Reply With QuoteSorry to hear this.
I hope it’s not a silly question but can you ask the Solutions company in Manchester to help at all, as in find another placement?
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Hello folks.
I'm typing this with a lump in my throat, makes me upset/angry thinking of it.
My son started an apprenticeship in January as a paint sprayer/bodywork technician at a local garage. He obtained it via a skills solutuon company in Manchester. He had a two week's trail to see if he was suitable, he was, so he started his dream job. Yesterday, without much warning, the boss & manager called him in & said although he's a great lad, never late & a great attitude, they said as they are short staffed they're going to have to let him go as they cannot afford someone to train him as they are so busy.
So they finished him on the spot.
Understandably he is upset, although I think I am more than him.
So now he has no college place which he gave up to start his job. He's in limbo whilst he revises his CV & thinks what his next step will be.
So I am asking if anyone knows of anyone/anywhere that might be looking for an apprentice/extra pair of hands paint sprayer/bodywork technician in the Tameside/Stockport/ Manchester area, please could you let me know? His driving test is in a fortnight, so with a car, that will give him more scope to find something. Needless to say, I'll make a good contribution to charity if anybody has any good contacts.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this.
Adam
Last edited by adam164; 15th April 2023 at 20:47.
Sorry to hear this.
I hope it’s not a silly question but can you ask the Solutions company in Manchester to help at all, as in find another placement?
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They don't have anything on their books as yet, but as the woman sai, it's just pure luck, she could walk into a place & mention there's someone looking & they could say we're thinking of taking someone on. And the big irony is, he wants to learn a job where there is a definite skills shortage.Originally Posted by Mike2500
.
Sorry to hear about your lad Adam.
I'm sure that with his great attitude he should find something soon.
When my youngest was interested in the auction business he made up a letter and sent it to all concerned and got a job like that. I'm sure in the Manchester area there must be a decent amount of body shops to apply to?
Good luck to the lad anyway.
Cheers,
Neil.
Good luck to your boy.
The only suggestion I would make would be for him to pop along to various bodyshops and ask if they are looking for any help. If he spoke to the boss and said that he is not looking for much but want to help and pick up experience, I would give him a chance if I was looking.
Obviously if someone does say yes, he should not expect much but whilst working, this would give him a chance to explore other options and opportunities.
I think Direct Line and Volkswagen Group (VWG) both have vacancies for apprentices in your area.
Really sorry to read this, the company are being very sharp as he costs them very little, unfortunately that’s that, at this stage he has no rights, I would report it to whoever was paying the bills so this lot don’t do it to anyone else,
I got my son on a prince of wales trust course, whilst on the course he did work experience at a company and they liked him, I approached the company and offered to pay all of their costs for the apprenticeship, they offered him the apprenticeship and have never asked for a penny, hopefully they offer him a permanent job,
See if the princess trust have anything near you, they were brilliant.
I don't know anything about the UK's situation, but I can tell you that a young man wanting to learn the car body business is very much wanted by every body shop in the neighbourhood! If the UK 'market' is only a little like ours, I wouldn't be concerned.
On the other end: extreme energy bills give painters a hard time! And a lot of painters start looking at ways to cut the costs. Sending off a young guy is 'penny wise and pound foolish'.
Again, with the Dutch situation in mind, I would turn to body shops/painters who do a lot of work for more expensive brands or Tesla. A lot of big car dealers have their own printshop, btw. The extreme energy bill costs are spread over all customers. Maybe he can find a new apprenticeship at one of the main dealers.
Then: the classic car movement. Most people who have commissioned the restoration of a car are not really interested in the high prices of energy. Most have deep, deep pockets. And over the last 20 yrs, I can tell you first hand that an economic depression does not hurt them. Perhaps your son can find a spot in a classic car body shop. Banging on metal is cheaper than painting, so a real body shop will have less costs.
I hope this helps in any way or form.
Same thing happened with my lad a few years back when he was an apprentice mechanic, it was extremely difficult for us because it was my brother who did it and out of the blue told him he wasn’t going to make it and so laid him off almost overnight. Luckily his tutor found him another placement and he was there for about 4 years and got his qualifications. Phone around and tell your son to just walk in to all the local repair centres and asks the questions.
To be fair, my understanding of the situation is that while the lad did not cost much, they were filling their part of the bargain by putting him with qualified painters to train him and that always reduces their output.
It’s completely unfair but then life isn’t anyway. Good luck to your son, he seems to have at least chosen a path where the demand is high.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I don’t really agree with that, any opportunity cost is soon recovered later on as he becomes more experienced, apprenticeships are a great way if training people and introducing new talent
Adam the provider ( Skills solution services) will receive funding whilst the apprentice is in post, so Im surprised they are not being more helpful. In addition they are monitored on “ timely completion and stage goals” so again they will be taking a hit from their funders.
Have you considered other training providers in the manchester area. You have probably already found these two VW & Inchcape
https://uk.indeed.com/jobs?q=Spray+P...935da00ab8000f
As a side note , is this a time for a reset and consider what level of skills garages will be needing in three years ( apprenticeship period) eg working of EV’s. There will be a progressive upskilling on automotive technicians from whirring pistons to whoosing motors over the next ten years. If he is keen on automotive, then this maybe an option.
Ps and good luck to him with his test in two weeks :)
I’m a lift engineer and we have a huge skills shortage in the industry. Most companies big and small are desperately taking on apprentices/trainees to fill the gap. Look at all the local lift companies and ring them for a chat, try the big boys as well..Otis, Kone and Schindler.
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The Inchcape one is a waste of time. That job has been up for at least 6 months in various guises. It is literally 10 minutes walk from his house. He even rang them & asked for the name of the bodyshop manager to hand him his CV personally. And still nothing. He applied AGAIN, had a phone interview, had an email to say he was through to the next stage, and now it's radio silence.
The Direct Line one is a stone's throw from where I work. The course starts in September to tie in with college times
Nowadays, there are very few such specialists.
Last edited by bobocat; 31st March 2023 at 07:55.
Companies been playing foolishly with apprentice training for many decades. They exploited YOP and YTS scheme for donkeys. Getting everyone else to pay to train their workers. Casually dismissing many before the end of training to ensure another dogsbody soon arrived at low cost. Basically, we're so busy we won't train more workers for our own future and expect others to train them for us.
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Aye leading to tons of student debt, - everything is about short term profit.Companies been playing foolishly with apprentice training for many decades. They exploited YOP and YTS scheme for donkeys. Getting everyone else to pay to train their workers. Casually dismissing many before the end of training to ensure another dogsbody soon arrived at low cost. Basically, we're so busy we won't train more workers for our own future and expect others to train them for us.
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"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Maybe worth following notgoingtouni on twitter
Last edited by Suds; 31st March 2023 at 11:14.
Thanks for that, he's filled it out.
And deja vu has happened again. He had a trial at a place in Tameside, they called him in after he completed it & said they couldn't ask for a better person, BUT due to no one shadowing him all day, they can't take him on. Now it looks like the Skills Solution place have washed their hands of him. What an absolute shit storm. He says he's not upset or anything, but that's the second place that have said the same. I'm sure it must be affecting him.
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