Hi, I'm looking at a complete career change and want to become an apprentice at the age of 30. I come from retail the last 15 years but have reached management and become bored as its less hands and not a challenge anymore. I have always been interested in mechanics and fiddling and tried to get an apprenticeship a few years ago but ended up promoted in my last job so didnt go any further. What is the best way to get into the industry and are there any tips, tricks or starter pre-apprenticeship courses to give me an advantage. Thanks
Any Heavy Vehicle Mechanics? Help on Looking for an Apprenticeship
Molten on 06/05/2016 - 18:41
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I appreciate the effort with your reply. Unfortunately im closer to Brisbane but you have been very helpful and thanks for the links.
My brother did this, except into passenger car mechanics.. The only concern the boss had was about the pay drop, but otherwise he tromped over his teenage competitors just simply because he was in his 30's, had property, wife, kid, and was seen as more reliable than a teen.
I employed a late 20s apprentice and she is damn reliable, life skills, learns quick, educated. She wanted a seachange. Secretly i actually pay her better than the others because she pulls twice her weight.
Sure beats these (Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. tard teens who havent finished year 10 and smoke crack all day,wake up late and get their mothers, girlfriends, neighbors to call up when they are sick.
I say go for it, change your future.
I forgot to mention that i am also female so i am more positive now on becoming an apprentice after your personal experiences.
Not sure where you are located. Scania have currently advertised their current apprenticeship intake. http://www.scania.com.au/Images/Apprentice%20Intake_tcm51-25…
I spend a lot of time looking through apprenticeship offerings and find that apprenticeship opportunities for Heavy Auto are rarely advertised. I work with youngsters and find that they are always asking about Heavy Auto opportunities, not Light Auto. That seems to indicate to me that there is a high demand for apprenticeships in this area and that employers are NOT struggling to fill these roles (in contrast to some areas of construction etc) - however, the young people I work with have no work/life experience and few of them even have a licence which kind of makes working in the Auto industry a difficult goal.
You would also be well placed to contact the VACC (if you are in Vic - or similar in your state) - here is their link to Heavy Auto http://www.autoapprenticeships.com.au/CareerOptions/Heavyveh…
From this you can probably contact an apprenticeship field officer or somebody in their recruitment section to discuss the specifics of your case.
Again if you are in Victoria, contacting Kangan TAFE Docklands - The Automotive Centre of Excellence https://www.kangan.edu.au/campuses/docklands would point you in the direction of the qualifications available in the area.
The fact that you have had a work history is likely to make you an attractive candidate for an employer as you are likely to be seen as more stable and more committed. However, I am not sure that there would be an advantage for you in terms of wages as you would be likely to be on apprenticeship wages for the duration of your term. However, some qualifications (most?) are now competency based rather than term based, so it is possible that you would be able to apply for RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) for some units, depending what your previous work has involved and therefore reduce the overall time of your training.
Finally, you could also join up to some recruitment agencies - register yourself as a potential applicant and see what comes through - they fall over themselves to get candidates into roles as they get paid for placements.
Good luck with your search.