Call centre apprenticeship!

littleminx_2

There has been 1 day of training and he has not been offered any NVQ'S of any kind.

saintjammyswine

How did he come to be 'pushed' into the job, was it through an agency, JCP or Work Programme provider?

Does his contract mention anything about being on an apprenticeship as they must be for the length of the apprenticeship at least?

cockaleekee

littleminx wrote: »

There has been 1 day of training and he has not been offered any NVQ'S of any kind.

In which case he needs to chase this up - he should be offered training towards a recognised qualification, which in this case would be an NVQ in customer care/ call centre skills or equivalent.

It is all well and good saying all apprentices should be taught a trade, but the reality is that there are too many young people out of work for them all to pursue this route. The sad reality is that there is a greater demand for call centre staff in the current economy.

Is there a reason he is not still in education?

InsideInsurance

littleminx wrote: »

There has been 1 day of training and he has not been offered any NVQ'S of any kind.

So, get 6 months experience in call centre on an outbound telesales role.

Apply for your next job using the experience you have, what you "sell" is of little importance, and you can get 15k on an inbound campaign.

Turnover in call centres is high and so either you decide if you go for line management in which case your looking at circa 20-25k or if you dont like the idea of that then look for an industry you can go up in a technical route in which case you can get a team leader or more rate within similar timescales.

I dont intend to flame but I believe the others are right. It isnt a glamorous job but it is one where there are opportunities but you typically need experience to get that foot in the door and this "apprenticeship" will give them

LannieDuck

Does he get minimum wage when you work it out hourly? (Not sure if there are different rules for apprenticeships tho...)

Surely he can continue to job hunt while in post? Just stick it out as long as it takes to find something better.

t0rt0ise

LannieDuck wrote: »

Does he get minimum wage when you work it out hourly? (Not sure if there are different rules for apprenticeships tho...)

Surely he can continue to job hunt while in post? Just stick it out as long as it takes to find something better.

You get apprentice rates which are something like £2.90 an hour.

You are supposed to get training though so I'd ask what qualification he's getting at the end of it. Otherwise it's just cheap labour and presumably illegal.

saintjammyswine

If it is an apprenticeship, it is likely to be Contact Centre Operations which, in today's economy is actually a very useful qualification. As long as it is above board it could be a good move in the short-term, possible leading to more in the longer term.

TadleyBaggie

LannieDuck wrote: »

Not sure if there are different rules for apprenticeships tho...

There are:

A National Minimum Wage for apprentices was introduced on 1 October 2010. The wage applies to all apprentices aged under 19; and apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their Apprenticeship.



The apprentice minimum wage is currently £2.65 per hour and applies to time working, plus time spent training that is part of the Apprenticeship. Employers are be free to pay above the new wage and many do so, but employers must ensure that they are paying their apprentices at least the minimum wage.

Source: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/The-Basics.aspx

ScribbleNInk

I actually think that if he isn't getting any kind of qualification out of it, this is unfair - for the reason people have stated about cheap labour etc.

But more than that, when I was unemployed I used ALL the time I had to look for and apply for jobs. I treated job hunting as my full time job and if you are forced to work full time hours in a job which you don't want long term (nothing wrong with working in a call centre, but not everyone wants to) then you are being significantly limited in your time/ability to look for a job that is more suitable for you. This is a prime example of taking advantage of young people in a terrible job market.

Sambucus_Nigra

The idea of the lower wage on an apprenticehip is because the employer is also funding an NVQ - if he isn't at college one day a week or on block release, and isn't signed up to an NVQ, then it isn't an apprenticeship.

It's also a tri-partite agreement between employer, training provider and person [and the person's parent or guardian usually signs up to the agreement]. Again, if this hasn't happened it's not an apprenticeship.