Apprentice

[Tony Z]

I know a guy who might be keen, waiting to hear back from him.

Thats a negative... the commute is too far

[Barry]

Skills shortage does create opportunity. You just have to make the effort and pay your dues by starting as a kippie with a broom or rag and moving up from there.

Nailed it there Tony. Someone, somewhere 'gets' it.
Add to that the number of guys I know in dead soulless office jobs, even if they are earning the bucks, what's the point of waking up one day when your life is nearly over and realising you never actually DID much..... There is a deeper value to the manual trades that we lost when we decided that white collar is better than blue collar.....

Yes I know the drop-out rate is high. At the risk of getting political a large part of the problem is a culture of entitlement. That seems to apply across the board in SA now. Fifteen years ago it was mostly whities I was hesitant to employ (don't ask how many times I got that lesson served up at me) Nowadays it is more balanced. No surprise that the top guys I've employed in the last five years (in my other businesses) have been foreigners......
But we are getting off the point.

I know the risks, the offer is still out there......this is more about getting the work done. It is about creating sustainability and lifting the often shockingly low standards in the game.

[IMPI]

Been thinking about this a long time even in the mines we have the same problems
There is a german guy Achim Engels that builds vintage Fokker airoplanes from scratch
http://www.worldwar1aeroplanesinc.org/f ... y.php?f=97
It seems that you are welcome to visit him for a couple of weeks at your expense pya for the stuff you use and sweep the floor , generally learn something but at the end walk away with that part of your own plane that you need this seems very cool check it out
Armand

[Tony Z]

Been thinking about this a long time even in the mines we have the same problems
There is a german guy Achim Engels that builds vintage Fokker airoplanes from scratch
http://www.worldwar1aeroplanesinc.org/f ... y.php?f=97
It seems that you are welcome to visit him for a couple of weeks at your expense pya for the stuff you use and sweep the floor , generally learn something but at the end walk away with that part of your own plane that you need this seems very cool check it out
Armand

that guys work is incredible!!

[calooker]

There is a german guy Achim Engels that builds vintage Fokker airoplanes from scratch
http://www.worldwar1aeroplanesinc.org/f ... y.php?f=97
It seems that you are welcome to visit him for a couple of weeks at your expense pya for the stuff you use and sweep the floor , generally learn something but at the end walk away with that part of your own plane that you need this seems very cool check it out
Armand

A small hi-jack
Interesting to know, my Nice last year did something similar.
After she applied and was turned away from Wits Veterinary medicine due to her skin colour (5 distinctions), she decided to take a year and do voluntary work to broaden her horizons.
She landed a position at Chimp Eden where she had to pay her own way (My bro), lodging, food etc., and in this time, spent much of her days with a broom in hand cleaning cages, nothing what she expected.
She got a wakeup call, school of hard knocks, no silver platters in the real world.
I think it helped her decide on what she should aim for going ahead.
Lot of youngsters just want the shortest, quickest way to success, they need to learn the hard way, but they are not prepared for that.

[Retrobug]

Looking for someone to come work in my shop.

Build custom cars and bikes all day long, learn sheet metal shaping, and get to look at my happy face.

That is the plus side.

Reality is it is often dirty, hard physical work, the boss is an asshole, the pay isn't much and it really isn't much like what you see on TV. But the job satisfaction is great.


Seriously, I am looking for someone with passion, good with their hands, hungry for knowledge, and with the right attitude and personality to fit in. The rest you can learn.
Mostly fabrication and sheet metal work, but some basic mechanical stuff too.
This really is going to work best for someone within 20-25kms of Stellenbosch.

Anyone know of someone, please get in touch.

Would have loved an opportunity like this when I left school!
Never been into the office or PC related jobs, the hands on stuff is allot more interesting!
At least my current job is kinda interesting, get to build tanks!

[MELLO YELLOW]

I am sitting with a problem, my son is at a technical school and this may be his last year there, he is doing fitting and turning but i feel he is not getting any practical experience, so next year he may have to go to tech to carry on or we have to find a place that is willing to take him on with the limited amount of knowlwdge that he has learned.
Last year he had to chose his three subjects, F&T was first then sheet metal and then panel and spray.

So ja I know all about what todays kids want or rather dont want to do.

When I left school I started my apprenticeship as boilermaker the the f.....G army called so I did not finish but I still get to use my skills no and then

[MarshallGTi]

I dropped out of varsity to be an appy, I was much more interested in cars than anything involving maths. Despite the poor pay and generally bad treatment ( our foreman said us appies were lower than shark sh1t ) I enjoyed it all. Problem came after qualifying, there's just no money. in the UK I've heard of mechanics earning 10k pounds but in SA u won't earn 10k rand... I think that's why lots of appies leave before they finish, money talks...

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[Ron&Gill]

I agree with everyone today... but I would still like to turn this around.

You get what you pay for, and before anyone comes back at me saying "they get training, experience, skill" all for free... Yes, I know, but you are expecting the appie to work (otherwise you wouldn't need him).

He does have bills to pay, and he does need to eat and have a place to live. Very often the attitude displayed at work is directly affected by the (perceived) value displayed in the pay cheque.

Maybe a realisation of this by us, the older generation, will cure a few of the ailments they, the younger generation, is accused of?

[retrovan]

Ron, I hear what you say, BUT.......

The training that you get, can not be bought by the youngster, or his Dad.

That will be priceless, and it will be easy for him to build on.

In the 40 years that I have worked, I never moved for more money, I only moved to a new place if it could better my career, and if I could learn from it.

I always knew, that with in a year of my move, I would have studied, learnt, and improved myself to such a level, that I got more money then the others around me. Salary I could control, the learning opportunity I could not, and I had to go to the firms that were prepared to give it to me, and all I had to do was sacrifice a few hours of my time, and not be greedy at the same time.
Here endith the lecture....

Herman

[CooP]

in the UK I've heard of mechanics earning 10k pounds but in SA u won't earn 10k rand

That sounds awesome but don't forget that salaries in the UK are quoted per annum

Seriously though, I think that a qualified mech in the UK is making between 20k and 30k per year. I doubt that many are making anywhere near 10k per month.
Ref http://www.indeed.co.uk/Vehicle-Mechanic-jobs