The Apprentice

Before I was allowed to go near an electric wire or circuit, I spent 4 long years learning the skills of an electrician. I often asked myself, and others, why all that time? Four years?? In truth I was one of the first in an intake of 4 years when it had previously been a 5 year apprenticeship!!

The question ‘why’ was soon answered, and it was learned by all of the apprentices within a short time. Have you ever had a 440v electric shock from a three phase supply? It can maim, or even kill. The thing in our favour was age. We were young, fit and healthy so our heart was able to take it. The biggest problem was being thrown across the room and against a wall. Broken bones were not unusual, but hearts were intact.

What about the end result of those 4 years? Was it worth it? Ask any untrained labourer who didn’t get the chance and worked side by side with those who actually did spend those tough four years. Money. Pay. Wages. Of course I can hear you say that there are many examples of very rich people who never put on a boiler suit or held a screwdriver (no, not the cocktail drink) in their hand. For anyone in that category, there will be a hundred, or more, time served apprentice electricians. Fact!

Our nation is in a sad place. There are fewer young men, and women too, who are helping to build our country. We rely on many well trained time served journeymen from other countries who now see the benefits of the skills we have slowly but surely lost. What happened? Who is to blame for the national shortage? We are. You and me. We sat and watched, and slept while other nations were alert to the need to build their own country, and gather extra cash by working in our country, and in the process took work from our own now unskilled workforce.

When will the malaise stop? I don’t know, but there is no doubt that the answer lies in our own hands. Not in the hands of the young apprentices who are starting out in year one of four, but in the now rich hands of those who know the benefits, and probably even worked their way through their own apprenticeships but decided to follow a faster way to get rich, without the hassle of keeping tabs on a four year process where not every one who started will finish. Oh, did I forget to say that some of those who started with good intentions didn’t finish the course? At least the process ensured that those who ended up as time served journeymen, were qualified to be the best of the bunch. Quality was assured. What does all of that say about the calibre of our nation’s youth where our work ethic starts? Answers on a postcard please, or perhaps in the comments below.