The modern apprenticeship - should I stay or should I go?
gingaman
Posts: 576
Have any of you taken an apprenticeship, or do you have apprentices yourselves? I would like to tell you my experience so far...
I have been studying for a mechanical engineering apprenticeship for the last 18 months. On the whole it has been good. I have enjoyed learning and the work has been only OK, however, I have been severely let down by both the college and by my employers.
On the college side, I have had 5 assessors that have, one by one, left the employment of the college; each time not taking the time to send an email or even a phone call to let me or my employer know. We have found out by way of undeliverable emails, or turning up for a meeting and being informed they no longer work there. This means I haven't been assessed for the duration of my apprenticeship, and I am due to complete in July :shock:
As my field of engineering is quite specialised, the college course I am taking only approximately matches the course I actually need to do. I think this is a mainly geographical problem, as most of the courses in this field are in the mid/north of the country.
On the work side, we are a small company that has been undergoing quite a few personnel changes in recent months. The engineer that was training me retired last August, the engineer they put in his place has just handed in his notice. The apprentice manager from the office has just got the sack, along with the general manager, which leaves me up the creek, so to speak!
There is currently an opportunity to apply for a similar apprenticeship with a much larger company, if I take it then I will effectively be starting again, which means I will have 'wasted' this last 18 months, working for an apprentice wage but not really learning/ progressing.
Or, I could stay in my current apprenticeship, hope that the college sorts itself out and finds an assessor that will stay longer than 3 months, hope that my employer finds an experienced engineer to train me, and hope that I can complete by the end of this academic year. A lot of 'hopes'!
I don't want to just sit idly by and hope that things will sort themselves out. I have been around the block enough times to realise that only one person can take responsibility for these kind of situations, and that's me. With that in mind I have updated my CV and have been searching for options.
TL:DR My apprenticeship is stressing me out, should I jack it in (don't want to do this really!), try to transfer somewhere else (the better of the options) or start again somewhere else (2 years wasted, but better knowledge and understanding for the new course)
Thanks for reading, if you did
I have been studying for a mechanical engineering apprenticeship for the last 18 months. On the whole it has been good. I have enjoyed learning and the work has been only OK, however, I have been severely let down by both the college and by my employers.
On the college side, I have had 5 assessors that have, one by one, left the employment of the college; each time not taking the time to send an email or even a phone call to let me or my employer know. We have found out by way of undeliverable emails, or turning up for a meeting and being informed they no longer work there. This means I haven't been assessed for the duration of my apprenticeship, and I am due to complete in July :shock:
As my field of engineering is quite specialised, the college course I am taking only approximately matches the course I actually need to do. I think this is a mainly geographical problem, as most of the courses in this field are in the mid/north of the country.
On the work side, we are a small company that has been undergoing quite a few personnel changes in recent months. The engineer that was training me retired last August, the engineer they put in his place has just handed in his notice. The apprentice manager from the office has just got the sack, along with the general manager, which leaves me up the creek, so to speak!
There is currently an opportunity to apply for a similar apprenticeship with a much larger company, if I take it then I will effectively be starting again, which means I will have 'wasted' this last 18 months, working for an apprentice wage but not really learning/ progressing.
Or, I could stay in my current apprenticeship, hope that the college sorts itself out and finds an assessor that will stay longer than 3 months, hope that my employer finds an experienced engineer to train me, and hope that I can complete by the end of this academic year. A lot of 'hopes'!
I don't want to just sit idly by and hope that things will sort themselves out. I have been around the block enough times to realise that only one person can take responsibility for these kind of situations, and that's me. With that in mind I have updated my CV and have been searching for options.
TL:DR My apprenticeship is stressing me out, should I jack it in (don't want to do this really!), try to transfer somewhere else (the better of the options) or start again somewhere else (2 years wasted, but better knowledge and understanding for the new course)
Thanks for reading, if you did
0
Posts
Then if you were/had to transfer, can you get fast-tracked on your experience to date?
Will a new apprenticeship offer a more stable employment? If no, there is no point in moving.
If either answer is contradictory, then move.
In any case, stick with an apprenticeship. You get paid to get your qualifications, and genuine work experience.
Learn to differentiate between the current work and the qualifications. The employer putting you through the apprenticeship will not like it but they should be aware that the qualifications are to help you move up the ladder. They will hope that it is with them but your chances of substantial salary increases raise substantially by moving.
Getting an apprenticeship was far and away the best career move that I ever made.
I am not sure. You have no chance.
The new one is in another part of the country, so different college. Also definitely stable employment
Its not so much the lower pay, as I was expecting this and stocked up on cycling gear etc beforehand
Anyway, I will apply for the new apprenticeship (can't hurt, can it?), and wait and see what they say
basically where are you going to learn the most skills and become a good tradesman,some people may disagree but that seemed the most important thing to me at the time
Out of curiosity what company is it?
What field of engineering are you in now ?
I did YTS and it was the best thing ever and did me well.
I have a few friends looking for suitable apprentices because although there are loads of applicants for each job, I would say the vast majority are unsuitable through lack of real ambition.
I met with a new college assessor who seems OK, and thinks we have enough time left to complete, but only time will tell if it will work out. For now all I can do is continue with compiling my portfolio and other paperwork, and keep looking for something else.
Vtech, I work in a power station, so power generation and plant maintenance