When I get green help, my training method is simple. I treat/train them the way I would like to be treated/trained. That means that I am not their to play the recruit-Drill Instructor game. When I started out I wanted to learn and do my fair share and I was very fortunate to be put with a journeyman who was willing to teach (some of the old schoolers didn't share that attitude). I appreciated the patience he showed me when I screwed up and how he allowed me to screwup on some things just so that I would learn the benefits of doing the work his way which in the end was the right way. When I was in the IBEW (I was already an experienced Journeyman by then and didn't go through the apprenticeship program) I saw how many of the apprentices were treated...I personally would not have put up with it.
Anyway, I have trained many green helpers and did like my first trainer did. I would tell them what I wanted them to do and how to do it the proper way. For example: I had one guy that I told to bend some 1/2" emt, told him how to measure it, about the deduct and let him bend a piece. After we got rid of that piece of scrap, I told him about maintaing foot pressure. The next bend came out fine and for the next few bends he made, as he started to bend the pipe I heard him say "foot pressure" as he made the bend. He soon got to be very good at bending pipe and we worked real well together.
This method of training has worked well for me...does it work on all trainee's? No. But for those that it does work on, I don't mind working "with" them at all.
Just my 2 cents worth!
