mkirsch wrote:
When they make journeyman, sure. Correct me if I'm wrong but in most trades, getting to journeyman is a SEVEN YEAR MINIMUM commitment. During that time you work for minimum wage, or even for free, as an apprentice, sweeping floors and doing very little related to the trade, all while being treated like dirt.
Then you'll turn around and grouse about how young people need to be coddled and hand-held, right? It's not either-or. There is a middle ground between abusive and coddling. Don't give me "That's how I came up through," because times have changed. Obviously the old way doesn't work anymore because you're short on skilled workers.
You're wrong. 3-4 years is the max for most all apprenticeships and that's only if a person possesses very little skill and less motivation passing up the ability to journey out quicker. Alot of its based on hours. Work more hours, journey out quicker.
Also, you're talking Union apprenticeships, of which you obviously aren't well read.
However the non union trades, while not as guaranteed for pay have other benefits, like no set time limit for apprenticeships. Far more merit based.
I journeyed out about 2 months after I graduated high school. That was the skill part. And I've pushed through many young men early to journeyman scale for the same reasons.
On the other hand, some also journey out faster based on hours worked. Be the first guy at work, last one to leave, volunteer and beg for OT as it available, and the same can happen just on work ethic and not above average skill.
And we're short on skilled workers, just like you and everywhere else in this country thanks to the abundant gubmint cheeze available.
Reference my post above.
BTW, the 2 kids I talked about, his buddy is going to school for Cicil Engineering and wants to get into construction.
My kid couldn't be farther from his buddy's aspirations (marine biologist) but what they do have in common aside from being friends is they know that work = money and no work = no money.
No abuse or coddling needed. Just a smidge of common sense and a good work ethic.
It's hard to understand, unless the "don't want to work" thing is true, how in an industry like construction, one of the few industries left where one expand into supervisory and even management positions without a formal education, why there isn't a line out the door of applicants.
And it's not a secret, the trade schools and diversity career fairs do publicize this. But ya gotta show up...