.

Simon11

Has he applied to any college courses in Electrical based work with work experience?

To get a job in today’s market is hard. Just having a qualification is not enough, you need to have something unique such as good work experience, volunteering and good knowledge about the subject and how the market is looking in the future( Like future important contracts, new technology). A good monthly rail magazine that I read is Modern Rails, and it gives you lots of information about all aspects of the railway industry.

Knowing about the industry demonstrates that you've done your research and are passionate about the job. In an interview, if you can demonstrate this knowledge, it give you a good fighting chance!

Its how I got my job working for Virgin Trains:D


At the moment, the goverment is spending alot of money on infilling the railway work( Goverment is spending over £1 billion) so it is electified along with doing the Great Western route. I'd suggest seeing which company has the contract, as they should have a few jobs going!

liney

Not that I know much about electrics, but wouldn't he have been better off going going to college in September last year after spending 12 months not finding an apprenticeship?

18, with no work history or further education isn't going to be opening doors for him.

DCFC79

liney wrote: »

Not that I know much about electrics, but wouldn't he have been better off going going to college in September last year after spending 12 months not finding an apprenticeship?

18, with no work history or further education isn't going to be opening doors for him.

yes surely thats the first thing that should have been done, ok so it wouldnt be what he was after but at least he could get a qualification and possibly some experience under his belt rather than have a an idea what he wants to do and not havie anything to back it up

here you go OP, apprenticeships for doncaster college, ok so none are railway based but theres engineering there,