raleighnut
Legendary Member
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When I did my C&G as a furniture maker there were 2 groups of people doing exactly the same course/same exams, us on a 2yr 'fulltime' (5 days a week) basis and apprentices on a 3yr 'day release' traditional approach. Virtually all of us on the fulltime course passed but not one of the 'apprentices' did.I did an apprenticeship as a toolmaker in the late 80s. The company I worked for wanted to take on 2 a year, but were lucky if 1 person applied. That was probably the last decade when there were companies training people to do that work.The last 10 years has slowly seen the pay go up, as the older generation retire and there are no longer replaced by apprentices.
I have been at a few firms in the last decade that are trying to take on apprentices, but they do not come out of the scheme with the levels of skill that used to be taught. Part of this is down to cnc machining taking over a lot of the work. I still believe that you need to be able to work manual machines before you can use cnc machines. There is also the skill in using hand tools. I still see people in an engineering enviroment that cannot use a saw or file correctly.
I guess I was fortunate that I was at a good company, that gave me a good, solid engineering background that I could build more skills on as I progressed. Many firms now take apprentices on as cheap labour and are not really bothered about teaching them as long as they are making them money.
I have often thought my skill base would make a transistion in to frame building quite easily, but it is taking the plunge that makes it difficult. Maybe when I get my compensation for my accident I can look at this as a viable alternative to what I do now. I look at the work that goes into it and know I can do very good job of it, attention to detail is second nature to good toolmakers.