Non-Footy: Apprenticeships As most of you will know, I left teaching just over 2 weeks ago and so I am currently on the job hunt. Whilst looking at various sites to see what jobs are available I have noticed that apprenticeships are rife. Now, I acknowledge that for some businesses apprenticeships are beneficial for both employer and employer where someone can gain valuable skills (particularly in a trade) and the employer can pay less whilst at the same time training them up. However, I have noticed lots of companies seemingly taking advantage of this system by only employing apprentices so that they can pay them a very minimum amount whilst not really teaching them anything at all. For example, I have seen Poundland and Subway both advertising frequently. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure people could get by just fine at Poundland and Subway on minimum wage, without having to be paid next to nothing in order to gain a 'Level 2 Certificate in Retail'. The only thing is, basically everywhere is now asking for said certificate as if it is a real qualification and there appears to be no way in without starting at that level. Anyway, I sucked it up and applied for an apprenticeship that paid a more reasonable amount and didn't seem to just be taking advantage (still in retail), thinking that I'm starting again and I don't mind for a year. Anyway, I just received a phone call from Leeds City College confirming that I do have a First Class degree as listed on my application. When I replied in the affirmative I was told that as I already held a degree I was not eligible for funding due to being classed as already having received funding towards an education (I had a bit of an internal chuckle there as I am still over £20,000 in debt for said funding), and as such I would have to fund my own apprenticeship to the tune of £2500! So not only would I be working for free but I would be paying them for the privilege too! To be fair to the guy on the phone he immediately said 'I can give you time to think about it if you want or should I just withdraw your application?' I'll let you guess what my answer was shall I? (Let's just say that I won't be handing over any money any time soon).
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Hi JD I don't know if this site is of any use to you ? www.graduate-jobs.com Also I understand that the larger firms of accountants are actively recruiting for their graduate schemes. Dave
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Thanks Dave, I'll have a look on there. I stopped looking at graduate positions as a lot of them wanted me to have qualified more recently than I have but hopefully some will be more open minded.
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Woohoo, I have an interview for a school librarian position I applied for a few weeks ago (not an apprenticeship). It's about a quarter of the pay I was on but it's a step in the right direction!
Not having a go by any stretch but you surely believe that you can do better than an apprenticeship designed primarily for those that don't exceed in an educational setting especially having a 1st Class Degree? I appreciate that your confidence must be low after leaving teaching but you can do better than an apprenticeship I'm sure I hope you get the librarians job. Hopefully you'll feel able to return to teaching one day too.
I do think I most likely could do better but I'm not sure if I want to in all honesty. Maybe it's just because I feel low in confidence and drained from teaching but at the moment I would love just a 'job' rather than a career. I looked at the graduate jobs and schemes and all the questions of 'do you want...' and 'are you the kind of person who...' and all I could think whilst looking at them was, quite simply, no. I don't want to be a senior manager of somewhere or have lots of responsibilty for something important, I want to do a job, do it well, and come home with minimal stress. I appreciate that I may get bored of that after a while but nothing sounds more appealing at the moment. Saying all that, this job plays perfectly into my plans of gaining a masters in librarianship/information managment and possibly becoming a Senior Librarian somewhere down the line if I do feel that I need more out of life.
You appear to have your head screwed on properly. If you can get the job, it'll hopefully be the start of the journey to get you to where you want to be.
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships What teaching did you do? I was a primary teacher for 10 years and escaped and am thinking about setting up a tutoring company - would you be interested in specific one to one or small group sessions? e-mail me if you want and I will have a natter with you. bfchrisfoster@hotmail.com
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Government is improving the standards for apprenticeships. I know as I work near them in Sheffield. That is until next Christmas as I've been sacked https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...-and-creation-of-london-policy-centre-by-2018
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Sorry to hear about your job loss, I was wondering how you had got on. Hope everything works out for the best in the long run.
Re: Non-Footy: Apprenticeships Hi Chris, I was a primary teacher for 6 years but I'm going to try something outside of teaching/tutoring for a while. Good luck with your company!
Libraries I wish you well and understand your feelings about teaching, having gone through more ofsteds than BFC managers, but libraries everywhere are closing due to this penny pinching government and many are now run by volunteers so just be wary of putting all your eggs in one basket.
Re: Libraries Hi, I know public libraries are unfortunately falling by the wayside but hopefully schools, colleges and universities will still require places of research, even if it becomes more (or completely) technology based. Also, the information management side of it covers how companies manage and store data so it is evolving with the times. I guess I'll just see what happens