What do you expect from an apprentice?

[Dave500]

Hi all hope this is in the right section.
I have been extremely lucky in getting an apprenticeship at my ripe old age (24) and I was wondering what tips or hints you guys and gals got for me to help me and the company I'll be working for.
I have a decent amount of hand tools, pens and paper and an eagerness to learn(sorry about that bit lol)
So if you have any tips on how to make it more enjoyable or smoother then it would be very much appreciated.
Thanks Dave.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

one thing that ****es me off more than anything

if unsure ask
if you do something wrong tell me
if you dont know what to do next ask

 

[turnpin]

Do not use your mobile phone in working hours....lol regards turnpin:smile5:,

 

[Rickster123]

one thing that ****es me off more than anything

if unsure ask
if you do something wrong tell me
if you dont know what to do next ask

That's 3 you doughnut

 

[plumben]

always show a wiling ness to work, if theres nothing for you to do and your not watching/learning find something to do even if its just brushing up or making a brew

always ask questions
and ask if your unsure even just a little
also push yourself to learn, if your watching someone do something ask if you can have a go/do the next one

 

[lame plumber]

know your way around the van asap

 

[Rickster123]

Be on time. Every time. And bring snacks.

 

[Dave500]

Thanks for the tips lads

 

[Masood]

know your way around the van asap

First and most important. This will make you immediately useful. A lot of excellent advice given already above.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

That's 3 you doughnut

cant count but one post

 

[DXCross]

+1 for knowing your way round the van, Also think gratitude goes a long way, it's a small token for someone's knowledge and know how

 

[Nick6588]

You will be better than my last apprentice, who had done 2 years on a full time level 2 plumbing course, but failed to identify a soil pipe and tried to core a waste through a 9" solid wall with my new bosch spade bits!!!

 

[Ray Stafford]

A question for you guys who currently have apprentices, or who have had them in the past...

Have you had any training in, or done any research into, management or teaching methodologies?

If you have an apprentice, you are both a manager and a teacher. Both of these are genuine professions in their own right, and are at least as hard to master as plumbing. Lord knows, most of us have experience of the difference between a skilled manager or teacher, and the less skilled who have the job-title but not the ability, just as we have all seen work done by people who thought they could do plumbing.

The trouble is, in my experience, the best managers are not always those who have been on management training courses, and the best teachers are often not found in classrooms. Its a conundrum.

 

[Click]

Probably not. Most set up a company and away they go.

 

[Millsy 82]

Leave your phone in the van is the biggest for me.

When you first start it will be boring as you won't be asked to do much but watch and try to work out what your trainer will need before he asks you and have it ready.

Although every body else says if you have nothing else to do tidy up. I hate that as although it might look like chaos when I'm working but if you move my kit I will go to pot. So ask if they want you to tidy up.