Too late or crap work conditions being a mechanic?

[deadfish2]

as a mechanic all I can say is don't work for a dealership..... most of the time bigger dealership can be a mob of assholes, but some some are alright... its more about fast times and mark ups and pumping jobs through, rather than doing a quality job so to speak....


try and get in with councils, owner operators, self maintained fleet companys etc.... they are usually a lot better to work with.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by b2tf

Sorry but people like you are the reason most kids don't finish apprenticeships.

I was a trainee parts interpreter at a Ford dealer once, lasted 6 weeks

You had a big sooky cry and a dummy spit after 6 weeks, and you think I'm the one with the problem? Grow the **** up.
I work in an industry where there is EXCEPTIONAL money to be made, all training & skilling is on the job (with a bit of statutory ticketing thrown in) and the SKY is the limit. Guys can start out as a basic rigger, and work their way up over time to a Project Manager role.
We see soft little whingers come and go all the time, they last one swing before they go crying home to mummy.

[calais]

Fellas, I did not post in this thread to start a bunfight over who's the toughest because they rode a mop and bucket longer and harder than the other guy.

All I was getting at was that the quality of the apprenticeship is far more important than anything else.

I still, however stand by my comment that I was, and always will be above being treated like a serf. I obviously resented my treatment and felt quite comfortable submitting my resignation detailing the facts of what I had experienced via a comprehensive diary and task ledger to the HR manager.

The idealogy that one must crawl before they walk, run and fly is not lost on me. Not by any stretch. I spend my days mentoring a developing my subordinates at every task that arises. If I treat them well, it is I who is rewarded with the results of their performance. It's very much a collective success. If I treat a new recruit as a dishpig or broom operator as a default sole daily task, it is my failing as a manager to recognise and reward the capacity of the individual in my span of responsibility. " to take them under my wing". I learn every day, without fail. And those lessons come not only from those senior to me, but regularly from those junior to me.

I work in an environment which has zero margin error in the operation of the equipment I use and maintain, and from the get go, that is the key aspect of familiarising anyone with a new task. Intense supervision and positive mentoring.

Its fair and reasonable to ask what is fair and reasonable about what I experienced as an apprentice.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by STINKY NINJA

Well maybe you should employ cleaners instead of apprentices,if you cant teach the kids skills dont waste their time.
I understand running a high performance business you need to ensure the jobs are done correctly so if you cant trust an apprentice to do the job under your supervision dont employ them in the first place...

Cleaning the floors/empting the bin is part and parcel of keeping a work area safe and earning trust..

If they were to work on a customers car, you have to trust they will clean up their mess after they have finished.....comes from them showing how they clean up the floor....otherwise you'll have complaining customers and loose business.....sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised how many people don't know how to clean up after themselves.....

BTW, I still sweep the floor and empty the bins, even though there are less experienced people than me at my workplace.....I see it as a monkey see monkey do scenario.....

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

That is disgusting, it's not an easy job, the owners of the mechanics only paying there workers these wages must be rolling in it. My MRS earns 58k a year and all she does is manage a medical practice. You would have to do it for the love of the job for that money.

Workshop owners pay a sheet load of money towards workers comp fund....they have to spend a sheet load of money upgrading their diagnostic equipment.....so it doesn't leave them a lot of money in the kitty to pay mega bucks to workers....

It might sound like an excuse backing employers, but if they want to cough up more for workers, alot more people will be whinging and whining about the cost of their car repaires....(employers have to find the extra money somewhere, so that's where it'll come from)...

[FG50T]

I emptied everyone's bins almost daily through my 3rd year apprenticeship (dealership) because the 1st and 2nd year sure weren't going to do it. They both went into their 4th years not being allowed to do any major jobs on their own meanwhile I had my own hoist from the start of my 2nd year. I wasn't a genius mechanic but my superiors trusted me. Attitude goes a long way in the mechanic gig when you're starting out. Don't be afraid of tough jobs, soak in as much as you can off others and keep your **** clean

[MITCHAY]

I think a lot of employers mistake enthusiasm for arrogance, overconfidence etc when it comes to younger people.

It's no wonder they don't hang around when there is better or equivalent money to be made to do the same **** kicker work.

Nothing wrong with doing this sort of work but when it encompasses all of your work when you want to learn a trade I can't blame people for throwing it in.

[Spurious]

IMO someone who WANTS to, and WILLINGLY takes on an apprenticeship/traineeship, that should be enough motivation for management or mentors to teach them without making them "prove themselves" with belittling jobs like making coffee or mopping a floor.(unless it's a cafe or cleaning company) It seems to be (and I've heard plenty of stories) an unsaid rule that if you want the trade cert' bad enough you should be prepared to put up with any crap your superiors throw at you even if it has nothing to do with the trade. WHAT THE...who invented that idea. Plus most folks I know who have done app's and train's have been given the flick either after they qualify or just before, usually around the time that the employers government funding stops! I'll never take on an apprenticeship for these reasons. **Employers take note: I will make coffee & empty your bin if I like you & I'm treated with the respect that is deserved**. You wouldn't ask your wife to mop the floor before using your car...would you?

[FPV+fteT3]

Unfortunately the current generation believe they should start at the top on 50k and show up when they want. I have a daughter with this philosophy. I know of one young bloke who was given the opportunity to train with an up market auto brand at a large dealership as a mechanic, he constantly found excuses not to go to work, sick or couldn't make it today for some reason, consequently before the 3 months probation was up he was punted allowing someone who wanted to learn and was motivated realise the chance of becoming a mechanic.
As a product of todays society he probably expected to be building performance motors and tuning after the first week.

Apprentice money is ordinary, in most cases you will be the gopher and get the menial tasks, get smoko and lunches etc..after all you are the newbie the now 2nd year was you last year this will change as you progress. The rewards for your persistance can last a lifetime, you can use your trade certificate as stepping stone to specialise within the industry or continue studdies in engineering etc..

Its easy to see from the responses here most young apprentice seekers want to build a ferrari engine before they clean the work bench. These are the ones that still live at home and collect the dole waiting for the right job to be offered to them... lots of money with very little effort. 'Oh and respect isn't deserved its earned.

[gtxb67]

so the general consensus is the productive guys are the ones who should be making the coffee and sweeping the floor
while the 1st year apprentice gets to build the 9 second motors

and we wonder why the country has gone down the crapper



if you don't want to start at the bottom and work your way up - buy the freakin business

[dusty86]

This thread has escalated quickly, yes the pay is ****, I'm on what would be considered a good wicket, take home $900 a week, but I'm also managing the workshop, dealing with the guys I work with (who some aren't the quickest) and calling customers.
I started from the bottom when things were a bit worse than now, when I was an apprentice me and the other 1st year didn't empty the bins, we were given no jobs and he had to scrub the inside of the dump master and I had to clean the interceptor drain.
I'm all for giving apprentices a shot if they prove themselves. But you certainly get over it when you ask them "are you confident doing this job"
"yeh no worries"
Then the job comes back on a tilt tray.
all it takes is a simple yes or no, I'm not going to bite your head off if you're not confident in what you do, I'm going to try to guide you through it or find you a more suitable job.
END RANT!!

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by FlivverFord

IMO someone who WANTS to, and WILLINGLY takes on an apprenticeship/traineeship, that should be enough motivation for management or mentors to teach them without making them "prove themselves" with belittling jobs like making coffee or mopping a floor.(unless it's a cafe or cleaning company) It seems to be (and I've heard plenty of stories) an unsaid rule that if you want the trade cert' bad enough you should be prepared to put up with any crap your superiors throw at you even if it has nothing to do with the trade. WHAT THE...who invented that idea. Plus most folks I know who have done app's and train's have been given the flick either after they qualify or just before, usually around the time that the employers government funding stops! I'll never take on an apprenticeship for these reasons. **Employers take note: I will make coffee & empty your bin if I like you & I'm treated with the respect that is deserved**. You wouldn't ask your wife to mop the floor before using your car...would you?

Sad fact of work.....Doesn't matter whether you've been doing the same job for 20 weeks, or 20 years, cleaning is part and parcel of being an employee....

Personally, I clean my own mess up, so I don't go *** up in oil or water....and I empty the bin, so I don't trip over all the crap, should I accidently kick it over....I am also thinking of my fellow workmates.....I'd hate them to go *** up, because I was too lazy to clean up my own mess...

2ndly...making coffee...2 way street....you make it for the boss and/or other employees and if the boss and/or other employees make it for you, you continue on...It's not called *** licking....it's called mutual respect, which seems to lack in the workplace these days...