Apprenticeships?

[Lupo Chris x]

Not really sure whether to try and get an apprenticeship or go back to college, hopefully doin Motor Vehicle Studies or Body Shop Repair.....What do you guys think? Know anywhere thats lookin for apprentices? lol

[Jay_whitt]

its hard to find one during the recession

bad times for jobs ect

best bet is collage

[scotty_82]

TBH most are crap pay to start off with while you learn, government is pushing them more though to provide placements.

[Gazzard]

I just got an aprenticeship in a body shop near me, start september

recesion doesnt mean anything if your 17 as the government pays my wages

[lupo_1.0]

thats how i first started out. loved it!! i just went to a few open days for college and looked at panel beating and spraying on the side but wanted to mainly do the spraying side. the college can then help you look for garages in the area. they know what ones are good and have had past students work there. iam sure that the government pay half and so will your place of work pay the other.

there are people like remit that do thes same thing. you can also just go the a main dealer who do in-house training but there are very little dealers that do bodywork.

only thing is, to start you will be making tea and doing the stock but we all start somewhere lol

Edited May 8, 2009 by lupo_1.0

[arosajoe]

apprentices are alright, i wish i did my training at a college tho and went straight into a job qualified. i dunno about anywhere but appreticships at mercedes are awful. lol

[jon_273]

An apprenticeship is a good thing to get into at the moment, there are lots more apprenticeships available now and your job prospects at the end of it should be much better than someone who has only been at college, since you will have lots of practical experience. If you find a good apprenticeship then you will probably also gain college qualifications anyway by going to college part time one day a week.

TBH most are crap pay to start off with while you learn, government is pushing them more though to provide placements.

True, however crap pay in the early years is still better than getting nothing if you go to college. Plus if you get with a good company then they are likely to pick up the cost of any further qualifications, i.e. no student debt!

I speak as someone who is just finishing a four year apprenticeship

[arosajoe]

same here, i've just come out of mine. where u do yours at, main dealer or other garage?

[jon_273]

same here, i've just come out of mine. where u do yours at, main dealer or other garage?

Actually I did mine in the chemical industry as opposed to the motor trade! However the advantages of apprenticeships are the same regardless of the subject.

What about you then, main dealer or other garage?

[arosajoe]

ye see what ya saying, i def see the advantages don't get me wrong.

did mine and still work for mercedes-benz, just found there while training i didnt get alot of trust and get to experiece decent jobs all the time, maybe coz all the cars are so expensive and nice.

bu yea once ya qualified its well worth it.

[GT_Aiiii]

I finished mine nearly a year ago and i would really recommend going for an apprenticeship. The pay can be a bit rubbish at first but at least you are getting paid to learn. However you get differant deals with differant companys. Like arosajoe said, mercedes arnt the best as i know somebody who done one with them and he wasnt too impressed although he did say the pay was really good compared to some.

I did mine with BMW and i would recommend it. They've got their own training centre in reading and the training your given is really good, a lot better than at my local college anyway.

I think it really depends on what experience people have had of them as to if they would recommend one or not.

[CasperGTI]

IMO apprenticeships are the best way to get in to any mechanical industry. With alot of these industrys employers rely alot on experience and ability rather than qualifications (this is how it is in aviation anyway)

Me, i started off as an apprentice with KLM airways, and a day or two at college doing NVQ's. After that was then put through a training school to gain the qualifications needed to progress. I had friends who came in from different routes, some without apprenticeships. And when it came to end of the course It was a damn site easier for me to get a job than some of the others. Purely because of my apprenticeship i believe.

Ive been working for 18 months out of training now, some of the guys on my course are still searching for work. Its a shame really but i couldnt big up apprenticeships any more. Where i work now we have 4 apprentices, and they value the chance they have been given more than anything.

Yeah the pay is crap (i think when i started i was paid about 7K), But you have to think about it in the long run. You will be better experienced and eventually better qualified than most. And youf pay will eventually reflect that.

John

[99hjhm]

^ Same story for me. I work on restoring classic Aston martins, they can't teach you about this at college, yer, I did my NVQ etc, but i have kids(I'm only 20) working with me who have almost the same quals, they are total waste of timers!

On the same score, when it comes to basic Lupo servicing, I don't have much of a clue.....I've never done a cam belt in my life! If you need to know about classic race engines however, I may be able to answer your questions.