ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area how to teach an apprentice

BTW Attic Rat, that is a very nice picture

Thanks for all the great tips guys! The prevailing training method in our shops is the ride their butt boot camp. But it doesn't seem like it has been too effective. Sometimes I guess you have to get loud but not on a daily basis because eventually they quit listening.

togol,

"....... as far as the attitude goes....there is always a pipe pile that is in the wrong place !"

I had an over eager greenie that had no idea of level, square or straight, who developed a complex after I demoted him from from "working in reverse", to solely material handling, afer he got mouthy about it too. (Something he didn't like too much.) 7000' of 1/2" pipe (Which was REALLY in the wrong place, they were laying floor...) up one flight of stairs put me into a 'Comp case. Lucky for the company, he bragged about his new job, he was going to start the next day, to some loyal employees he was stupid enough to think sympathized with him.

Word to the wise though, as you may not be so lucky to catch a scammer with a bad additude. Verbal warning, written warning X2, Sac 'em! Legal beagle!

Failure to comply with the companies standard of work after a designated period = counsel, and document.

Bad additude = counsel, and document.

Late, or leave early = counsel, and document.

CYA = counsel, and document.

If someone is willing to learn, I'll even climb in the attic with them, just to prove I'm not having them do anything I wouldn't do myself.

Just not interested... = counsel, and document.

e57, the kids that come out are on Probation for 6 months, and after that , if they survive, they begin their indentured apprenticeship ! Usually , by then , the bad ones are gone, and those that stay get their first raise , and the really lucky ones get transferred to another shop. The system works pretty good...the majority of the disciplining is handled by the training director , who is just a phone call away, something ALL of the cubs understand completely ........

Yeah, sometimes a bad apple slips thru the cracks , but they end up quitting

For the first time, last winter I had a helper / trainee. What a learning expereince!

First of all, it is quite a challenge to organize the work for two people- the helper doesn't like standing around any more than you like seeing him standing around!

There might be some issues regarding what is expected in terms of starting time, etc. The new guy truly may have just fallen off the turnip truck, and not understand that "start time" is the time you start work- not the time you pull into the parking lot! Here it is especially important to lead by example.

Some things that are obvious to you may be completely foreign to him. You'll probably have to explain some simple things several times; quite often, it was my explanation that was lacking- not the helpers' willingness to learn!

Try also to remember what it was like for you....replacing a pair of pliers might be a PITA for you; but it can be a major money issue for the new guy.

I tried to show my helper what the overall plan was, rather than just saying "do this." I wanted him to see how it all fit together. I also let him have a taste of enough of the things I was doing, so he could see that I wasn't just letting him do all the hard stuff!

Finally, there is the matter of responsibility. If the guy messes up, it is still your responsibility. Sure, you can be mad at him, and have him fix it- but he is not there for you to blame every error on. You can delegate the task- but not the responsibility.

Prepare to have your heart broken. I'd like to say that my helper is becoming a fine sparky- but, unfortunately, his after-work activities have put him in prison for the next 3 to 9 years!

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!

Congrats to WhiteRock and Renosteinke! For the rest of you, is it too long ago for you to remember how it feels to be TheGreenOne?
This is not the military; this is not the NFL. We are training craftsmen, not snipers or sackers.

[This message has been edited by Tripp (edited 09-29-2005).]

To quote Tesla:
Look, look back on your own apprenticeship and think what was bad about it.
Don't repeat history!.
No matter how you want to take out all of your Bosses things out on them, refrain.
I've trained 3 Electrical and 2 Lines Apprentices in my career and I did not train them by giving them the worst job on the site, that is the quickest way to turn an apprentice away from you.
Electricians just aren't trained that way any more.
I start my apprentices off with the simple things and gradually build up to more difficult tasks, but at the same time, instilling the basics like cleaning up after themselves and the like.
One of my apprentices was one of the finalists in the Apprentice of the Year in 2002, out of 320 apprentices, he made the last 5.
One other thing, NEVER forget where you came from as an Apprentice, I still use a broom to this day and will always be willing to help.
And one last thing, you are only as good as your training or the guy that trained you, you are after all trained to his standards.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 09-29-2005).]

I was that apprentice.
Here's what I remember.

1. Don't knock 2 hammer heads together. I dunno either!
2. Don't do what I do, do what I tell you to do. There's the wrong way and there's my way.
3. Don't saw up firewood with the Master's best panel saw, unless you like Hospital food.
4. All the crap jobs are yours.
5. Oi! Yeti! Get yer 'air cut!
6. I know everything, you know nowt!
7. Oi! Mattress-face, how's yer spots lookin'?
8. You idiot, that's coming out of your wages! ( Yeah, right, on £3.50 a week!!)
9. If I tell you, you'll know as much as I do! aka; Can you keep a secret? So can I!!
10. If you ain't got nothing better to do, go and make the bloody tea.

And for the first year that's all you did. Watch. Listen. Make the bloody tea.

Alan

Alan I dis-agree with the first one:
QWhen you have a house on fire that is the quickest way to wedge off the twist-nails.