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One of the challenges in the trades is that a fully trained worker can pretty easily leave an employer and start working freelance -- even become a competitor f

One of the challenges in the trades is that a fully trained worker can pretty easily leave an employer and start working freelance -- even become a competitor for the same customers as his/her former employer, and especially when there's high demand. This scenario happened to my father-in-law. He spent the better part of a year training a guy for free (not sure if he paid the guy), expecting that he'd continue to work with him for the foreseeable future. Instead, the guy left immediately after he'd finish training and became a competitor in the same local market. It felt like the year of training had been utterly counterproductive for my father-in-law, economically speaking. The longstanding expectation in the trades (at least in the US) is that training/apprenticeships ought to be free or even paid, even when it calls for a major time investment on the part of the instructor. Perhaps that practice needs an update.

mschuster91 3y ago
> The longstanding expectation in the trades (at least in the US) is that training/apprenticeships ought to be free or even paid, even when it calls for a major time investment on the part of the instructor. Perhaps that practice needs an update. The trades are already suffering from a lack of applicants because most people will choose an office job over something where you gotta work no matter what weather it's outside and it's physically demanding on top of that. Gatekeeping applications will make that only worse.
- TimTheTinker 3y ago
  > Gatekeeping applications will make that only worse. Perhaps, but an industry-wide increase in charges/rates and salaries could mitigate that. The point is, if we need more of something from others, we can help that happen by being willing to pay for it.
seanalltogether 3y ago
As far as electricians are concerned, the hassle of training an apprentice is supposed to be offset by the fact that you get to keep most of the money they generate for those 2 years or so. My brother in law didn't want to stick with the guy who trained him cause he felt like he was taken advantage of, however he's also reluctant to take on an apprentice of his own because he knows how difficult it is to take someone under your wing. I think he's a bit more forgiving of his old boss now.

mschuster91 3y ago

> The longstanding expectation in the trades (at least in the US) is that training/apprenticeships ought to be free or even paid, even when it calls for a major time investment on the part of the instructor. Perhaps that practice needs an update. The trades are already suffering from a lack of applicants because most people will choose an office job over something where you gotta work no matter what weather it's outside and it's physically demanding on top of that. Gatekeeping applications will make that only worse.

TimTheTinker 3y ago
> Gatekeeping applications will make that only worse. Perhaps, but an industry-wide increase in charges/rates and salaries could mitigate that. The point is, if we need more of something from others, we can help that happen by being willing to pay for it.

seanalltogether 3y ago

As far as electricians are concerned, the hassle of training an apprentice is supposed to be offset by the fact that you get to keep most of the money they generate for those 2 years or so. My brother in law didn't want to stick with the guy who trained him cause he felt like he was taken advantage of, however he's also reluctant to take on an apprentice of his own because he knows how difficult it is to take someone under your wing. I think he's a bit more forgiving of his old boss now.