Whitebridges Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Do some people actually want to work and get a decent job in this country? It doesn't look like it to me. Building companies in London have hired Portuguese bricklayers on £1,000-a-week wages because of a shortage of skilled Britons, a recruitment firm has said. More here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30390005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 No figures available for the number of Portugese bricklayers employed. So does that mean two have been employed, or two hundred? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Theres a big lack of brickies up here the now and in the last 4-5 years ive only came across one apprentice.When things went tits up many left the trade,with loads going offshore and cant see any of them going back.Very good for us that are left and the money is already above pre-crunch.There have been a few foreigners on the site but the standard of work can be pretty abysmal but then that goes for some of the locals too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Do some people actually want to work and get a decent job in this country? It doesn't look like it to me. Building companies in London have hired Portuguese bricklayers on £1,000-a-week wages because of a shortage of skilled Britons, a recruitment firm has said. More here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30390005 all the british brickies I know are earning a lot more than that, as there's a house building boom at moment. If it could only last, then yes, do a brick work apprenticeship. But who wants to do their time and be met with another recession ? £400 a week then, if you can get any work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 all the british brickies I know are earning a lot more than that, as there's a house building boom at moment. If it could only last, then yes, do a brick work apprenticeship. But who wants to do their time and be met with another recession ? £400 a week then, if you can get any work! Is that not the case with the majority of the traditional trades, always great when things are going well and then when there is a squeeze it is a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Is that not the case with the majority of the traditional trades, always great when things are going well and then when there is a squeeze it is a nightmare. yes, but,sparks,plumbers,painters,roofers, plasterers will always be needed,privately. When money's tight, we don't need brick walls extensions etc, but leaking pipes/ roofs, dodgy fuse boards, become necessities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 yes, but,sparks,plumbers,painters,roofers, plasterers will always be needed,privately. When money's tight, we don't need brick walls extensions etc, but leaking pipes/ roofs, dodgy fuse boards, become necessities. Fair point well made. I hadn't considered it in that sense that brickies really are only involved when stuff is getting built, the other trades will also maintain and repair much more so than a brickie does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) 1000 a week but whats the rent and cost of living in that **** hole called our capital then? nope 22 to a house may cover costs but that aint gonna happen with a home grown lad is it. KW Edited December 9, 2014 by kdubya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 National Insurance is now abolished (or will be very soon) for apprentices; will this really help employers take on lads to train as brickies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 This is something that annoys me the government spend a fortune training unemployed people to do stupid computer courses etc that never end up training people to get jobs why do they not spend the money training people to drive big trucks or fork lift trucks or bricklaying plumbing etc etc but they prefer to pay people to do nothing and get people in from other countries to do the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I am a Bricklayer,apprentice trained day release college and all that,In 20 yrs or so of adult contracting I have met many claiming to want the spoils but only 2 who proved as good as there word and only one of them makes a decent living at it now.We cant make trades from the raw material we get to work with if the government paid us a grand a week to teach them.Youngsters I meet are not disciplined,respectful or far sighted enough to recognise the rewards at the end of the tunnel.First cold 7.am start an hour from home with rain in the mid morning usually seals the deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) The lack of tradesmen has been a problem for a while for the larger firms. Some have been quietly shipping them over from Ireland in order to keep their sites going. Now I guess the story's broken. Edited December 9, 2014 by Flashman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 The real problem with todays kids, is they are being totally wrapped in cotton wool in the mummys little prince and princess rubbish. Being a brickie ,plumber, joiner, or leckie means their precious little terribly importent offsprings might get their finger nails grubby. Heaven forbid. much more importent to turn them into the keyboard clean world after all that is really a importent non job and will ensure they live in a totally sterile wet nurse enviroment. from Auntie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 The real problem with todays kids, is they are being totally wrapped in cotton wool in the mummys little prince and princess rubbish. Being a brickie ,plumber, joiner, or leckie means their precious little terribly importent offsprings might get their finger nails grubby. Heaven forbid. much more importent to turn them into the keyboard clean world after all that is really a importent non job and will ensure they live in a totally sterile wet nurse enviroment. from Auntie. not true that I know plenty who want to be in the trades, at our last intake we interviewed over 400 over 3 weeks for 16 positions the applications numbered THOUSANDS, some traveling as far as from Hull for an interview, its not that they dont want the jobs its simply that the apprenticeships are not there,Yuills one of the biggest housebuilding companies in the north has just gone bust, wonder what happened to the apprentices there? pop down to Hartlepool college of further education and ask why they have just laid off some industrial instructors? and then see if your claim of mummies boys or girls holds water. KW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Marvellous opinions and views on this topic so far. Thanks gents. This seems more than a bit of a balls up to me. We have Cameron and his lot drumming on incessantly about the importance of building new homes and how he and his party have weaved their magic making sure the banks play ball over lending and it's turned the corner and we're now teetering on "boom time". And......Oops there isn't a brickie to be seen! Genuis. I remember a few years back when our new hospital was built. It was put together by German brickies on big money. They lived in rows and rows of temporary accommodation. When it was job done then exited and spent all their money back in Germany. In the scale of things it's no big matter. A good government needs to think more about it's own workforce. We are not ruled by Europe so keep the money in these Islands please. Edited December 9, 2014 by Whitebridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiltsmark Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 There isn't a shortage of trades, it's just the greedy big house builders want there houses pushed out faster and faster so make stupid programs for site managers to try and achieve ending up with "Polished *****" in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 There isn't a shortage of trades, it's just the greedy big house builders want there houses pushed out faster and faster so make stupid programs for site managers to try and achieve ending up with "Polished *****" in my opinion. Yes there is.And more importantly,there is a shortage of DECENT tradesmen. I make a near 80 mile round trip daily,when i can really get any amount on the doorstep but because there is a severe shortage in Aberdeen im there at the moment and they have to pay accordingly.The ball is in our court again for now and heres hoping it lasts. I do agree with the polished ***** in many cases though.Standards have slipped withoot a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollieollie Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I think this might be slightly London biased, as usual. I am a site brickie, i do well but I am the ganger my lads do pretty well but as far as I can make out there isn't a massive shortage in the midlands, we could do with a few more feet on the ground but it not a major problem round here, as has been said there will be a problem if some youth don't start filtering through, none on the horizon on the sites I'm concerned with atm. My youngest trowel is 28, this is common here. I have tried a few but they're not interested in the hard work, starting at the bottom, starting on a lower wage, the last 2 haven't even lasted a day despite having a Mickey Mouse college cert. It's just one of the many signs of what a state this country has been reduced too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) As I see it there are lots of lads that would love to have the chance to learn a trade if only the had the chance as for the workshy ones the answer is simple offer them a chance to train to learn a trade if they do not turn up for work they get no pay and if they go back to the job centre they get no benefit go without food or work for it simple. I think this all goes back to the 1980s when loads of skilled men/women were throne on to the scrap heap when all of the factorises shut down people thought what is the point of spending time and effort to end up on the scrap heap better to send your kids to university with a degree you can always get a job you are not limited to one tread. Edited December 9, 2014 by four-wheel-drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Another recent skills shortage was for sandwich makers ....!!!!!!! so the company got a load of Hungarians to make them. That is not a skills shortage, it is an attitude problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Yes there is.And more importantly,there is a shortage of DECENT tradesmen. I make a near 80 mile round trip daily,when i can really get any amount on the doorstep but because there is a severe shortage in Aberdeen im there at the moment and they have to pay accordingly.The ball is in our court again for now and heres hoping it lasts. I do agree with the polished ***** in many cases though.Standards have slipped withoot a doubt. Why do you think standards have dropped Sako? I ask from a position of ignorance really, but from knowing some people in the trade I hear an argument that it is an attitude problem with some workers, but others say that they are asked to do too much too fast so have to bodge to get through. I would guess that it is probably a bit of both but also have a suspicion that a lot of the new construction tradesmen just don't seem to have the same level of training as before, instead of doing their time as an apprentice and learning through doing it is a lot of college based work and it's just not the same quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 not true that I know plenty who want to be in the trades, at our last intake we interviewed over 400 over 3 weeks for 16 positions the applications numbered THOUSANDS, some traveling as far as from Hull for an interview, its not that they dont want the jobs its simply that the apprenticeships are not there,Yuills one of the biggest housebuilding companies in the north has just gone bust, wonder what happened to the apprentices there? pop down to Hartlepool college of further education and ask why they have just laid off some industrial instructors? and then see if your claim of mummies boys or girls holds water. KW I see this stuff a lot,we have tons of applicants etc etc,Many factors will contribute to that individual turning up,mum,dad,pressure to be seen to be doing something,romantic illusions of what a construction career may offer,when it comes down to putting in the time and effort the bulk soon lose interest. As for apprenticeships,we need to incentivise the employers,they need to make money of the back of these youngsters,untill that happens then its a not a priority programme for the employers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevo Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 hahahaha funny ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Sadly I know of only one brickie under the age of 40. There are plenty of people who can do line work and are good at it but that's their limit. We have 9 on our firm only three of whom can do corbelling, arches or intricate work. It's widely agreed that the amount of colleges doing proper brick work courses has more than halved in the last 20 years. give it another 20 and there will be a true skills shortage. someone needs to maintain the millions I'd brick built structures in this country. Ironically brickie are in high demand in the USA, where they make the best brick trowels you can buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 my last foray on a house bashing site lasted all of a week, I 2nd fixed one house, on the first day I had the painter in the way doing a mist coat, on the second I had the kitchen fitter, he got a kick in the nads. on the third and fourth days I had the pleasure of sharing my space with three electricians who I thought were going to put me some juice on, no such ******* luck lol! on the fifth and final day I got there very early and locked the door to keep the plumber out so I could finish. I do not want to go back to house bashing again, this is not the way to earn money, I could and should have been done in three days. the site management have lost all their marbles if this is how they manage their schedules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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