[Blackadder]

Morning all. A friend has asked me about taking his 19 year old boy on as an apprentice, good idea or not? What do you guys pay yours and do you employ them or give them work on a self employed basis? He drives and doesn’t mind early starts, also seems to like hard work which seems to be a rarity in that generation 

[dazmond]

I've had friends/acquaintances asking me will I take on there lad.no thanks....been there done that....
If your struggling to keep up with your workload,go ahead...

[Blackadder]

I've had friends/acquaintances asking me will I take on there lad.no thanks....been there done that....
If your struggling to keep up with your workload,go ahead...



Do you not take any new work on now Dazmond? Just bursting at the seams, it seems I haven’t learned to say no yet!

[Lee Burbidge]

I took on an apprentice from a local college. He would pass course papers and exams too.

The industry goes through times of a shrinking pool of experienced workers. To combat that I went the apprentice route. It was a large learning curve and cost some money.

The benefit was a grant provided which was to cover a learning curve. You are teaching somebody from scratch ( or near scratch depending if they have experienced window cleaning before) something that can be established at interview stages for the right candidate. So no bad habits.

It worked great. I thought I had discovered a way to create my own workforce in a time of limited workforce.

My opinion now? Would I try it again?

Yes, I would. Despite the apprentice leaving. We hired him after the apprenticeship, then he left to pack crisps in a Walkers Factory with his dad.

What have I learned?
It is still a good source for creating a workforce. The grant potentially does not cover all your losses on the learning curve. And don't be so naive to think the apprentice will want to grow old with you. It's possible they will but how many of us are still doing the same job we did when we last left school, for example.

[dazmond]

I've had friends/acquaintances asking me will I take on there lad.no thanks....been there done that....
If your struggling to keep up with your workload,go ahead...



Do you not take any new work on now Dazmond? Just bursting at the seams, it seems I haven’t learned to say no yet!

No mate I'm not bursting at the seams and haven't been for a long time.....I only work part time now at my age(46)....almost semi retired!

[dazmond]

I do take on new work but I lose work too so it evens itself out over time.the only difference is new work is usually better priced,better quality work...so I'm earning more but not actually having to work more hours to achieve it....

[Matt.]

Would I go through the trouble of a propa apprentership ...... Not really no been there like lee and it's a waste of time.

Would I employ young staff so to say (17-18 year olds ) ..... Yes Defo. If they want to learn and are happy on a low wage until they have learnt what they need to then yes very much so

[tlwcs]

When he clocks in, take his phone off him. You will get much more done.

[Don Kee]

Just employ the chap properly, on PAYE.
If you’re at a stage where you can employ someone, then you should be earning enough that you can pay his pensions, employers NI and holidays.
No idea about apprentices, but let’s be honest; when people on here say ‘self employed’ they basically mean they want to pay someone cash on the hip. I’ll imagine there aren’t that many that have asked for an invoice from their ‘employee’.

Do it properly and don’t pay two bob and a conker and he’ll see it as a ‘proper’ job rather than a bit of beer money and you should soon see the reward in your bank balance.
(And while your ‘training’ him, make sure you work full days rather than slacking off at 1300 every other day or whatever. He’ll then recognise the expected work ethic so when he goes on his own its then normal)

[Go]

What’s the apprentice going to learn on day 3?

[John Mart]

Just employ the chap properly, on PAYE.
If you’re at a stage where you can employ someone, then you should be earning enough that you can pay his pensions, employers NI and holidays.
No idea about apprentices, but let’s be honest; when people on here say ‘self employed’ they basically mean they want to pay someone cash on the hip. I’ll imagine there aren’t that many that have asked for an invoice from their ‘employee’.

Do it properly and don’t pay two bob and a conker and he’ll see it as a ‘proper’ job rather than a bit of beer money and you should soon see the reward in your bank balance.
(And while your ‘training’ him, make sure you work full days rather than slacking off at 1300 every other day or whatever. He’ll then recognise the expected work ethic so when he goes on his own its then normal)

Spot on.

[Smudger]

No I wouldn’t do it again - although you get a grant to help cover the cost it really is more trouble than anything else - be aware they have a lot more rights than a normal worker so unless they do something majorly wrong you can be stuck with a bad apple

Customers (residential) were not keen to have a young “lad” around their property either

At 19 it’s (for me) a borderline age - you’d be better off with 23+

Darran