whitey is redundant...

[whitey]

Hello My name is Steve, 34 and I am redundant. First time I have been through all this and it's crap. 17 years in Retail/Office work all for nothing! My last day is March 31st.
Anyway on the plus side my company has sorted out a rather nice pay out and a further £2350 for re-training (has to be with a nationally recognised training organisation), this coupled with a £1000 grant from the European social fund for Redundant people in the south east I have £3350 to re-train.
I have fitted 5 kitchens in the past (diy private jobs) and really enjoyed it. So I decided to go for a job I like for a change. No more office work for me. I did some research and decided to train with (well it doesn't matter - no free advertising. If they are rubbish I will name them then!). I am trying to get Part P Electrics for starters 1 week intro, 1 week VRQ lvl 2, 1 week 17th edition wiring, 1 week inspection/testing oh and a 2 day PAT testing course, I am also doing a week in each of the following - Kitchen fitting, plumbing, tiling.
I don't know how this will pan out. I had to spend the training money somehow and thought that Part P was at least a recognised skill so invested most of the money there. I'm not sure if I will end up doing more sparky work or kitchens/bathrooms. No idea what the future holds.
I do have a local kitchen fitter who will let me work for free for a couple of weeks once I finish training (end june). I also have some weekend work lined up for summer because I doubt I will get a full diary this year, or ever

So now I have opened up, why not give me your worst.
Am I going about this the right way? or at least starting in a good way?
Any advice? Please don't say don't bother, stick to office work. If I spend another day at a desk I will scream.

Great forum from what I have read so far, I am hoping to learn a lot more and get some help from those that know.
Cheers
Steve White

[marc1106]

Welcome to the forum Steve
you sound sensible enough to realize that some short courses and a few kitchens under your belt, do not a kitchen fitter make! so i wont waffle on about experiance being the only real teacher! but it IS A VERY COMPETATIVE MARKET(FIELD). i would asdvise that you stay with the local fitter as long as you can, and ask him all about the "otherside" of fitting like estimating and scheduling as i found these 2 areas the toughest to master for a long time, Clints DO not like the EXTRAS at the end of a job! (unless they become apparent during and you make them aware immediatly) and they do not like the phone call the day before your due to start saying "im over runing on my current job, so im gonna bump yours by a couple of days". it can make you look like you dont have a clue
so good luck with the skillcentre or whoever your with and let us know how it works as you go, either way!

[kingfisher]

Good advice by marc.

I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket though. if you've 17 years experiance in some form of office work why not try to get some part time work or sub-contract work that you're familiar with.

It's tough out there at the moment, leave yourself plenty of options and a "plan B".

Good luck

[whitey]

i would advise that you stay with the local fitter as long as you can,

My thoughts too. I hope to learn enough on the courses to be able to show this guy I'm worthy of a meagre salery for a few months. I've seen him work at speed and it is a sight to behold. I feel learning from him is the best thing I could do to start.

[marc1106]

i would advise that you stay with the local fitter as long as you can,

My thoughts too. I hope to learn enough on the courses to be able to show this guy I'm worthy of a meagre salery for a few months. I've seen him work at speed and it is a sight to behold. I feel learning from him is the best thing I could do to start.

Well no short course in the world will teach you "tricks of the trade"

[roxy002]

i would advise that you stay with the local fitter as long as you can,

My thoughts too. I hope to learn enough on the courses to be able to show this guy I'm worthy of a meagre salery for a few months. I've seen him work at speed and it is a sight to behold. I feel learning from him is the best thing I could do to start.

Well no short course in the world will teach you "tricks of the trade"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN-cvSEqt1U[/youtube]

[marc1106]

well roxy lets hope theres no clips of brain surgery on youtube cos im getting bored with this kitchen fitting lark!

what i meant and im sure that most on here will agree is that you cannot learn the tricks of the trade without actually tackling them on the job!

[roxy002]

LOL, I know. Just having a laugh!

[Stretch]

That probably would have been a helpful video for a novice if it didn't have that text plastered across the screen obscuring all the detail so you couldn't see anything!

Check out this blokes other videos on You Tube - can't be arsed to link to all of them but he does crop up quite a bit