Apprenticeship am I too old?

joeblack066

AshRosetti wrote: »

Apprenticeships are usually for 16-24 years old, so i think maybe you are a bit too old!

Not the case anymore! See

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Be-An-Apprentice/The-Basics.aspx

krycek985

dezzie wrote: »

Thats why I am going to try the larger companies and hope that age wont be a problem when considering my application. I can only do my best and willing to work on a low wage if the end product is going to be worth it

Most of the larger companies I knew other apprentices from all employed as young as possible. I can only assume that its because they take on more boys as it coss less to train them as mentioned above.

I wish you the very best of luck but If you do get a place as an older apprentice do please be prepaired for loads of crap from the real tradesmen. I can just imagin what they would be like if an older person was to start as a "boy".

TotallyAlienQuizShowHost

Always find this subject interesting as I have often thought about retraining or trying an apprenticeships in a slightly different trade/area these last couple of years. Though now 35 so its looking harder & harder to get those kind of opportunities no a days.

All though employers & companies can't be seen to age discriminate, I guess they prefer younger apprentices, as the older we all get the harder it is to learn (old dogs & new tricks etc haha!).

But what I've seen at the places I've worked for & what friends have said, is that once these 16-24 yr old's learn a trade & an apprenticeship, then a good majority move on to better company & better pay (don't blame them really).
Plus through teaching my trade to apprentices, I find their concentration levels are rubbish half the time (that's if you can prise them away from googling on the iphones all day!) & it seems most of them have pipe dreams of making millions on a dot com venture.Its like the apprenticeship is just something to do to pass the time of day until something better comes along.

So personally I think the plus side of a maturer & older apprentice,is the opposite of the above really. They have more patience,understanding, more committed,more realistic & the fact that they have chosen to move into a different trade & are willing to do an apprenticeship on a low wage, more than proves a commitment to the company & the fact they are willing to stay on beyond the end of the apprenticeship term.
Of course one of the real bonuses is that a mature apprentice knows the discipline & commitment needed to get on in the work place & they are use to working a full time 40+ hour week.

Seriously our 2 year + apprentices still seem to struggle with this concept at times haha!

Sorry if this seems a bit of a rant, hopefully an employer might read this & take on some of these points on board or hopefully some of it will ring true to those of you that have taken the time to read all of this (thank you all for you patience) & are in the same frame of mind as me.

Best of luck for all of you willing to re train & try an apprenticeship.

ohreally

AshRosetti wrote: »

The usual criteria for an apprenticeship is 16-18, with 40% of companies/organizations increasing the age up to 24.

Can you evidence this?

AshRosetti wrote: »

I very much doubt a 30 year old would be eligible to do an apprenticeship.

One of the organisations i deal with employ several apprentices and all are over the age of 30!

Chartered_Eng

TotallyAlienQuizShowHost wrote: »

All though employers & companies can't be seen to age discriminate, I guess they prefer younger apprentices, as the older we all get the harder it is to learn (old dogs & new tricks etc haha!).

I recall when the Open University started up they did a study to ascertain the learning abilities of the older target audience. They found that the ability to learn increases until the late teens and early twenties and then stays at the same level into the seventies.

After that we all go a bit crazy :rotfl:

Some employers recognise that the older person is more likely to be committed and reliable. Some just see young = cheap and can't get past that hurdle.

nobblybobbly

Yes, it is true that there is no longer an upper age limit on the apprenticeship scheme.

That does not mean that employers will take you on if you are older.
Employers simply cannot afford to pay the older apprentice the National Minimum wage as dictated by law.

I was interviewed by an extremely apologetic employer last week who felt terrible that he had to turn me down simply because of my AGE!
Out of the many rejections i faced, i actually felt sympathetic for this guy.
He could not afford to pay me the national minimum, if i were 17 he would only need to pay me 2.50 per hour.

I want to work for a decreased wage but by law i can't... the wage i work for should be my choice not the governments.

THATCHERS BRITAIN :mad:

dezzie

Thanks all for the replies. Of what i've seen when researching apprentice jobs for big companies they a pay the same wage no matter what age. For instance national grid pay a flat wage of £13,000 p.a. for the first year of the apprenticeship. But like previous posts stated the younger apprentice will get more funding to pay for that share of wage. Lets hope that will not deter them from employing me, I can only try!

saintjammyswine

dezzie wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies. Of what i've seen when researching apprentice jobs for big companies they a pay the same wage no matter what age. For instance national grid pay a flat wage of £13,000 p.a. for the first year of the apprenticeship. But like previous posts stated the younger apprentice will get more funding to pay for that share of wage. Lets hope that will not deter them from employing me, I can only try!

The funding does not go towards the wages. The funding pays for the training within an apprenticeship framework. The training is always free of charge to the employer although there will be a management fee from the training provider as dictated by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) & National Apprenticeship Service(NAS). The provider is allowed to waive these fees as a commerical decision but it must be a waived fee rather than no fee. The provider will receive the following funding depending on the age:
16-18 100% of cost is met by SFA
19-24 50% of cost is met by SFA
25-30 20% of cost is met by SFA
30+ no funding received from SFA
This does not necessarily mean that there will be a charge to the employer, as above.
Employer can not discriminate based on age, regardless of whether it is an apprenticeship or not except for example where someone must be over 18 for legal reasons.
Good Luck, it is a good route to go down and dont forget that apprenticeships go as far as degree level (Higher Apprenticeships) although usually only within areas such as Building Services Engineering.

richpoortyke

I was looking at doing an apprenticeship. Im in my thirties so ive found similar problems. The scheme is set up for young people. There are ways in but i think its really hard for the reasons described above.

The news always reports how hard it is for under 25s and over 50s regarding employment but im in the middle of those age groups and Its sickening there is no provision for people from 25-50.

assassin112

I know this thread is a few weeks old but I want to explain what happened to me. I went to a apprenticeship interview. The interview was going pretty well and near the end he asked me how old I was. I told him I was 20 and he said I wasn't eligible for government funding so I got rejected straight. The pay was £2.50 per hour which seems low. It was for a website design company based in Birmingham City Centre.