Skills shortage in construction .
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The bit that concerns me is teaching the practical side of the job. You can’t teach fault finding in a classroom, it needs hands on experience along with guidance when needed from a mentor. But at some point the apron strings have to be cut leaving the new electrician to make the decisions. My first month on shifts was nerve wracking to say the least but it had to be done and the plant had to be kept running.
Sharpend
"It Just Is"
@Tony S never mind future sparks, I’m currently working with a bunch of 30yo sparks that have been out of their time for a few years and I’m stunned by their apparent lack of technical knowledge and their inability to read technical drawings, the answer it seems is ask the old phart he’ll know - that old phart being me!
I can offer you free membership of the Old Phart's Club ( Hereinafter known as the OPC) if you want ?
I tend to view things from a simplistic standpoint , my understanding of economics is poor.
I look at when I left school , every kid went into a job , almost every family were working . Because I grew up in Birmingham I remember it as a powerhouse of industry , steel works , toolmaking , cars , trains , trucks , generators, transformers, huge employers like GEC, Austin /Rover, Jaguar, Land Rover, Cincinatti, GKN HArdy Spicer, Bill Switchgear , George Ellison, MEM , Crabtree , British Steel , IMI, ICI Joseph Lucas , Standard Triumph , Vellocette Motor bikes , Royal Mint , a huge jewellery quarter manufacturing & selling, pressworks , drop stamping , paint making , fasteners , fixings
Virtually everything from a huge power generator to needles & pins .
There were factories and workshops on every corner ...and yes it was a shytte heap ,smoke bellowed up , factory worker did a Saturday morning shift , then a swift pint and down to Villa Park to see the game ........ the smell of factory suds oil rising from the crowd
The "Dole " or unemployment was something you saw in a b&w film from the 1930,s .
Now , to keep it simple , virtually ALL those places are gone , all those employers , gone . population is over 1 million , but what can they be doing ? How can you remove thousands of employers and still have a viable economy . Where do their pensions come from now ?
I was a remainer in the Brexit debacle because I believed the few employers we have left will jump ship for the cheap wages of eastern Europe ...Jaguar/Landrover are already making overtures .
Waffle over.
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Sharpend
"It Just Is"
Well that’s about the best offer I’ve had in ages!!
Now is that free membership with yearly admin fee for which I get the monthly OPC mag detailing the latest changes within society so that I can keep up??
Now is that free membership with yearly admin fee for which I get the monthly OPC mag detailing the latest changes within society so that I can keep up??
Ah ! Well. the offer is for the first year only .....then in keeping with the various competent persons schemes the annual renewal is £510.00 pa
A yearly re-assessment is required to make sure you are still an OP and not getting younger .
You must be able to present the following for examination .
A recent blood pressure reading .
Two sets of reading spectacles .
A button cell phone ( A pointy finger one is NOT acceptable .
The Highway Code in large print.
A set of wooden 7 tread steps.
The ability to launch into a tirade about the younger generation at the drop of a hat .
A large print copy of your area's A to Z .
Able to talk for 1/2 hour on the benefits of R/Y/B cable , 3/4inch conduit , wooden bending blocks , green earth cable , tallow , Enox cutters, Rawlplug Tools, imperial sized stranded cable , wiping cable joints, sweating lugs on , wooden pattresses, drilling floor joists by hand , slotted screws, 2BA brass pins, Pyro straighteners , Drummond testers and making tea for 20 electricians three times a day .
A yearly re-assessment is required to make sure you are still an OP and not getting younger .
You must be able to present the following for examination .
A recent blood pressure reading .
Two sets of reading spectacles .
A button cell phone ( A pointy finger one is NOT acceptable .
The Highway Code in large print.
A set of wooden 7 tread steps.
The ability to launch into a tirade about the younger generation at the drop of a hat .
A large print copy of your area's A to Z .
Able to talk for 1/2 hour on the benefits of R/Y/B cable , 3/4inch conduit , wooden bending blocks , green earth cable , tallow , Enox cutters, Rawlplug Tools, imperial sized stranded cable , wiping cable joints, sweating lugs on , wooden pattresses, drilling floor joists by hand , slotted screws, 2BA brass pins, Pyro straighteners , Drummond testers and making tea for 20 electricians three times a day .
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yes I did, Iran is well above Germany and the UK, but I think I know who has the stronger more stable economy. Doesn't change the fact that I believe Osbourne did more harm than good, and the only reason the economy is growing at all is due to the devaluation of Sterling, which I also believe was overdue by about 20 years. A strong pound may be good for some sectors of the economy, but not for industry and manufacturers, which is where the better paid work for the 'masses' used to lie. I would love to see UK return to being the powerhouse of design, science, technology and creativity that once made us 'Great Britain' .
Do some digging and you'll find this is still the case ................ unfortunately our costs are too high to manufacture much here, especially for the mass market .............. that's why niche manufacturers like JCB who pretty much make configurations to order thrive here - if they were all the same they would be made in India or China .......... then the quality would drop, then the products would be less reliable.
Have you noticed how many "german" white goods are no longer made in Germany - our last Bosch dishwasher lasted for 14 years ......... our current unit which is 4 years old is a pile of shyte
thing is you can out-compete low labour costs with investment in automation. Oddly nough I know quite a bit about JCB, my wife comes from that area and b.i.l works there. JCB are building plants in India and Brazil to produce cheaper versions of their normal produst range for cheaper markets. It is still family run, the day the family decide to flog it off I reckon it will be doomed by Venture Capitalist types. My last job in engineering was 'outsourcing' componet manfacture to a third party ie China. The cost savings were not that great. However when you have a business model based on splitting corporations into small companies to be more efficient, and the sales team is allowed to make big profits, but not the factory building whet they sell, you lose the investment in the manufactruing processes and the ability to facilitate proper R&D. To remain Great you need investment, not just sales teams.
We are currently automating our factory
Importing Chinese Robots is fun.
Last week I was working 18hr days.
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Going sort of back to the original point....
Is there a skills shortage, specifically in our electrical trade....? ?:|
I know some members are sort of semi-retired and winding down a bit.. not really looking for work, just doing bits for their old trusted customers as and when.... :Salute
But for those of us slightly younger who have been trading for 10 to 15 years +... Guinness
How many regulars on here, say over the past 2 or 3 years, have found they are....
(a) Struggling for work...
(b) Still ticking over nicely....
(c) Find work is expanding with new customer enquires every week with minimal effort to push or promote yourself?
I would have to say as a broad evaluation of the past 12 months I am definitely in the (c) option...….
Now if there was no skills shortage of electricians I would bet more would be (a) or (b) ??
just pondering?
opcorn Guinness Guinness Guinness Guinness
Is there a skills shortage, specifically in our electrical trade....? ?:|
I know some members are sort of semi-retired and winding down a bit.. not really looking for work, just doing bits for their old trusted customers as and when.... :Salute
But for those of us slightly younger who have been trading for 10 to 15 years +... Guinness
How many regulars on here, say over the past 2 or 3 years, have found they are....
(a) Struggling for work...
(b) Still ticking over nicely....
(c) Find work is expanding with new customer enquires every week with minimal effort to push or promote yourself?
I would have to say as a broad evaluation of the past 12 months I am definitely in the (c) option...….
Now if there was no skills shortage of electricians I would bet more would be (a) or (b) ??
just pondering?
opcorn Guinness Guinness Guinness Guinness
Option 'c' for me, I'm tryin to slow down and focus on Solar, and some 'projects', but keep getting enquiries for electrical work from new customers with very little advertising out. Those I know who employ people all bemoan a lack of recruitable staff.
I had a Bosch combi boiler that I fitted myself ... lasted for at least 25 years with just one thermocouple replaced.
I got a heating guy in to fit the latest condensing type , asked him to supply a Bosch , he said OK but they're not built like yours anymore , everything possible is plastic and theres nothing special about them now .
So a Baxi it is then .
Just remember you still get what you pay for. or conversely if you seek the cheapest price you get the cheapest quality. Nothing is built like it was, and all feature new materials to reduce manufacturing costs. Baxi may have improved but one I knew of about 8 years ago was C***p. Personally I would favour Vaillant or Worcester Bosch. I installed the first in my last house and have the latter already present in my present place. Both seem well engineered and durable.
As I said , the heating guy also said they get troubles with Worcester Bosch , Vailant you hear good & bad , its much like asking what car to buy .
This particular boiler is a "generic" one as in , its popular , its identical to Potterton and some other makes , parts common to all . I was guided by the guy who fits loads of this very common boiler and has very little trouble with them . Its done 3 years now , does what it says on the box , I have no complaints.
This particular boiler is a "generic" one as in , its popular , its identical to Potterton and some other makes , parts common to all . I was guided by the guy who fits loads of this very common boiler and has very little trouble with them . Its done 3 years now , does what it says on the box , I have no complaints.
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