Is there anybody on this posting that is currently doing the training and can answer if you stay away, even if home is down the road?

Any of the guys starting 3rd April received any info yet? I.e what kit to take,where we staying and all that. Getting close now!!!

In reply to a post by Burty27:

Any of the guys starting 3rd April received any info yet? I.e what kit to take,where we staying and all that. Getting close now!!!

Only the line manager email, peter from recruitment said that we will hear the week b4 etc and train tickets to yarnfield will be issued.

Mat

From previous posts on here take smart casual for first day and extra suitcase as you get a lot of kit i.e. Uniform, safety kit, hard hat that you then have carry to the site where you pick up the van at the end of the week. You wear uniform on the course just evening wear for the bar/restaurant is required.

Since I have found this thread I would like to add something that disgruntled me when I was younger.

My auntie worked for open-reach and laid the fibre in the ground, I told her that getting an apprenticeship with bt would be something that would be of interest to me.

I applied and was declined on the simple fact i didn't have a C grade in English.

Now, the reason for me being upset was that after a few years of research with adsl and vdsl as a youngster (around 14 at the time of researching and still going) I had several engineers visit my home to fix things. Upon speaking to them, every single one of them i spoke to over the years all said, "you know a lot, a lot more than i do about my own job, you should apply..."

Now, please answer me this, if this is the case then how can bt refuse to even consider me even though i know more about some qualified engineers? personally I think it is discrimination to decline someone because of one single grade they didn't achieve.

grades mean nothing when you have the willpower to learn and educate yourself.

it still upsets me to this date, although im training to become a heating and ventilation engineer and do my welding.

The problem is they have to set the bar somewhere unfortunately you didn't reach it even though you would have probably have made a great engineer and so would others who have missed out on qualifications.

There are quite a few out thre who can hardly construct a sentence in writing and most jobs are report writing nowadays and grade C in Maths, English and a Science are a usual minimum.

Apparently there were 32,000 applied for these jobs so they have the option to cherry pick as to what qualities and qualifications they would like in an applicant prior to interview, it may have been the same case when you applied. I'm glad you have found a job outside Openreach and I hope you are happier there than at OR as it's taken a lot of us over a year to get a start date and I wouldn't wish that experience on anybody especially those that were in between jobs.

Edited by deleted (Mon 13-Mar-17 22:25:41)

Hmmm seems a bit of a strange one to be honest. I take it you applied to be an apprentice rather than for the roles advertised for Field Engineers. I would assume they will be a lot more stringent on who gets into the apprenticeship scheme as back in 2009 having passed my L2 in electrical installation I found it nearly impossible to get in anywhere as an apprentice to go back and gain my L3. This however was at the time of the "recession" ....

I must admit having applied in January last year for the job I will start in July I did not achieve a Grade C in English. I do however have As in all Science exams, Electronics and maths and having done the L2 at college apparently now hold the "equivalent" in English so perhaps that's why.... I now however have a lot of life experience from a number of jobs with a lot of customer service based knowledge. Also being in a management position in my current job, no doubt this will be seen as advantageous I suppose. The advert was very clear that they were looking for people to engage with customers etc the technical side of the job is gained via an extensive training programme which may cancel any bearing of people saying I know this that and the other technically wise.

All I can put it down to is that there was no doubt a massive amount of applicants from people fresh out of school/college and they have narrowed it down by GCSE grades etc

This is however just my own views based on past experiences and I could be very wrong I suppose if they're specific in an advert about grades etc and if you do not meet them, it simplifies narrowing potentially 100s if not 1000s of applicants down to a more manageable level

Edited by deleted (Mon 13-Mar-17 22:30:21)

I just find it silly how you can have the knowledge already and be told by engineers themselves you easily have the qualities to be a good engineer but then get thrown a side, it's a strange world we live in. I'm not saying others shouldn't have the opportunity, we all deserve a chance in life.

To those who have recently got an apprenticeship, good luck .

Heating/pipe fitting was another choice of mine so it's not like I haven't been given the chance to do anything I wanted to do, just not my first choice.

In all honesty I love to build pcs and if I had the money to start my own business In that, I would.

Very strange, I have no GCSEs at all and gained a position as a "trainee engineer", however I have quite a few vocational qualifications.
I imagine like Firstwodie says the requirements for the apprenticeship are higher than the entry level "trainee" jobs.

Edited by deleted (Tue 14-Mar-17 11:49:06)

In reply to a post by Bjt1992:

and having done the L2 at college apparently now hold the "equivalent" in English

This might be key. What "L2" did you do in college?

In the general ranking of qualifications, GCSE grades D-G are level 1, GCSE grades A*-C are level 2, A-levels are level 3, each year (of a 3-year Batchelor degree) at university are levels 4, 5 and 6. Level 7 is a Master's degree, and level 8 is a PhD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualifications_and_Cre...

There tend to be a variety of "equivalent" diplomas and certificates at each level, so a "Level 2" diploma can indeed be equivalent to a GCSE C-grade. I guess it then depends on the subject...