Electrician Apprenticeship

[sevewone]

So I am trying to get going with a Electrician Apprenticeship but I am not having the best of luck. I have been in the telecommunications industry for a few years but I was finding it not very challenging and boring. I have a bunch of safety certificates but I am still having a hard time finding a job. I have applied for just under 50 jobs all throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan and still no luck.
I have been told to go through the pre-electrician apprenticeship program at a college but I don't know if it is a waste of time. Reason being is because I have talked to other people who have said its a complete cash grab and other guys have said just knock on doors and apply and you will get in.

sooooo the main question is should I take this damn pre-apprenticeship course or fuck it, just keep applying?

[GLOW]

i don't understand the purpose of 'pre-apprenticeship' other than seeing if you like the work/industry. if you want to be an electrician and know it is what you want to do wouldn't you just go straight to the electrician trades program to start your education for apprenticeship? then again i've never gone through the trades program and only know what i hear from people in the industry

[sevewone]

Originally Posted by GLOW

i don't understand the purpose of 'pre-apprenticeship' other than seeing if you like the work/industry. if you want to be an electrician and know it is what you want to do wouldn't you just go straight to the electrician trades program to start your education for apprenticeship? then again i've never gone through the trades program and only know what i hear from people in the industry

From what I have read/heard it is just to thin out the heard to see who REALLY wants to be a Electrician. I have hundreds of hours under my belt witnessing what electricians actually do and it is definitely the direction I want to go. It has also been a decision of mine for the past year but have just started applying for positions the last month.
Any insight or word of any good companies hiring would be greatly appreciated. I am in the Okanagan but am willing to relocate anywhere in BC, Alberta or Sask.

[trip]

its hard to find a job in the industry right now. alot of sparkys are out of work. you'll have the best luck away from the city.

i worked as an apprentice for a little over a year and went through two employers. i ended up quitting and leaving the trade.

you're best bet is to find a employer who will take you as a green thumb and sponser your trades education.

you wont be getting paid much starting off though if you're green.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by sevewone

From what I have read/heard it is just to thin out the heard to see who REALLY wants to be a Electrician. I have hundreds of hours under my belt witnessing what electricians actually do and it is definitely the direction I want to go. It has also been a decision of mine for the past year but have just started applying for positions the last month.
Any insight or word of any good companies hiring would be greatly appreciated. I am in the Okanagan but am willing to relocate anywhere in BC, Alberta or Sask.

I can't speak for the industry or everybody who has experience as an electrician but a friend of mine recently took the course at BCIT.

Part of the reason was because he was laid off at his company and had no other direction to go so he wanted to start fresh. The purpose of the program at BCIT (from what I understand) was to provide those with no experience a basic foundation of skills and knowledge to get you going. From that point, you're on your own and if anything, it was a course to help weed out individuals whether or not they were fit for the industry and work.

Like yourself, he had a difficult time looking for work but judging from your experience, it seems like you have a heck of a lot more knowledge and work experience than he does. He tried applying to the oil fields in Alberta and was dry out of luck. He ended up landing a job to gain experience locally with an electrical company based out of Richmond. The pay isn't that great but he's happy, earning the experience and is enjoying it.

Good luck!

[nsmb]

theres tons of work out there dude.. i would never recommend the ELTT for any trade... 6grand for 6 months. no thanks

emailing off resumes in trades doesn't work if your green. you gotta go to each employers office and apply.. ask to talk to someone.. don't just talk to the receptionist

at most wholesalers they have boards where people post up jobs.... id also talk to the people who work there if they've heard about anyone hiring. wholesaler guys always hear about whos hiring etc.... doesn't hurt

[604nguyen]

Id recommend to....
-forget the 'pre-apprenticeship' or ELTT crap, waste of time and money
-keep sending off resumes to companies hiring.
-expect the minimum compensation when you start out with no exp.

[604nguyen]

Originally Posted by trip

......its hard to find a job in the industry right now. alot of sparkys are out of work......

including me bro

[Matlock]

Pr-apprenticeship just doesn't seem like it's worth the money. Find an employer that is willing to hire you as an apprentice, regardless of how much they pay you for the first year as long as you get your hours in you will be in the positive in contrast to paying BCIT for the pre-app.

[GoneGuru]

When you're completely green, it seems like it's more about "Who you know" when trying to get into the trade. My brother and I got into it because our dad was a superintendent, and my friends got into it by either family or friends who were or knew someone in the trade. If you don't know someone, it's going to be pretty hard to get the apprenticeship started.

[Fi2e]

look up EJTC IBEW 213

[blue_noise]

if you don't have any sort of eltt training, employer will just use you as a labourer. you will be the first one to laid off when a job is finished. with eltt you will have some understanding of pipe bending and electrician tools. so you will be alittle bit better than labourer. applied to ibew213.org they hire twice a year. you will pay 3 grand for the ejtc course but you will be hire to the union right after. i am a member myself.

[alex.w *//]

have you considered going low voltage?

I'm doing

security alarm systems,
cctv
computer/tel/tv
home theatre
multi room audio
vaccuum
acceess control

and theres tonnnns of work

[trip]

really?
whats the rough hourly?

[alex.w *//]

^ ranges from 15-30

[trip]

hmm.. might be a paycut

i guess i can always fall back on this useless ELTT paper LOL

[alex.w *//]

^ how much would a electrican make? residential

[see.lai]

I'm on the same boat. I am applied to the Foundations or "Pre-App" program and I am waitlisted until September 2012. Honestly, I only picked this trade because I knew that it would be rewarding. However, after reading how some of you electricians are having trouble finding jobs, it just makes my heart sink.

What to do

[604nguyen]

there was alot of work pre-2010 olympics
things seemed to kind of slowed down after that

[604nguyen]

Originally Posted by alex.w *//

^ how much would a electrican make? residential

28-32 would be acceptable for a j-man,

then again theres a bunch of mickey mouse contractors on CL looking for j-man sub 25 hourly range

[sevewone]

Originally Posted by alex.w *//

have you considered going low voltage?

I'm doing

security alarm systems,
cctv
computer/tel/tv
home theatre
multi room audio
vaccuum
acceess control

and theres tonnnns of work

Yeah I did that before, I hated how the quality of work always fluctuated from worked to worker. I always find people never seem to have much drive to perform good quality of work because there is no real benchmark in place.

Being involved in the high voltage electrical field really has known standards all across the world and the people I meet really have a sense of pride in the industry. I want to be part of something that has some risk and is known across the world.


and 604nguyen if it's something you really want to do, dont give up. You have to realize the economys in the shitter and everyone getting jobs who are extremely over qualified.

[sevewone]

Originally Posted by Fi2e

look up EJTC IBEW 213

I have called all the unions in Alberta and Sask. Only job is a general labourer position in Three Hills Alberta constructing powerlines and a bunch of 3rd year apprentice positions. IBEW sask isnt even looking for any apprentice's at this point, only Journeyman.

[Matlock]

Originally Posted by alex.w *//

^ how much would a electrican make? residential

There really is a huge gap. I've done mostly high end residential for my entire career and when I was a second year apprentice I was making $25/hour. With a different employer, as a journeyman I'm now making only $23/hour. Keep in mind, as of right now my role is pretty much just as a sidekick to the foreman in this new company. I've been told that raises come more often to those who are loyal to our employer. We will see.

The difference is that I now have benefits with this employer, real vacation days (not just a small % added onto the payout), a solid 40 hours or more per week, plus these guys seem to keep their good employees almost forever (not just layoff when work gets thinned out). I find the work to be relatively easy and clean, as I'm not crawling through rat shit infested asbestos attics like I used to have to do all the time.

Some employers might pay more, but lay you off as soon as the projects thin out and not have consistent hours per week for you.

You can try out a bunch of different places to work for, but you might end up with a shittier place to work for than before and you also end up showing people that you are less capable of loyalty.

[blue_noise]

j-man at ibew 213 makes 34 dollar an hour and 40 hours a week. we do mostly commercial and industrial stuff. we finished bc place back in october there is a few big prject around like surrey civil center and downtown.

[vso]

its pretty hard finding an apprenticeship with little exp and not knowing anyone ,speaking from experience.. i know it sounds cliche but its really not what you know but who you know