CSCS card

[me]

Good luck with your CSSC mate . Ive worked on sites for over 30yrs and am still on sites .
A reason an agency pays what is a good wage for a labourer is you might only get 1 days work a week , the agency is just there to supply on demand , so if a site needs an extra labourer tomorrow they will ask the agency for what they want and the agency will fill that request .
Agencies just need people to be on call for them and will do what they can to fill the sites request and to do this they will hide the truth, if its a days work that is on offer , they will tell you its a weeks work and the first you find out its only a day id when you get there , another thing is they will use any one to fill a vacancy if they dont have enough of the right type of people ie a site as asked for a painter, but the agency dont have a spare painter on their books at the time so they will send a labourer who cant do the job hes been snt to to .

On site a louber is just that , you will be expected to sweep up, clean up and fetch and carry, very few actually mange to do any trade work . Advice i will give you is get on with the site agent as it them who decide who they want as labourers . If you get on with them and prove you are an asset to them and worth keeping they will keep you and even when they have no more work for you they will keep your name and next time they need a labourer they will ask the agency for you by name .

As for cards i wouldnt bother , they arent cheap and only have a life of 3 to5 years and if the cards not going to to earn you its money back its a waste of money . A banks man card is worth while as it opens your labouring opions up to general labourer, labourer/ banksman, labourer / gate man ect . I wouldnt worry about the first aid one as all sites have the legal number of first aiders / fire marshalls ect for the number of people on their site that are the companies employees ie site manager, assistant site managers ect ect

 

[Dave]

Another tip is if you're fetching, don't go back empty handed.

There's usually some rubbish lying around, pick it up and take it out with you if you're passing it. You'd be surprised how many people don't, no one says owt, but the times you do it gets noticed

 

[danny_glover09]

I started work on Tuesday on a site in Manchester city centre. Agency work but they want me in all next week aswell. Seem to be getting on fine with everybody and got a days overtime on Saturday.

Thank you to everyone that replied. I took it all in.

 

[pies]

Good luck

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

Sorry, I missed the original post in December so a bit late in replying.

If, big if, you are serious about wanting to get a trade and are in a position and mindset to be able to do it then consider joining the army, Royal Engineers. They need and train every trade imaginable. Training is the best and the pay is good.

My son joined just before his 18th birthday. Chose to train as a diesel and hydraulics fitter. Unfortunately due to a knee injury (football) he had to be medically discharged a year and a half ago. The day he left was the day he started his first civilian job. Made redundant due to Covid last year he found a new job with much better pay within four weeks and is still getting job offers from agencies even though his current one looks solid.

In his fifteen year he worked on M3 bridging rigs* in Germany for five years then joined the water well drilling and supply section. His current job is with a company supplying and maintaining drilling rigs. In his time he got to see Sierra Leone, Kenya, Gibraltar & Cyprus and various sites around the UK.

* M3 rigs - to se what they do watch this.

 

[danny_glover09]

Sorry, I missed the original post in December so a bit late in replying.

If, big if, you are serious about wanting to get a trade and are in a position and mindset to be able to do it then consider joining the army, Royal Engineers. They need and train every trade imaginable. Training is the best and the pay is good.

My son joined just before his 18th birthday. Chose to train as a diesel and hydraulics fitter. Unfortunately due to a knee injury (football) he had to be medically discharged a year and a half ago. The day he left was the day he started his first civilian job. Made redundant due to Covid last year he found a new job with much better pay within four weeks and is still getting job offers from agencies even though his current one looks solid.

In his fifteen year he worked on M3 bridging rigs* in Germany for five years then joined the water well drilling and supply section. His current job is with a company supplying and maintaining drilling rigs. In his time he got to see Sierra Leone, Kenya, Gibraltar & Cyprus and various sites around the UK.

* M3 rigs - to se what they do watch this.

Sorry Neil I missed this at the time. Unfortunately the armed forces wouldn't be for me.

 

[danny_glover09]

Just to keep you updated. I have now been taken on from Monday and will be getting a £1.50 per hour pay rise. Basically been told I'm the type of person they need and have been impressed since I started and would I like to get on board with them? Been promised 8 months more on this job and 2 years on another job after. Spoke about me going through a site supervisor course and replacing my supervisor on the next job when he moves up a position. They have picked up alot on the way I conduct myself these last 5 weeks and had nothing but praise off other people around site.

 

[emmaemma]

Well done Danny. You deserve all you get. Good luck in the future...

 

[danny_glover09]

Well done Danny. You deserve all you get. Good luck in the future...

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.

 

[warrington63]

Well done Danny.Best wishes on your future promotion.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

Sorry Neil I missed this at the time. Unfortunately the armed forces wouldn't be for me.

Fully understand. I mentioned it purely because often the Armed Forces are often overlooked as a route into a trade. Yes, service life is not for everyone. We didn't know how our son would react but as it turned out it was a great thing for him. After fifteen years and medically discharged (knee) he now works in an area where his skills are in demand. Having been made redundant last year due to Covid he found a new job within weeks with a sizeable increase in pay. And he is still getting job offers from when he was job hunting.

Good luck in what you do going forward.

 

[Peter]

Congratulations Danny, good to see you reaping the rewards for the effort you've put in. Long may it continue.

 

[2ts]

This shows attitude,aptitude and adaptability pay dividends,wish you well in your new career Danny .

 

[me]

Sorry, I missed the original post in December so a bit late in replying.

If, big if, you are serious about wanting to get a trade and are in a position and mindset to be able to do it then consider joining the army, Royal Engineers. They need and train every trade imaginable. Training is the best and the pay is good.

My son joined just before his 18th birthday. Chose to train as a diesel and hydraulics fitter. Unfortunately due to a knee injury (football) he had to be medically discharged a year and a half ago. The day he left was the day he started his first civilian job. Made redundant due to Covid last year he found a new job with much better pay within four weeks and is still getting job offers from agencies even though his current one looks solid.

In his fifteen year he worked on M3 bridging rigs* in Germany for five years then joined the water well drilling and supply section. His current job is with a company supplying and maintaining drilling rigs. In his time he got to see Sierra Leone, Kenya, Gibraltar & Cyprus and various sites around the UK.

* M3 rigs - to se what they do watch this.

The army ( well all 3 of the services) as changed alot over the years . A lot of the trades are subbed out to civilian companies or use TA.
A prime example is catering corps . In camp civilian contractors deal with it, on excersise or at war the TA deal with it.
Same as in the Royal engineers the decorators brickies chippies are all subbed out now and on exercise or war its TA

 

[Midwater Brand Manager]

Got my test for my CSCS labourers card on Tuesday. After recently losing my low paying warehouse job I have been looking on indeed and the general rate for a labourer in Manchester is anywhere from £10 to £12 a hour. This could be up to £3 more than what I was earning in my last job so that's one of my reasons for doing my test. The other reason is to hopefully get with somebody who will teach me a trade in time.
I am wondering what other tickets I can pick up fairly cheaply to better my prospects of a better wage. I am thinking of doing a first aid at work and a banksman ticket..
Has anybody got any advice on what I should do? Can't afford to fully learn a trade at the moment. I do have experience on labouring on private jobs.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you.

This may be of use....https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traineeships--2

 

[Silverfisher]

Just to keep you updated. I have now been taken on from Monday and will be getting a £1.50 per hour pay rise. Basically been told I'm the type of person they need and have been impressed since I started and would I like to get on board with them? Been promised 8 months more on this job and 2 years on another job after. Spoke about me going through a site supervisor course and replacing my supervisor on the next job when he moves up a position. They have picked up alot on the way I conduct myself these last 5 weeks and had nothing but praise off other people around site.

Great to hear a story like that especially under the current climate, well done mate