Have you been a mentor?

[Bibbs118]

Whats yiur thoughts on mentoring?

Do you do it? And if so, do you charge?

Im meeting a lad on monday, he's a friend of friend, about me mentoring him to get his portfolio, ive spoken to the training officer at the tech and he said he has 8 weeks to get his jobs in, anything i should be wary off?

Cheers

 

[Riley]

Will you have enough specific jobs to cover it?? Nothing worse than scratching for jobs for stuff like this

 

[Harvest Fields]

Be prepared to be 25% slower, at least. I have done it before but when I was on the cards.

 

[Bibbs118]

Think so, i have a full system to install in the next few weeks, and my gentral day to day repairs and servicing should cover it i think

 

[Vee]

Would you need to extend your PLI?

 

[Bibbs118]

Apparently not, the college have sent me a copy of there insurance which covers him.

 

[rpm]

At least 30% slower than working solo and you need eyes in your backside.

 

[Bibbs118]

Yes if I do mentor him I'll not take my eyes off him. He's currently a car mech and bodywork sprayer, could be handy because the arches on my 10 year transit will need doing soon.

 

[Bibbs118]

Ok, I'm going to say this is possibly a big mistake.

I tell the guy to get an orange tee shirt like mine, as soon as he has the top we can go out on our first job, I wear a nice orange polo tee shirt, he turns up in a orange tee shirt with a massive Damning guitar thing on it. I mean I did explain that I wanted him to look the part, so we look like we have a uniform. Also, his tee shirt was proper tight, I think he may have borrowed it from a child .ffs!!!

So we're on our first job, fire service .I explain how to pick up a coal bed , explain how they are very fragile and NOT to pick them up by the pointy out lugs, to get your fingers in under them, to support the weight of the bed as much as possible. I then show him what I mean and remove the coal bed.

Guess what happens when I instruct him to replace the coal bed. That's right, I'm £45 down.

Am I being to harsh? I've broken many coal beds but the tee shirt thing? It takes a special type of stupidity to turn up in an orange tee shirt you bought from sainsburys.

 

[Bibbs118]

So, as part of me meeting him, I asked him where he wanted to go in the Gas industry, install or service and repair. He said S&R.

So after the fire service, (which was right near my and his house) I say, right I've got a part to fit, do you want to come, we'll be back here in an hour and half, this was 3pm. He said, no, I need an installation for my portfolio, when do you have an installation job on?

I mean seriously, never mind what 9k fast track college wants for your portfolio, you want a career in service and repair and I've got a broken boiler pre-diagnosed by me yesterday so you can do some testing/fault finding and see what you think it is, but no, he wants to go home.

 

[rpm]

Sounds like a lost cause and a headache for you tbh.

 

[Bibbs118]

I think I've just figured out what's going on. The lad told me he wants to be S&R but said the college doesn't want any service or repair evidence, he's on a fast track to be an installation guy, no wonder he looked confused when I asked him about ffds and double tightness testing, and just asked when I installation work on.

 

[Bibbs118]

Ffs, I can do combi swaps but converting from system or gravity to fully pumped, bending pipe accurately and pipe layout is beyond my skill level, my soldering is only slightly above amateurish at best.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Sounds like a lost cause and a headache for you tbh.

Get rid and move onto the next one.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Ffs, I can do combi swaps but converting from system or gravity to fully pumped, bending pipe accurately and pipe layout is beyond my skill level, my soldering is only slightly above amateurish at best.

My soldering isn’t great to be honest mate.

 

[Last Plumber]

All the same. It started since they split the trade into individual parts.
People only want to do certain things and it doesn't work well enough in my opinion. You can't decide to be a brain surgeon and just learn about Brains.

 

[Bibbs118]

He's been binned, for GROSS stupidity, poor attitude and still not replying to my text sent 3 days stating, "I've a complete install starting next week which will cover most/if not all your portfolio jobs but will require a few full days work from you. You ok with that?'

What a clown, he also pulled his face when I very politely told him to always remember to pull the front door to when we go to the van so the door doesn't bang, pets can't run out or small children escape.

He did manage to break a £45 coal bed which is easy done, but he broke it straight after I went to great lengths explaining NOT to pick it up by the sticky up bits and to ALWAYS get your fingers under it to support the weight. What did hi pick it up by?

As far as I'm award, tightness testing is done at 20mbar and not 19 plus or minus 2?

And if, as he stated, wants to be a service and repair engineer, you DONT go home at 3pm after being picked up at 1pm when the opportunity to go to a boiler breakdown, a 4.30 finish and some great fault finding experience is there for the taking .

I think he thought he could just pop down to a job, have a quick chat, take a picture of my work and Damn off.

If he was a young lad I'd have given him plenty of chances to sort himself out, but this guy was in his late 30s.

I've spoken to his tutor and I'm getting a new one starting early next month.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Tightness testing has changed mate. No longer 20 mb. I’m with you on it though.

 

[rpm]

Clear your mind and start afresh with the new one, a lot of people wouldn`t after that prat so hats off to you.

Can you not request a young lad/lass?

Wasn`t this one for a friend not from the college?

Edit
Either I screwed up or the double posting has returned.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Can you not request a young lad/lass?

 

[Bibbs118]

Tightness testing has changed mate. No longer 20 mb. I’m with you on it though.

Ok, I didnt correct him on it as I know stuff changes and it's a core skill. So is it now 19 plus or minus 2?

Edit
Either I screwed up or the double posting has returned.

He got hold of me through a friend but he's at a local centre which is attached to Burnley college, he's funded the course through a student loan .

Can you not request a young lad/lass?

They are all adult learners with life experience according the tutor I spoke to .

 

[Harvest Fields]

Edit
Either I screwed up or the double posting has returned.

The twilight zone is back from the past.

Wasn`t this one for a friend not from the college?

Sure it was a college?

 

[rpm]

They are all adult learners with life experience according the tutor I spoke to .

What does that even mean, life experiance?

 

[Harvest Fields]

They are all adult learners with life experience according the tutor I spoke to .

That old chestnut

What does that even mean, life experiance?

They’ve been about

Ok, I didnt correct him on it as I know stuff changes and it's a core skill. So is it now 19 plus or minus 2?

Think that it is now 18-22 but don’t hold me to that.

 

[Bibbs118]

From what I can tell life experience means they managed to get sacked from job before they've manage to empty one bin

My Misses thinks I've been tight but I know he doesn't have it, and I aint going to teach him it .