Apprenticeships - Electrician

[hairyunicorn]

My son is 19 years old and desperate to become an electrician. We have been scouring the internet for apprenticeships in the London area and there are hardly any. We so far have found 3 that would be suitable.
I just don't know what to do, we thought there would at least be a good few to apply for but nothing. I am hoping more will come out this month.
Can anyone offer any advice, i just don't know what he will do if he doesn't get one.

I'll be honest and say he might find it hard. I work in a related industry and it is quite expensive to take on an apprentice. We have to pay 5% towards their training costs but if we take on a 16-18 year old we get extra money to offset against that. Also you can only pay a 19 year old the apprentice rate for the first 12 months, after that it's minimum wage which has just gone up.

We did take on a 19 year old (along with two younger apprentices) but a lot of companies won't.

I know one person who has taken employment as a mate and is funding his own training at night class.

But widen your net. Small, family run firms like ours don't really use the internet to recruit. Get hi to email and send CV's in or even phone up.

My nephew did it in his 20’s. PP advice is good - may also be worth contacting the local colleges for advice about employers.

@Comefromaway Thank you for your reply and information; it is much appreciated. Thankfully, he got a call yesterday for an interview. It's outside of London, but reading your reply, I think he should go for it.

@NonComm thank you, It's really good to hear your nephew was successful, really helps us keep hope.

Think we will definitely get on the phones and start calling around

Can he drive? I know it's not the norm in London & although he would initially be paired up with someone during the apprentiship but being able to drive would make him more attractive.

@Comefromaway I am in the process of helping him get his driving licence as I have seen this as desirable on a few job adverts.

He failed his 1st theory test by 3 points (frustrating) I will get him to book another asap. Thank you.

You may be too late but TfL take apprentices. Network Rail?

Thank you @PenneyFouryourthoughts We have seen these, but the end goal is to become self-employed, so he doesn't want to be limited to only working on the railway.

The Air Force also have some amazing apprentices but sadly he doesn't wants to join the armed forces, i think this would be an excellent option.

Sometimes the specialist colleges might know of an employer. For example the college we use for gas training asked us if we would take on a new apprentice they had on their book (a previous employer had made redundancies)

Just an update for anyone in the same position in the future.
My son has his first interview 😅

So far, we have found most apprenticeships on LinkedIn, with a lot coming out in April. However, we have also been told that some companies start the process in January. So just keep looking; they are out there.

Good luck to him

@Comefromaway Thank you and thank you for your advice, it is really appreciated. :)