Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: idealrob on April 14, 2011, 12:35:09 pm

Title: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: idealrob on April 14, 2011, 12:35:09 pm
Just wondered what help is available for taking on an apprentice, and what do we as a company need to do. Thanks

idealrob
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: wpclean on April 14, 2011, 01:36:27 pm
Impact 43 mentioned they had some details about this and are going to send me some info, as I am interested in this also.        As soon as as I get the information I will post for you.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ♠Winp®oClean♠ on April 14, 2011, 05:41:28 pm
Just wondered what help is available for taking on an apprentice, and what do we as a company need to do. Thanks

idealrob

If you google "matts cleaning forums" there's a guy on there (pure hydro cleaners) going through just that right now. There's a couple of threads about it. ;)
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: scud on April 14, 2011, 06:00:09 pm
  I served a 4 year apprenticeship as a Draughtsman.

  How long would a window cleaning apprenticeship be? 4 weeks?
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 14, 2011, 06:48:27 pm
  I served a 4 year apprenticeship as a Draughtsman.

  How long would a window cleaning apprenticeship be? 4 weeks?

4 days maybe ....  ;D

Please don't tell me window cleaning is a recognised trade now! Dumbing down or what?
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: richywilts on April 14, 2011, 09:52:58 pm
why take the p**s out our trade and lower ourselves it goes to show when loadsa people from other trades join our profession that there is more too it than cleaning windows why not take on apprentices and train them up to run successful window cleaning businesses, the role entails many skills not just cleaning crap off a window, negotiation skills,sales skills,presentation skills, technical skills, mathmatics,accounts, general office skills, telephone skills how many of our youth are out of work if some of us could help show these youngsters how to run a business they could be earning much better money than they ever could and give them the confidence to start out on there own once they have neccesary skills
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 14, 2011, 10:01:20 pm
Rubbish, richy - it isn't a trade and it certainly isn't a profession. Where we score is that we are self-employed. It's being self employed that takes the skill and drive - not cleaning a window.

Now being self employed and an electrician is a trade and being self employed and an accountant is a profession.

I certainly don't "lower" myself by being a window cleaner - I hold my head as high as when I was a director of computer company, probably higher - I'm better at this.  ;D

Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ronnie paton on April 14, 2011, 10:26:51 pm
you can make it a proffesion, i bet loads would love to be able to be taught and how to get a proffesional and proffitable business
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 14, 2011, 10:36:41 pm
you can make it a proffesion, i bet loads would love to be able to be taught and how to get a proffesional and proffitable business

I can spell profession, professional and profitable properly - but while my business might be profitable and professional it isn't a profession. Unlike a teacher of English who is a member of a profession.

You cannot make window cleaning a profession. You can make it a vocation or even an obsession though.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: wpclean on April 14, 2011, 11:04:52 pm
We are not a " profession " cos we av not been educated for a long time  and others do not look up to us innit !    But we can act with professionalism, which sets apart from the lower class amateur who has not invested in the wfp system  ;D
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ronnie paton on April 14, 2011, 11:07:07 pm
well maybe things should change, cause i earn far more than most teachers so them many years at uni training there proffesion how ever it is spelt seems like it could be better spent.

so many say its easy but so many ask them so old questions and never further there window cleaning  profesion further than the sole trader mark, and not cause there happy but because they cant!

do i need an english teacher to help me better my self.......me thinks not but thanks for the wise words .......
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ronnie paton on April 14, 2011, 11:10:08 pm
educated??? so those that run a window cleaning BUSINESS wake up and can just do it??

dont need to take part in training?? wether that be iosh manging safetly, bid to win courses nebosh or hundreds of others......or even the being educated daily by living the business and learning from our mistakes and be educated to not make them agian.

running a business is a proffesion
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 14, 2011, 11:13:27 pm
Teachers and Nurses are members of a profession.

Carpenters and Plumbers are tradesmen.

Window Cleaners are neither.

Just because I can earn more than a teacher or a nurse does not mean their education is poorly spent - money is not the main motivator of the truly happy person.

To run a business professionally is the mark of a good businessman or woman.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: richywilts on April 14, 2011, 11:43:56 pm
being an entreupenur maybe not a classified profession but window cleaning may fall into this category and if we could get young girls and boys on as apprentices and show them how too setup in business and give them basic fundamentals of running a business which they can learn transferable skills which they could then take on board and setup there own businesses in there 20s

i think we could give a large number of kids who werent quite academically the best at school or kids from poor backgrounds whose parents cant afford furthur education a great start in working life and a great stepping stone from being another dosser to becoming great young business owners\\/employees who you can train exactly how you want
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Dave Willis on April 15, 2011, 08:01:00 am
I did five years apprentiship emptying the bins. I'm hoping to do an NVQ in letter delivery, maybe a city and guilds in lawn mowing or possibly a BA in yoghurt stacking. I'm going for iso9001 in balloon selling next week. Then after all that I might do an open university course in shoe shining and bog cleaninng.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Frankybadboy on April 15, 2011, 08:05:16 am
I did five years apprentiship emptying the bins. I'm hoping to do an NVQ in letter delivery, maybe a city and guilds in lawn mowing or possibly a BA in yoghurt stacking. I'm going for iso9001 in balloon selling next week. Then after all that I might do an open university course in shoe shining and bog cleaninng.
your going up in the world then dave. ;D
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Rogue Trader on April 15, 2011, 08:32:05 am
window cleaning appreticeships what a larff!!! ::) PLEASE it is quite right certainly not 4 years , 4 months OR 4 weeks , Gold is right 4 days more like , and can you imagine if you told someone witha straight face that you have completed your apprenticeship in window cleaningLOL
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ronnie paton on April 15, 2011, 08:41:30 am
ye there face iv had it so many times the laughs then they see my lfestyle which makes me very happy and they wonder were they went wrong!!!!

policemen,teachers, electricians bankers ect ect

money is not a motivator........why do all teachers and nurses constantly demand more of the green stuff???

if you believe 90 % of people dont have money has a motivator your clearly deluded.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: bobby p on April 15, 2011, 08:41:57 am
its a job/trade where you cant be a clutz  and survive long.     i was lucky with my trainee who has been into tree climbing for quite a while apparently.  even if i was w/f/pole id not take on a true clutz

its suprizing how many clean shaven , nice talking folk cant hit their dinner plate with a fork
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Justen Uff on April 15, 2011, 09:04:40 am
clutz?
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Paul Coleman on April 15, 2011, 09:54:37 am
window cleaning appreticeships what a larff!!! ::) PLEASE it is quite right certainly not 4 years , 4 months OR 4 weeks , Gold is right 4 days more like , and can you imagine if you told someone witha straight face that you have completed your apprenticeship in window cleaningLOL

At least we could have letters after our names (W.C.)  ;D .  Now that would get them laughing.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Paul Coleman on April 15, 2011, 10:01:10 am
Although the act of cleaning a window doesn't take long to learn, the wider aspect of having a small (or even a large) business and running it smoothly does take a bit more errrrrmmm  knack.  I was going to say skill but maybe that's stretching things.  Also, at a certain level of work, being familiar with more specialised H & S protocols can take a bit of practice too and would sometimes require a much longer training period.  The difficult non-standard jobs apart, if you have reasonable common sense about safety, are physically able (not even fit necessarily), and can communicate in a fairly reasonable manner (though even this eludes some w/cs), you can do this.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: richywilts on April 15, 2011, 10:16:52 am
everyones having a laugh n joke about all this im deadly serious ok you may not need a modern apprenticeship too clean house windows but the bigger picture that not a lot of me and you are aware of is window cleaning for much larger commercial works etc which you have to tender for why couldnt you train someone up and have them work in number of different areas such as telesales,cold calling,dealing with tenders,pricing work, window cleaning,ipaf,cradle work maybe abseiling and give an individual,pricing work,health and safety, etc etc and giv someone strong foundations to build a career out of window cleaning like many of us have
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Paul Coleman on April 15, 2011, 10:28:58 am
everyones having a laugh n joke about all this im deadly serious ok you may not need a modern apprenticeship too clean house windows but the bigger picture that not a lot of me and you are aware of is window cleaning for much larger commercial works etc which you have to tender for why couldnt you train someone up and have them work in number of different areas such as telesales,cold calling,dealing with tenders,pricing work, window cleaning,ipaf,cradle work maybe abseiling and give an individual,pricing work,health and safety, etc etc and giv someone strong foundations to build a career out of window cleaning like many of us have

It certainly could be done.  To learn all aspects of the business would take a fair bit of learning.  I do think that "apprenticeship" is pushing it a bit maybe.  Perhaps "traineeship" would be more appropriate.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: bobby p on April 15, 2011, 04:20:35 pm
clutz?
has anybody here taken on a clutz ?(clumsy person  prone to breaking stuff )

 i knew a clutz whose nickname was "jinxy " ,he even snapped the handbrake clean off the floor of a week old VW van .   i would think a window-cleaning-clutz is the stuff of nightmares, broken windows and ladders clattering down onto peoples cars etc
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: woody1 on April 15, 2011, 04:48:21 pm
an apprenticeship is where you go too colledge one day a week and you complete exams you mean a trainee
 some of you need to get your head out your arse, your a windy not a doctor get over it whether your a dole boy with beer towels and bucket or got a wfp van at the end off the day your custys look at you the same as a simple window cleaner
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Jake Kelly on April 15, 2011, 05:06:34 pm
Impact 43 mentioned they had some details about this and are going to send me some info, as I am interested in this also.        As soon as as I get the information I will post for you.

WPClean is right, David Willis is currently in talks with colleges about setting up and taking this forward.

More information to follow.

Any questions fire David Willis a call on 0120536433 or pop over to http://www.training43.com

Jake
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: richywilts on April 15, 2011, 05:27:41 pm
an apprenticeship is where you go too colledge one day a week and you complete exams you mean a trainee
 some of you need to get your head out your arse, your a windy not a doctor get over it whether your a dole boy with beer towels and bucket or got a wfp van at the end off the day your custys look at you the same as a simple window cleaner

why do i think im a doctor coz i show our industry a little bit more respect than most at end of the day retail isnt rocket science, bricklaying isnt rocket science these both have modern apprenticeships, why not give a little more to society and we maybe able to provide a brighter future for sum of our youth, id love to train up a young mini me who maybe able to run my business one day
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: Paul Coleman on April 15, 2011, 05:59:25 pm
an apprenticeship is where you go too colledge one day a week and you complete exams you mean a trainee
 some of you need to get your head out your arse, your a windy not a doctor get over it whether your a dole boy with beer towels and bucket or got a wfp van at the end off the day your custys look at you the same as a simple window cleaner

why do i think im a doctor coz i show our industry a little bit more respect than most at end of the day retail isnt rocket science, bricklaying isnt rocket science these both have modern apprenticeships, why not give a little more to society and we maybe able to provide a brighter future for sum of our youth, id love to train up a young mini me who maybe able to run my business one day

I don't know about the other things but with brickwork, it's a lot more than just laying bricks/blocks to a line.  There are all the different bonds to know, arches, piers, corners, copings, even non 90 degree corners.  A pro will make it look fairly easy but there's much more to it than just plonking bricks down.
Nothing wrong with training someone to run a window cleaning/exterior property cleaning business.  Such training can help someone avoid all the mistakes we make with our trial and error.  The thing is that any half reasonable person could learn all aspects of this well inside a year - with probably longer for the higher end H & S stuff.  I'm not trying to demean it but I do still feel that "traineeship" is a better way of describing it.  I think the important bit though is not what you call it but how you treat it.
Astronaut training is a bit more complex though.  That IS rocket science.
Title: Re: Apprentice- Taking one on
Post by: ♠Winp®oClean♠ on April 15, 2011, 10:17:54 pm
an apprenticeship is where you go too colledge one day a week and you complete exams you mean a trainee
 some of you need to get your head out your arse, your a windy not a doctor get over it whether your a dole boy with beer towels and bucket or got a wfp van at the end off the day your custys look at you the same as a simple window cleaner

why do i think im a doctor coz i show our industry a little bit more respect than most at end of the day retail isnt rocket science, bricklaying isnt rocket science these both have modern apprenticeships, why not give a little more to society and we maybe able to provide a brighter future for sum of our youth, id love to train up a young mini me who maybe able to run my business one day

That "mini me" wouldn't be running your business dude, he'd be running his own & he'd have ALLthe inside knowledge he could ever wish for! ;)

Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be running "your" window cleaning business!