Sons new apprentiship....alarm bells ringing!

vax2002

I think the confusion is it sounds like he might have got a "REAL" apprenticeship or tradeship as they are more commonly known.
If he is working on the tools in the trade that is a real apprenticeship, the other ones are the fakes, working in shops, hotel, factories.
If he is working alongside working tradesmen then he will learn as he works skills far more important than college, all he needs college for is the bits of paper as the people there are only there as they can not do the job themselves.
If this is the case, tell him to get his head down and watch and learn and to build trust with one particular tradesman he can work alongside on site, they are usually tired and worn and a pair of young hands will go down well.
Now the hard bit, he will need to be the donkeys back with his spare energy of youth, heavy tool boxes, lifting, tidying up for an extra 2 mins before he sits down for lunch, fetching from vans and not going empty handed.
In return they will train him to do the job, something no college can do, they just write the bits of paper.
By the time he is 21 he could be earning £30k a year, if he can throw himself in to it.
Or you can argue for him to have one of these fake apprenticeships you have heard of selling shoes or something and earn minimum wage all his life.
He is a very lucky boy by the sounds who has fallen in to a old school trade.

faerie~spangles

As has been said above, why are you phoning the college and not your son?

Will you be turning up at his place of work and wiping his nose for him?

saintjammyswine

vax2002 wrote: »

I think the confusion is it sounds like he might have got a "REAL" apprenticeship or tradeship as they are more commonly known.
If he is working on the tools in the trade that is a real apprenticeship, the other ones are the fakes, working in shops, hotel, factories.
If he is working alongside working tradesmen then he will learn as he works skills far more important than college, all he needs college for is the bits of paper as the people there are only there as they can not do the job themselves.
If this is the case, tell him to get his head down and watch and learn and to build trust with one particular tradesman he can work alongside on site, they are usually tired and worn and a pair of young hands will go down well.
Now the hard bit, he will need to be the donkeys back with his spare energy of youth, heavy tool boxes, lifting, tidying up for an extra 2 mins before he sits down for lunch, fetching from vans and not going empty handed.
In return they will train him to do the job, something no college can do, they just write the bits of paper.
By the time he is 21 he could be earning £30k a year, if he can throw himself in to it.
Or you can argue for him to have one of these fake apprenticeships you have heard of selling shoes or something and earn minimum wage all his life.
He is a very lucky boy by the sounds who has fallen in to a old school trade.

Sorry but you are talking out of your arris, generally, in the whole post.

Caroline_a

saintjammyswine wrote: »

Sorry but you are talking out of your arris, generally, in the whole post.

yes it confused me too, sounded like something out of a Dickens novel.

OP you are in danger of becoming (or may be already) a 'helicopter' parent. When I worked with young people (16 - 18 year olds), parents who interfered or got involved in the youngster's training and placements were generally slated by both the youngster in question and also all their mates!

How will he ever learn to discover things for himself if you are doing it all for him?

Dawning

Actually I agree with most of what Vax2002 wrote.
I am in HR with a construction company and agree that there are 'real' apprenticeships out there. We tend to refer to them as Traditional Apprenticeships. The aim is that the young person can go to college one or two days a week, and works on site the rest of the time, by the end of the apprenticeship they will be a qualified tradesperson.
It's nothing like a Work Experience scheme, for example.
Assuming it is a genuine apprenticeship run by eg CITB, then OP's son is very luck to have found the opportunity. We have had to stop recruiting on our apprenticeship schemes due to the current climate.

All of that said, I am very concerned that the employer is paying cash in hand without a payslip. It should be noted that companies do get a grant under some circumstances when they take on an apprentice.

Acc72

Ok, back on topic ......

OP - I understand your concerns.

To be honest, if this is a small firm they may not have the usual procedures etc. than a larger company, and as such an "induction" will be less formal.

With regards to holidays, hours etc. then surely this was explained to him by the college ?

I guess your main concern is the lack of payslip and your worry that this may not be a proper job/company/apprenticeship ?

I would just tell your son to speak to the co-ordinator the next time he is in college and to confirm the details.

It is possible that he is a 19 year old lad who daydreams and gets bored with details and form filling etc. and it may be that he has already been given this information but he has told you that he can't remember.

Now for the negative bit - he will never learn to remember if he knows that sooner or later you will do this for him. All you can do is tell him to speak with the college and leave him to it.

I know it is a chicken and egg situation, but the longer you treat him like a child then the longer he will act like a child (and vice versa).

Dawning

Acc72 wrote: »

Ok, back on topic ......

.

If that comment was aimed at me, actually I believe my post IS on topic to the problem because we need to ascertain what sort of 'apprenticeship' the OP's son is on.

Acc72

Dawning wrote: »

If that comment was aimed at me, actually I believe my post IS on topic to the problem because we need to ascertain what sort of 'apprenticeship' the OP's son is on.

I made the comment as the OP asked for some advice and the majority of replies offered her advice on another subject matter.

Are you always so paranoid / defensive ? (for the avoidence of doubt, this comment was aimed at Dawning).

DVardysShadow

Caroline_a wrote: »

yes it confused me too, sounded like something out of a Dickens novel.

Well, that just proves the point. As a country, we are so far down the road of apprentice shoe sellers and apprentice chambermaids that we have forgotten what a real apprenticeship is and we barely recognise a true craft when we see it. What vax said about the gophering with the tool box does indeed carry the image of the bad old days, but you need to look beyond that to get what vax is pointing to.

Jules22

Just an update...

I havent rung the college, I took some of the advise on here a spoke to my son.
He has since spoken to work and college and they have allayed any fears.

Just for the record I dont suffocate my kids, I do push them to be independant adults and all I can do is advise- its up to them to take it or leave it.