shane

Story is ive been working as a joiner since i was 17 im now 21. I never went to college but i know what im doin as my boss always just leaves things upto me and although he has his faults as an employer he has always taught me todo a good job.

But now im at the stage where id like to move on from him and either find another employer or go self employed and sub-contract to builders etc. But i have no proof of trade/qualifications is there anything i can get/do to get some proof?

Thanks!

DROPTOP

its mainly who and what you know not bits of paper . i trained to be an engineer and was for years then packed in and started building not even knowing how to mix cement as id never done it lol been self employed since day 1 and run my own thing if you learn really quick and have the contacts just go for it

fuzzy

ive never been asked for my qualifications.a new employer will be able to see if your upto the job within the first hour of starting. go for it .there plenty work out there.

shane

I thinks thats what i gotta do,just go for it.i know if given a chance i will impress employers(not bein big headed or owt) just a bit nervous as i havent long moved into my first house so money is essential and that my current job is the only job ive had!

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

im a chippy, not long gone self employed but its hard out there now, ppl insult you with prices now all polish etc work dirt cheap, im out of work now due to sites offering me work e.g fitting 5 door linings, 5 doors, latches, door stops, architraves and skirting to a 1 bed flat for £165. thats 2 days work and the price aint worth going to work for. but in regards of papers ive never been asked for them on site

rigwrecker

i think for the paper work u have to contact a college to do some skills tests or summit but as someone said above the new employer will know straight away if u are up to the job.u could always lie and say u lost the certificates movin house or summit lol

matts1

All about word of mouth, takes a while to build up contacts and get recomendations, but then the ball gets rolling if you get about and do good work.

Trouble is, people are getting in cheap labour so it will be difficult.

If you don't try you wont know, ideally you want about six months nest egg to keep you going tilll the work rolls in, took my mates around 3 - 5 months till he got busy.

Matt

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

problem im having,newly self employed, was going well, work came to and end and all other jobs ive looked at are paying silly money which i aint prepared to work for, tempting to go paye againg and have holidays etc paid

snOOpy86

iTrader: (1)

im still trying to get out of my dead end job and get a trade of any sort.. just seems that people/companys dont want to employ or train anyone at the moment

Coopsrst

You must be confident in yourself mate.21 and you want to go on your own already?Good luck to you.

But you will have to work for it mate.And dont be surprised if you have no work for a while.Im a Joiner mate.Work for a good company.Pay is good and you dont have to work your balls off all day.

But saying that,i have always wanted to have ago at house bashing

matts1

working for yourself isn't easy, mentally or physically, I run a design agency, and if work / contracts dry up then your in trouble, especially if you have , like I do, an office and staff to think on top of your house and home to think about.

But, can be very satisfying and rewarding, swings and round abouts

DROPTOP

learn how to do everything and you wont be short of work i do full extensions , ie EVERYTHING! and its out there when people know you if things go slack turn to crime ive never met a builder without a mile long record lol

danneth

im a sparky i started when i was 15 and am now 23, when i got my current job never got asked for any papers just asked what i had etc.... its getting harder these days though every site wanting you to have certain cards etc

danneth

who you get your part p with ?

matt p

Have you thought about a/c or refridgeration mate????

The industry is crying out for chiller engineers as there is no one
coming through much apprentice wise as alot of people chose to be
a plumber or chippy etc....................

Ive nearly completed my 1st year at college and wanting to do the
NVQ3 and HNC in a/c and fridge and get into project design work as thats
where the big bucks are

But am learning a fair bit with the firm im with and i used to be a warehouse supervisor

Good luck with what you chose though if you need any advce drop me
a PM.

Cheers

Matt

DROPTOP

come again?

Lee Reynolds

Go for it,

Go to a site, ask for a start. Youll get one. Its up to you to prove then that you can do it. The site manager will know within the first hour or so if you are up to scratch.... but as said prices are shit so dont expect to make loads IF you want to make a perfect job
Which is why house bashing is shit...

I left my apprenticeship place after my third year at 19 and went on the sites(brickie) and never looked back. Earned good money from day 1, and now i have a business at 28 and thats going LOADS better than i could have ever hoped...and to top it off i dont hardly touch that bloody back breaking trowel anymore

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

swings and roundabouts def, can get good prices but most are crap, im 21 and out on my own but like said already when work drys up you dont want to be working for peanuts as its hard work

Lee Reynolds

Youll get no money sat at home. 165 quid for 2 days is better than nothing..

Some jobs i was on the ins and outs of some of the apartment blocks and offices etc were bastards and some days wed only earn 80 quid each But its all got to be done and earned, its whats been earned at the end of the year that matters..If its toss at the end of the year then its time to relfect.
Dont see the point not earning... I think the ''i wouldnt get out of bed for XX money'' is a little too advanced for a 21 yr old, and youll get nowhere with that attitude

DROPTOP

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

each to thier own but if you settle for that people will always want to pay that,id rather spend a couple of days extra looking for work with better prices and make money up then, im use to earning £150 plus a day on price so why would i want to settle for £70 id be better going paye and having holidays as £80 a day wont pay bills, and cover sick days, holidays etc

Lee Reynolds

ok mate, your the experienced one

as i said, you cant base your wage on days... its yearly. I eanred blah blah per day this and that. It doesnt work like that and the sooner you realise the sooner youll earn good money easier...

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

the other thing being why qualify in a trade just to earn apprentices money? it doenst justify bein qualified, when being self employed you have to buy yourown tools etc and need to be earning more to compensate for that

GARETH T

fuck part P the money grabbing cunts i say let them take me to court and ill prove im "competent"

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

well youclearly aint because £70 a day doesnt justify being self employed, if you do something wrong who pays for it? it comes out of what you earn. your tools, who pays for them? you. if materials aint on site you cant earn, you need to be earning to compensate for these things

Lee Reynolds

I know how much you need to earn mate and what needs covering.

Apprentices are overpaid now to get lads into the trade as noone is coming in, if you feel you need to compare your wage to theirs then you are deffo going wrong somewhere

Lee Reynolds

i said some days mate. Some days wed earn 80 quid each and we would have grafted our arses off for that,,,and that might have been all week too, but then the week after we'd be crashing between 2-3000 bricks a day down 2 plus one gang and eanring over 300 quid a day each... So it evens out.

If your going to keep site hopping looking for the best price all the time and working on a day rate your daft......All imo of course...

Lee Reynolds

BTWE i have NEVER had to stand a wage due to late materials etc. Another point to staying with same site manager and taking the rough with the smooth for him is hell scratch your back then...we got paid our average in these instances and also got materials off fork lift driver first because of it...

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

my point is why earn £70 and stress on top when you can do better? you can get £120's, £130's paye if you look around and that includind sick pay and holidays etc add that ontop of and its alot lot better than £70 a day, butif you can find work withd ecent prices then its great but id rather look for decent prices that are worth a bloody hard graft than and makes it feel worth it because if i was doing a flat like i said for £165 id be thinking why am i working so hard for peanuts £70 a day for a proper tradesman i dont think says much for thier work otherwise they wouldnt work for that self employed. thats my opinion, sorry if you dissagree mate

Lee Reynolds

fair enough mate everyones opinion varies. I just believe in time youll find you cant keep chasing it... Been there done it.

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

without a doubt swings and roundabouts il work the odd day maybe week for lower because when the work crops up thiers money tobe earnt but im saying when the job doesnt have any money to be earnt at all whats the point in staying when it aint going to pay bills etc, surely thats understandable?

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

i understand its not always thier to be earnt and like you said if your in with a company/companies you'll suffer it now and thgen but when your looking for work and havnt worked for them before its not gona be swings and roundabouts, that'll be as good as it gets on some jobs and cant always afford to do it

Lee Reynolds

but you said you are out of work cos of it being 165 for two days hanging doors and doing second fix...

Id rather bite the bullet and get that done than sit at home

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

im looking for work instead, thats an example of a job i viewed it would have been 6 months working hard for that every 2 days, its not what you'd want to do as prices wont get better, surely its worth having a phone around and look about first?

Lee Reynolds

yeah but id phone around etc while doing that It dont take 2 days to get a start...

Plus youd have that done in a day and half easy 1 bed flat leaves ya half day to go look

Nash

iTrader: (3)

I am an ex time served joiner, also got the Q's to prove it. Did my 5years then left to join the RAF 4years ago, as i wanted to do something different. Tbh i regret it a little but dont in other ways, any Squaddies that had a job in civic street first will know what i mean.

Now some 2 of the lads i worked with are defo some of the best i have ever seen but they have never gone solo. I asked they why and they both said the same."I earn good money working where i am and when i go home at night i switch off. Weekends are my own and i dont think about work untill i am there. Yes i could probably earn more working for myself, but its alot more work and you cant switch off as easily at the end of it" Just something for you to think about.

I am still good mates with the lads[Ones a Capri nut and the other was my mentor who i have allways got on great with] and pop into see them when i am on leave. Tbh i never thought i was anything special at the job untill my ex boss said to me last year if you ever want your job back its here waiting for you.

I was slightly confused so asked one of the lads whats that all about. He then said "you were a fucking good joiner and theres lads he's got here now that have been doing for 15years and aint got half the clue you had" Piss's me off that a joiner the RAF even more now though. Shame i cant afford a house back home now

Oh and the £70 a day thing, i would take that i would just about earn that as a Cpl in the RAF. Each to there own i guess though, if you can afford not to take it then you must be doing alright.

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

def 2 days, gota put linings 2geva, fit, hang doors, cut stops, archs skirting and do locks, 2 long days, i can seeyour point but as i dont have a mortgage i just have a couple of days of and look and work on car etc

rst in breaking

iTrader: (2)

like youjustsaidaboutyour friend its easy to switch of and isa goodthing about workingfor someone else as out on your own you never know whats round the corner, as for the £70 thing you should earn £100 easy on cards as a joiner surely?

Nash

iTrader: (3)

Yeah the pay went through the roof after i left aswell, where my vialin All i am saying is i would take the £70 over nothing.

DROPTOP

if you can get 125after tax paye then go for it . got a lot to learn if you think every day is a 150+ day ive earnt 350 a day before but thats when things go like the a team planned it . price a job and it goes tits up and forget 70a day! you'll be working for fuck all . take what you can get at first , then if you are in demand you can hand pick . you'll end up doing the days at good money and still taking the shit jobs to do at night .

if you know the answers , dont ask questions


and on the apprentice thing .... lol i pay labourers 50 a day and a kick in the bollocks as a bonus if they ask for more!