electricalforum.nz

Hi folks,

Hope this is an okay place to post this, and nobody minds - seems like the right place to introduce myself!

My name is Ben and, prior to lockdown, I was at WelTec doing a pre-trade course. As fortune would have it my class sat our final exam literally 4 days before it was announced the schools were closing, so we got our results in lockdown and I've been sat here with a shiny new level 3 certificate and absolutely nothing to do with it!

The course was good fun and we were all looking forward to moving on out into the industry to get some experience and find ourselves apprenticeships.
That's obviously been delayed somewhat...


This is a pretty unprecedented situation, but I wondered if anyone might have any advice or tips to suggest to some aspiring sparkies trying to find apprenticeships now?
Do you think it's likely anybody will be looking for or considering apprentices while we're still under alert levels?

I was in two minds - on one hand, work may be slim and money tight, but on the other - if there is a lot of simpler work to be done, perhaps an apprentice would be the ideal way to get an extra pair of hands for less. We've all done a fair amount of hands-on stuff at Weltec, and myself and a few others managed to get some on-the-job experience alongside.

Anyway, any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated!

And hey, can't hurt to ask - if by any chance you or anyone you know might be considering an apprentice in the Wellington area...

Ben

Can't offer much help but good luck mate

Just keep contacting people and pushing for it and it'll happen eventually

Best way is to put yourself out there, prepare a CV detailing your pre-trade and the qualifications you have.

I would assume you are work ready? basic PPE, Tools etc? Note that in your CV

Employers who are looking, are after an apprentice that is the least amount of trouble and ready to start, have you had any actual on the job experience? While a pre trade course is good actual work exp. is what employers are looking for.

Hey thanks for the info

I'll need to update the CV a bit - didn't originally include that I come equipped with tools and ppe.

The pre-trade was pretty thorough. We covered safety and PPE, and we got our sitesafe and first aid cards, which I thought was cool.

I got very little on-job experience prior to lockdown but I've got a few years on any of the others guys in my course (I'm 33) so I do have a fair bit of other work experience. I'm happy to take more electrical work experience anyway, not expecting to just walk straight into a 3-4 year commitment from anyone, and I assume that's probably a good idea to note in my CV/cover letter.

Site safe is a good thing to promote on your CV as a lot of construction sites won't let people on site unless they have this

Right now the best thing you can do is get more work experience. 2 ways to go - first, just start ringing around the phonebook. Second, get your lunch packed, and get yourself ready for work, and get down to your local wholesaler. Have a basic visible sign that says 'done pretrade, got site safe and first aid, have own tools - work experience wanted, ready to go now' and just have that visible and don't hassle anyone. Talk to the wholesaler first to make sure theyre ok with it though. Maybe you even just stand in the carpark. You'll be in a van learning stuff within an hour. If you show that level of commitment you'll find an actual job in no time. A one man band is potentially gonna teach you the most while your working for free. And even if that guy can't give you electrical work all day, you'll still be learning all day. If that guy sees you've got a great attitude then he will employ you if at all possible, and if not he is likely to put you onto someone else you can go get some experience with. Do this for a couple days or a week here and there and then now you've made a few new contacts in the industry and got yourself some relevant experience. While you're getting the work experience, always try to be useful, treat it like he's actually paying you, and clean up after him. Match his level of talking too, most guys don't like an apprentice who talks too much. Try to limit questions while the customer's in earshot too. ALWAYS pay attention, and think before you ask questions to see if you can figure out the answer yourself (you won't be able to - but it's a good habit to get into). Attitude is everything. Good luck!

That sounds like a really good plan - I'll give it a go when we hit level 2

I strongly agree to them.
I'm sure agencies or companies will accept if you apply as apprentice. No one would reject that, specially when you are eager to learn, you might even have job reservation when you complete your course. Just like OJT.

By the way. My neighbor started with part time jobs(freelancer) just around our neighborhood. Whenever we encounter minor problems that we can't figure out on our own we call him. He has been doing that for like a year now. He has been earning while learning on his own.
Keep it up buddy, you are doing well.

Regards,
electricians west auckland

Hi folks,

Really appreciate the advice - I'm still looking for an apprenticeship, but I've been busy making calls, placing flyers and scanning the job boards.

Ran into one hiccup where I was told flat out that they were looking for someone younger, but c'est la vie.

I've got my flyer up in half a dozen wholesalers, but would very much appreciate any tips or suggestions if anyone wants to have a look!