Thread: My journey as an Apprentice Welder

Our teachers been in the game for over 30 odd years now. A great bloke, Real character and absolute wealth of knowledge. Hes passionate about welding and teaching it...........

I had the pleasure of sitting in his class the other day being told that were the worst bunch a students hes seen in the last 20 years..........

I was the only apprentice that passed our last exam for one simple reason I studied cause im hungery to learn and be the best I can be at my Trade.

The 'boyz' as fun as it is to watch are more interested in being the class clown; Telling each other to &^@%)#*^% OFF! or talk about how good there last lay waz.............. Highly entertaining!

N great skills to learn if u wanna be a comedian....................

But for most who have taken on a laid back " Dont give a stuff attitude" there've failed every exam......... are behind........ n have ticked their bosses of cause there not receiving there "Completion bonus" for their apprentices who are meant to have finished there 1st year as an apprentice!

Those that do well:

Work when its time to work
Listen when its time to listen
N play when its time to play

Remember your at TAFE to learn from Masters willing to pass on valuable information n tricks of the trade to you. So soak up what you can from them!

Heres what I've learn't So far:

Theres no such thing as a silly question In fact the only dumb question is the one you don't ask..............

Go with the flow that your teacher provides. When hes serious n teaching listen......When he jokes join In When he shows U stuff try to copy it to the best of your ability............

A short pencil still beats a long memory.............get yourself a small pad n write stuff down. Anything from welding rig settings to what to turn off 1st Oxy or acetylene is worth scribing down for future reference

Study read your modules n work through em. Read on the Dunny or anywhere/time that works for you...............with a bit of work you'll easily get by.............

You'll find that the teachers know its hard work and I'll break things up a bit with the odd yarn n bit of humor BUT REMEMBER WHEN ITS TIME TO WORK GET IN THERE AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AT THE TIME...........................

This creates opportunities for you while the class clowns n idiots fall behind
n miss out on life changing opportunities

Regards Lou

I was a class clown and idiot,but still passed.Make shore you have fun along the way.

Metalfabricator
Please don't take the following as a personal shot at you because its not. However as a former TAFE teacher-now high school teacher. I do disagree with what you say but for entirely different reasons.

For the guys who think its ok to fool around and impress each other in a class,you are disadvantaging other people beside the teacher.By all means make it fun .Enjoy your learning. But sabotage of a lesson is theft -theft of time.Time cannot be regained once it has been lost.

The student to teacher ratio is far too high as it is. When one of the class class disrupts the learning that ratio shoots up as time is lost and can never be made up. Any amount of of one on one time that the teacher can provide to individual students, is sorely diminished.

Put yourself in somebody else's shoes, particularly those of other students who don't learn too easily. When you, as a struggling student are in a class of immature students who think they are there to do nothing but show off to each other, it can be a very difficult task indeed to get the information that the teacher is trying to get across.

But to the turkeys with the FU attitude it does not seem to matter much.

What Lou describes fits in exactly with what happens presently at school.We as a country are wearing the results of a shift in the way some parts of society thinks and acts.
Some of you would not believe the behavior and attitudes of some of the present students in the vocational classes. That attitude obviously translates straight across to TAFE.

Two thirds of them are there because they have to be at school and don't want to be. Out of two combined classes 34 students, only one them passed all of the units. The tests aren't hard. 8 written tests over 2 years and the rest applied against the prac work. Commitment and effort are needed as well as the requirement to make the prac work meet a set standard.

These are the MEM units which are valid at TAFE.Those who pass all their units can claim about half of 1st year as exemption , meaning they already are considered as passed the units and do not have to resit them. Or pay to do them again.

Bosses however are getting smarter too many will only re reimburse fees for their apprentice , if they are successful in their TAFE exams. I know of quite a few apprentices who have been made to resit exams in their own holidays and pay their own fees as the boss won't cop their slack attitudes any longer.

Do you wonder about the appearance of ads for the 30 year old age group for apprentices and other training.Wonder no more folks. As a rule bosses now want older mature blokes with wait for it -responsibilities-. Hi Lou !

I assume they are doing the right thing by you Lou, wage wise- hopefully you are on at least minimum adult wage?
So for you older blokes out there give the trades a go. There is not much competition.You already have responsibility ,commitment experience and effort sewn up.

Grumpy Grahame
the frustrated teacher

Good on you Graham, agree with everything you said. I used to really get off at the class clowns when I did my apprenticeship.

Because of my hearing difficulty due to only having 94% hearing loss in 1 ear and 87% loss in the other ear, it can be hard to follow the teacher when you have a bunch of yahoos hamming it up in the background.

Gidday

Great comments fellas n really important things to consider.........

Its a bit tough to remember but the world aint a fair place N dispite all the who haaaaa about fairness in the work place n rar rar rar often in the trades its who you know game.

Your reputation and work ethic are really important things to consider. You want to; where ever possible to promote your self as a hard working consistent and punctual worker..............

So where do you start?

I recently had the pleasure of three different potential employers competing to take my on as an apprentice! Why? Because the teachers put in a good word for me & suggeted me to potential employers as a keen apprentice!

I was able to pic n choose where i worked and pic the best employer that would be able meet my learning goals.

How?

I presented as keen. This means cleaning up, sweeping , volunteering to do stuff, requesting to go to extra classes........... what ever i could do to let them know That I was keen reliable and willing to do what ever was asked of me.

You see the Teachers are always watching and taking note of how well you committ and apply yourself. This does not mean you have to be perfect all humans make mistakes.............

What it does mean though is:

Try not to chuck sickies.............
Always be ontime to class (Be punctual)
Get involved and do whats asked of you to the best of your ability!

Your actions speak so If you work hard n get involved you'll get noticed n also let others know that your keen n hard working!!!! A great way to build a good reputation.............and get a start as an apprentice

Regards Lou

Lou to you well done and great to see hope you get ahead don't be held back


Grahame well said

Hi Lou,

I have been thinking of starting an apprenticeship as well for the past 6 years but haven't been able to afford it, can you tell me more about what your doing what has been involved.

The wife and I are looking at pulling up roots soon and take the profit from our house and move somewhere like Tamworth and buy a house outright.

This would enable me to start an apprenticeship like you have, the wife is a Nurse so money wouldn't be a problem as she can get work most large towns.

Did you do a pre-apprenticeship program? etc etc etc.
Any Guidance would be appreciated.
Sean

On ya Lou, I finished my boilermaking apprenticeship 20 years ago. I was in the last lot of apprentices that did the 7 week block training once a year for three years, then they changed it to the current system. I never really found out but I probably finished around 3rd or 4th in a class of 12, two of which were sent to other tafes for the last year because they were real clowns.

I fully agree with Graham's comments.

Sean,
I saw on the tv a few night ago that there is a scheme in victoria to get matureage apprenticeships going. The wages were subsidised so as to make it viable for older workers to do it. Maybe it would be worth looking into?

Robert

Guys
You may find this helps

http://www.training.com.au/portal/si...a5a1017a62dbc/

Grahame

Hey fellas )

Sorry I havent replied earlier Willy havent had access to a puta for a while. My advise would be to definatelty do a pre apprenticeship course. For us they crammed 1st year into 18 weeks wich = equivilant too certificate 2.

I highly recommend the pre apprenticeship TAFE course. For me working in heavy construction it has been invaluable.............Has been a godsend half knowing what I have been doing..................

Money works out as an over thirty tradie in 1st year at about 12 bucks an hour. Most places are keen to give overtime so I've been pleasantly suprised at my startup wages that I'll easily allow me to soldier on.............

Feel free to ask any questions am happy to help!

Its never been a better time to do a trade to cut a long story short I had bout 3 places keen to employ me. I picked a great company that specialised in heavy construction but also does a bit of everything including sand blasting and powder coating!

I recommend looking at trying to get employed at a place that I'll expose you to the most skills! I've been using everything from a hand file, broach drill guillo brake press n overhead crane more than enough to satisfy any big boys toys desire.................. and actively practice anything from light sheet metal work to heavy construction!

AT this stage most welding is confined to Mig Work........................

In a nutshell I learn new things every day and am well on my way to becoming a well rounded tradie.............................

Take the leap m8 shes well and truely woth it!

Just remember u gotta do ur time ..........................Amoungst this I've also spent days on the broom & tidying up the workshop all part a building a thirst ) n character .............


Good luck with the journey!!!!

Regards Lou )

Just seen this thread, good on ya Lou for giving it a go.

I did a similar thing when I was in Ballarart, I had already done an apprenticeship in bricklaying and had been laying for some time, the work died down so I went to night school 2 nights a week for 3 or 4 years (I cant remember which it was.) to get my ticket in pressure plate welding.

Anyway its weld worth doing, even just to edumacate your self.

Gidday

Those of you that have been around for a while trouncing around on solid cement worksop floors know the importance of looking after ya feet.

I had no concept of footcare until the daily ritual of feeling as though I'd been walking on a bed a nails finally convinced me to start looking after my hoves...........

Although U young blokes might remain immune for a while new over 30 apprentices are bound to come up against this one sooner rather than later...........

I was lucky to get some great advise from forumites here:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=63131

I finally went with steel blue portlands that are simply foot heaven compared to the cheap and nasties I was wearing. I'll keep readers posted on how well they hold up in busy workshop conditions...........

REgards Lou

Gidday

As part of a team in a fairly large workshop I've observed that you'll see 2 camps in action.

Those that take pride in their work and do things to exacting standards and those that take short cuts with a near enough is good enough attitude.................

Heres a few tips that have really helped me stay on track and work towards achieving my goals............

1. Always use your PPE gear n for god sake wear safety glasses n ear plugs (Yes that means all the time)

2. Dont tack up or do small runs without your helmet theres no need to do this but unfortunately is commonplace amoungst some in the fab shop

3. Take your time learning the art of marking out and develop an efficient system that works for you. I have found the following tools invaluable:

A good quality combination square
A good quality square
Quality 10mm & 30mm Rule
A Quality Tape MEasure (10meter)
A quality chalk line (Essential for layouts)
A well prepped scribe
The range of Veritas MArking out tools (eg: Saddle square increases speed dramatically)
Trammels
A calculator

I use a majority of these items every day remember the more you practice the system u choose to develop the quicker it will become second nature to u...........

4. Practice the art of plan interpretation this is to date my weakest skill that I have difficulty with. Some are naturals at this kinda stuff. Unfortunately for me Im a real hacker that easily gets confused attempting to read detailed plans.............The good news is this is a skill that can be developed prictice practice practice

5. TAke your time (Initially quality is more important than speed) measure twice cut once ;-) and listen to what the old timers have to say to u ............... there telling you stuff for a reason which usually equates to the most practical quickest economical way of doing things

Regards Lou

Hey Lou hows the change of life going mate?