To advise my soon against an apprenticeship in customer service?

[BoltonDoowar]

DS dropped out of college at 17 and is now 18. He has average GCSE’s. His girlfriend is 14 weeks pregnant.

Despite applying to loads of full-time ‘starter’ jobs, he can’t even secure as much as an interview for a 9-5 call centre type thing. Due to having a child on the way he does not want part-time. He wants to be able to afford a flat to rent with his girlfriend. If they can’t do that by the time baby is born me and the girlfriend’s parents will still have them of course but they actively want their own place with their baby. And I think me and the girlfriend’s parents both mutually agree that while we won’t kick them out, we’d like them to actively start putting plans in place as we both have younger teens to think about as well.

DS is becoming disheartened. There are plenty of hospitality jobs about but he’s had a couple of interviews where they’ve been listed as full-time waiter and then at the interview he finds out it’s 15 hours a week. He wants an office day job.

He’s now looking at apprenticeships and has been offered one at a local office. It will be a mix of customer service and sales. Except it pays the apprentice wage of £4.30. The job description also basically says he’ll be a normal worker at the office and then will do one day a week at a training centre. It sounds like the office will do bugger all training themselves. He’ll get “Level 2 Customer Service” afterwards. I feel that’s basically meaningless, for roles like that they don’t want specific qualifications!

Before people say it’s not up to me, DS came to me frazzled asking for advice. I think it’s all a bit of a ploy for some cheap labour. He will be earning about bugger all a day for 7.5 hours work. DS’s plan is to use it for the experience and then once closer to baby being due he’ll apply for other office jobs.

I feel it’s a complete waste of time. If he wants to do that he might as well do one of the hospitality jobs for 15 hours a week and earn more than the apprenticeship and then move on in a few months. That way he’d have much more time in the day to support his girlfriend who is having a hellish pregnancy so far and apply for more suitable jobs to support them.

I’ve told DS I only think he should do it if he explains he has a baby on the way and therefore needs minimum wage because he’s not a typical ‘school-leaver’ who can get by fine on £4.30 for the experience. I think they may still end up taking him because they stupidly let slip at interview that DS is the only person who applied (and tbh, I’m not really surprised because I bet even kids can see right through them). We also both had a chat with his girlfriend today because obviously she should get a say as well and she agrees with me that’s it’s only worth doing if he explains his circumstances to negotiate being allowed minimum wage. If it was a proper apprenticeship which would help him get his foot in the door in a good sector and be an investment for the future of his family it’d be a different matter. But it isn’t.

Any thoughts?

I would go for the apprenticeship, you say it's an easy job and doesn't need a qualification but being able to do both sales and customer service properly is a real skill. It will also open up other doors and means he can then go for an NVQ level 3. It's a stepping stone unfortunately at the moment on paper he's not very employable. He maybe a good kid with a great work ethic but employers will be looking at what is tangible which is that he's a school drop out with only average GCSES.

It may sound harsh but that is the reality and what people will see. Also lots of employers have had their fingers burnt over the last few years regarding apprentices/ young employees, they seemed to funnel the troublesome kids into apprenticeships rather than getting to the route of the problems which leaves employers dealing with them. Certainly his current record would set alarm bells off for us and we probably wouldn't offer an interview as we've now had 4 apprentices with similar backgrounds who struggled at school everyone of them has been loads of work and very work shy.
We will probably be sacking number 4, number 1 disappeared to a "better job" came back 1 month later asking for his old job back, number 2 didn't do the college work for the apprenticeship then just disappeared. Number 3 just vanished after seeming to come in whenever they fancied. Number 4 keeps asking for last minute holidays leaving us short and if we refuse says he's Ill with stress (but hasn't accessed any support for his stress), but wants a payrise as he works so hard.

We are a good employer, who wants to support the next generation and help them, we also pay well, however we aren't there to babysit them and hand everything to them on a plate which seems to be the expectations of these kids.

Getting some kind of qualifications will show employees he's worth taking a risk on.

He’s doing the apprenticeship and his friend is trying to get him some bar work at his evening job.

Sounds like a plan.
Good luck to him!

Is your son 100% sure that this office apprenticeship is 9-5? It sounds like his motivation for taking this is based purely on the basis it’s 9-5 so he can spend money with the gf and baby.

I’ve worked in call centres for both sales and customer service and it was nowhere near 9-5. Finishing up at 8:30pm most of the time. If you think most people work 9-5, so they’ll be calling their energy supplier after work to sort something out. Or outward sales get most people picking up the phone once they’ve finished work.

Sales is honestly a cut throat environment and as an inexperienced 17 year old I I can imagine he’d find it quite tough to start up in, as welll as having the added pressure of a baby on the way.

Can he drive? Has he thought about working for water/gas board, telecoms contractor? These jobs are generally 9-5 with the option of OT at weekends or nightshift.

I know people have mentioned trades such as plumbing etc, but let’s be honest they are really competitive and the fact he has dropped out of college will go against him.

I know people have mentioned hospitality and in some areas they are crying out for staff. Has he specifically thought about working in a hotel? I believe there are lots of opportunities for progression in that industry.

But most importantly, whatever he choose now does not define the rest of his life! I love my job currently, but I hadn’t Even considered it when I was 17. I had no qualifications which were helpful towards my current job either.

@Scottishshopaholic It’s 8:15 to 4:45. So not 9-5 but same thing really. The office shuts at 5, it’s not a call centre as such and is quite a small team.

I have warmed to the idea of the apprenticeship thanks to some posts on this thread. My worry was just that he was being taken advantage of for cheap labour.

I still don’t think a job like this needs an apprenticeship, but some posters woke me up to the fact that these are the options we have before us and that’s that, so to speak. I think it’ll be great for him to get in an office at 18

It’s a really difficult situation and it sounds like he is prioritising the ‘sociable’ hours above anything else. I get that he wants to be home on the evenings, because that’s what the rest of world wants. But even if he is working 2-10pm he’ll still get to spend time with his gf and baby in the morning.

The fact that he is already saying he will use this as experience and apply for something better once the baby comes is telling that he knows he won’t be happy there. And if he leaves so soon he won’t be getting the qualification (even though it’s questionable if this is any use). I have had only sticking at a place for 6 months and then trying to move onto somewhere else turned against me in an interview and it’s really difficult to convince them you’ll be loyal (especially if that’s the only job he’ll have had).

I take it because of the terrible wage he won’t be looking to find his own place whilst working there? I’m sure you are already encouraging him to save every penny he can and getting him to get his name on lists for social housing etc.

The Customer Services apprenticeship at L2 will give him a good grounding and work experience in the area, which is invaluable. Do his 'average' GCSE's include grade C or equivalent in English and Maths? If they don't, he will have to do the equivalent Functional Skills qualifications in order to get the apprenticeship. Without English and Maths at grade C he won't be getting very far in even entry level jobs, so just on that basis the apprenticeship is worthwhile. The L3 Customer Service is also a good next step and the equivalent to A Levels. I agree the wage isn't great and after a few months I would be asking to be put up to minimum wage. He should also be doing some training at work, as if it is done correctly, his apprenticeship coursework has to relate to his work, and he will be observed at work by an external assessor. People on Mumsnet seem to think anything that isn't a University degree is a load of crap, based on no information or experience whatsoever.

He’s doing the hospitality job to help pay for baby things alongside the apprenticeship and reckons he’ll sack that evening iob in once baby is here. GF has had to go on the sick from her job due to awful pregnancy symptoms but will still get some kind of government income.

At least once he’s done the first year he’ll get minimum wage.

OP, I'm really glad you've come round to the idea of the apprenticeship. When you're starting out, very few options are perfect (unless you get on some stellar grad scheme) and it's a question of looking at what will be the most solid first building block for a successful career, then starting at the bottom and proving yourself. I think out of his choices, this has the best potential and would be a wise decision. Really hope it goes well for him and his GF feels better soon