Apprentice plumber Sunbury (vic) area

[Flamenco_not_Flamingo]

Correct Robbo, the days of sand filled bends, soldering irons and lead beating are gone. New methods in Plumbing are great and much faster for sure but the technology that has come with Plumbing in the last few years, self certification and constant reg changes are enough to do you head in. i would hate to be out of Plumbing for more than a couple of years or you would be playing catch up for a long time. Im just glad that its one of the last licensed trades left so we can keep the muppets and pseudo Tradies out of it! You cant beet Plumbing if you want a stable and rewarding job though. As my father always told me, " If ya dont eat, ya cant sh#t and if you cant sh#t ya die". If thats the case the world will always need good Plumbers!

Great post Seavan

[razsandman]

Best advice my Dad gave me, I was no good at school but was not allowed to leave unless I got a apprenticeship, this was the same rule for all 5 of his kids. so I started my motor mechanic apprenticeship at 16 and loved it, I was working on high end prestige cars. With some money in my pocket I had my Sandman on the road as a second year. being young as soon as I qualified I packed my bags put the sandman in Dads shed and went round the world traveling for a year. when I was in Canada I had a few months working for a transport company and got a taste for heavy Diesel. after returning to oz I went back to where I did my time bt got a bit bored. I got a lucky start in mining and did my second trade so I'm now a Diesel mechanic as well. I now run workshops in mining and have had a few apprentices some good some bad. The Bad part I don't like about apprenticeships now is its basically impossible to fail or get held back and even more impossible to sack an apprentice no matter how bad.. so some end up getting signed off just to get rid of them but this is resulting in some sub standard qualified trades out there.

[Keenospv]

Well said razsandman
Couldn't agree more sounds just like the advice my dad gave me and my siblings

[Sandaro]

My Dad's a plumber. Still uses the Sandman (the one in my avatar) as his work truck. Says he and the Sandman will retire next year when the sandman hits 40 years of duty. My Dad used to get me to dig his trenches (he does mainly cottage work) as a teenager and his advice was work hard at school and get a profession, trades get hard on your body once your 40+.

[Valencia]

My Dad's a plumber. Still uses the Sandman (the one in my avatar) as his work truck. Says he and the Sandman will retire next year when the sandman hits 40 years of duty. My Dad used to get me to dig his trenches (he does mainly cottage work) as a teenager and his advice was work hard at school and get a profession, trades get hard on your body once your 40+.

Your Dad is spot on im 52 and my body is f@&@&d
thats why im getting out asap of the builing trade

[jennie285]

I have two apprentices (Electrician and Diesel Fitter) He does his time sheet each week and we get an invoice from the scheme company. Its a lot better administratively and you can pass him back in if needed. Maybe something to consider?

We have had apprentices for the past 20 or so years most have turned out great some stay and some go onto other things. We use a similar system called skillset which also does labour hire after they finish so I pay them and they do all the admin. We can hand them back if we get quiet too.
Rodney spends most of his time arranging and quoting jobs we have always worked together his building partner retired two years ago. It is getting harder to get jobs through council these days so many codes and compliances. However we have diverted a bit with doing pre purchase house inspections and scaffolding which gives us a good income and allows for sandman's to be restored. We employ 4 carpenters and a first year apprentice.

[Big Rob]

I've got an 11 year old local kid that helps me out in the shop once or twice a week. He loves the work I give him and the skills he's learning will give him such a big head start when he eventually gets old enough to get a job. He's polite to customers, understands instructions and rarely asks for help unless a bolt is too tight for him or the job requires 2 pairs of hands.
He already unpacks my deliveries and checks the quantities against invoices, then calculates markup and prices items.

I can't find a 16 year old that can (or is willing) to do what he does. He's going to be a very successful bloke in the future and I'm lucky to have him around at the moment.

[davegmh]

Good on him ! Now, how to keep him away from alcohol and girlfriends as he gets older .

[jennie285]

Big Rob are you also grooming him too be a van/ car enthusiast lol I bet he would love your cars too. But seriously what a good story I hope he does well and good on you for giving him a good start

[Big Rob]

It's funny how kids interests change. He's not interested in girls or cars at the moment, but It'll be cool watching that change. I've seen him show a bit of interest in the van, but I asked him if he wanted to help me work on the HJ ute I'm building and he told me that he was here to work on bikes, not cars!

I have no doubt as he gets older that cars will factor in his life (just by hanging around me he will be surrounded by old stuff) and I hope I can keep him on the straight and narrow with regards to alcohol and drugs. He has developed a love of Coca Cola, but he's only allowed to have it when he comes to my place. He's got a good Mum and she knows he's in good hands with Donna and me, so he's allowed the odd can of Coke and chocolate bar when he's here.

We had Poppy-seed rolls with peanut butter for lunch yesterday and he asked me if it was OK for him because poppy-seeds were where drugs came from!!