Invest in yourself

Discussion in 'Electricians' Talk' started by bright_Spark, May 14, 2023.

  1. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    So a lot of people often ask me how I have become so successful and own what I have from being a humble electrician.
    It is a fact that employers now are reluctant to invest in your training and prefer to poach trained professionals from other companies by offering higher wages.
    Couple this fact by a lot of electricians will only move to a higher grade by training leaves you only one option.
    Investing in yourself is expensive if you look at it from purely a financial outlay, look at it from the bigger picture and it makes perfect sense. How much money are you prepared to invest in yourself? What is your biggest fear of doing this? Have you considered it?
     
  2. Bob Rathbone

    Bob Rathbone Screwfix Select

    Being in the EU had many advantages, and many disadvantages. One significant disadvantage was that employers could just hire skilled workers from anywhere in the EU, so they did. It made British industry very lazy when staff training was involved and little or no real training was done. (We can discount NVQ for Electricians as 'significant' training). Now we are out of the EU and are facing a skills shortage. Our Government has no concept of what is required for a skilled person, and the employers only want a training course that fills their specific narrow needs, so when the Government asks employers what their skills needs are they get a confusing miss match of requirements that they are unable to reconcile into a training course. A brand new fresh approach is required, maybe an Industrial Training Board should be set up. Oh I forgot, the employers had the last one closed because they did not want to contribute and the Government did not support it.
     
  3. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    A big problem Bob we are faced with today is if employers wont train and employees are not willing to invest in themselves then we are going to be in a dire position for some time to come. Problem with what employers consider training is usually some short cheap training that scratches the surface of what is required. An NVQ 3 is really a core skill and not advanced training that can gain you a position that puts you on a high pay scale. It is worrying that employers are willing to pay the higher skilled people such as myself a high wage but not willing to invest in an existing employee. They are doing exactly what electricians do,looking at the cost of training and trying to cut it to the bone of what is the cheapest alternate and shortest route.
     
  4. Alan22

    Alan22 Screwfix Select

    If I was on the tools I wouldn't invest in training, no one asks and it doesn't give you much back, experience and doing a good job does.

    But, if you work for a company yes, and I have and they mostly paid for it or gave me time to do it, and I got paid more immediately after doing it, so yeah, no brainer, if you are talking NVQ level 3 you are already behind the curve though, good for self employed etc, in a company you need a couple of degrees to get noticed these days.
     
  5. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    Interesting take on it Alan. As a self employed spark they are pretty much limited to a normal sparks type of work but on a price for doing this work which can up their earnings considerably compared to an employed spark of the same caliber. If however you are an employed spark and do not want to chance self employment then you are faced with average wages and not much prospects. Specialised training to gain higher paid work is the only way forward. Investing in yourself will reap rewards far beyond the training costs and will quickly pay for itself.
     
  6. Alan22

    Alan22 Screwfix Select

    Do you know that trades are in dire demand? happens from time to time, Brexit or whatever, creates the demand, previous post on day rates illustrated it well, £65 - £70k is beyond anyone with two degrees outside trades.
     
    bright_Spark likes this.
  7. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    There has never been a better time to better yourself Alan, equally there has never been a better time to get a start in any area that you want to work in with lots of companies needing specialists and willing to take on newly qualified in either automation, programming, solar, wind etc. If you have the core skills as an electrician already and a few years working under your belt. You could really benefit by paying for specialist training.
     
  8. Bob Rathbone

    Bob Rathbone Screwfix Select

    I agree that it is difficult. Employers should all pay towards training as they all benefit, the 'but' on this is that the levy placed on employers may not reflect the size of the company and may disadvantage small companies. It would appear that the only acceptable method for paying for training is for the Government to fully fund it as training benefits the country and in turn the Government by the increased tax revenue gathered from the increase wage of the skilled employee. Education to Degree level is a different ball game, it should be free for the student, but for selected courses, especially where skill shortages are imminent. My earlier comments on EU workers should not be read as an anti immigration stance, it is meant to highlight how we have relied on immigration in the past and how this has affected our local training programme.
     
    bright_Spark likes this.
  9. quasar9

    quasar9 Screwfix Select

    There is a mistaken belief among certain sections of the govt that labour shortages will lead the vast numbers of un or underemployed to return to work. This is compounded by the belief that employers may even pay higher wages to attract these people leading to the old mantra “high skill high wage economy” . The govt thinking on these lines will try accelerate the shift by cutting back on any benefits.

    unfortunately, many don’t have the necessary skills (compounded by unnecessary certification) to renter the workforce but bigger issue is the market forces that ultimately determines the prices but how it does can surprise even the economists.

    paying higher wages means higher prices of goods. For consumers, it may suddenly tip the balance leading the manufacturer to bankruptcy in the worst case. Alternatively, it may suddenly become cheaper to import, which is the increasingly happening for the fruit and vegetables sector. The sad thing is once a certain industry dies, the skills, investment in infrastructure and capital all disappear, making a comeback very rare.

    as an example, I was fond of a certain brand of flavoured tea. In a short space over 2 years it’s gone from about £2.25 for a box of 10 sachets to almost £5. I have gone back to coffee !
     
    bright_Spark likes this.
  10. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    I read your post not long after you posted it yesterday and thought i would reply to it then, glad i didn't now. Because i have had a lot longer to think about it and read other posters reply's.
    As someone who is actually self employed, i have always known that i have to invest in myself. That could be in training or in tooling, usually both. Now, you could ask yourself "why would a kitchen fitter need or wan't to invest in training" ?
    The answer to that is very simple, in my industry worktops have changed regularly hand over fist. As i have always wanted to keep in front of the competition, i have always taken any offer of training on new types of worktops. The first being Corian in the late 1980's and then every other type of worktop since.
    You may ask "why" ? The answer is very very simple.................keeping in front of the opposition means exactly that, staying in front.
    Over the years it has stood me well. Yes, i have had to sacrifice being at work and no income to do a course, but every single course i have done has reaped rewards far beyond those lost days (yes even the dreaded solid laminate).
    Even as a self employed person, unless you invest in yourself you will never reach your full potential. To be honest @Alan22 mentioned £65K/£70K.......................that's frankly peanuts if you invest in yourself and would be no more than just "survival" if you are self employed.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2023
  11. Alan22

    Alan22 Screwfix Select

    It has to be sustainable though, and as the cost of living rises the cash people have to employ the self employed is squeezed, I'm old enough to have seen a couple of these rises in trade rates, in the 80's a brickie mate flew to Spain for the weekend and back on site Monday morning but building sites were heaving then, they aint now, a better balance is needed or you just get rates rising and then falling to what the market can realistically sustain.
     
  12. kitfit1

    kitfit1 Screwfix Select

    As a 65 year old, i think i might have gone through more recessions than you. All of them have been bad, but the early 1990's one was the worst by a long way.
    The thing is though, as the thread title says "Invest in yourself" Unless you do and actually do it, you will always remain in mediocrity as far as income is concerned.
     
  13. Alan22

    Alan22 Screwfix Select

    I agree, and have, any investment by its very nature brings rewards, from investing a bit of time on your waistline to professional qualifications, wise investors are always going to be ahead of the curve.
     
  14. longboat

    longboat Screwfix Select

    Jeez, I feel inadequate now.
    I'm working for peanuts and barely just surviving.
    Thanks, guys! :(
     
    Bazza-spark likes this.
  15. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    I was the same. Now i'm retired and still getting peanuts. :(
     
  16. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    All you deserve. Luckily I have invested in myself so I earn obscene money
     
  17. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    The higher you climb the further you fall :p:D
     
    bright_Spark likes this.
  18. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    Have a parachute mate
     
    Bazza-spark likes this.
  19. Bazza-spark

    Bazza-spark Screwfix Select

    @Ind spark cut the ropes. That's why he's banned :p:D:eek:
     
    Ind spark and bright_Spark like this.
  20. bright_Spark

    bright_Spark Screwfix Select

    I was about to say speaking of people earning peanuts. Has he shown his face yet
     

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