Training Suggestions for 21 Year-Old Son

Training Suggestions for 21 Year-Old Son

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budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Sunday 1st March 2015
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Hi all.

My son is looking for another employable skill. He left college with a couple of A-levels and completed an apprenticeship as a chef. He's currently in that line of work and hopefully is about to receive a job offer in a decent restaurant.

He's not an academic and has no interest in getting a degree. He recognises that whilst working as a chef will probably mean he'll always have a fair chance of work somewhere, he also recognises that the hours are usually bad and the pay fairly poor.

He lives at home with us, and if he wanted to he could spend a few years training to do something else instead. There are traditional trades to learn of course, but I'd very much welcome the thoughts of the PH minds.

I've no doubt that someone out there would say "If I were 21, and could live rent free for a few years, what I'd train for is...."

Thanks all.

expensivegarms

680 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Slightly biased as I used to work as one, but I'd say chainsaw and tree surgery tickets. Courses can be done as and when you need to, although to be a groundsman, he'd definitely need to have a CS30, which is basic chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting, and possibly a CS31 which is small tree felling.

No shortage of work, but there is a lot of competition in the industry for well paid jobs. Expect £60 or £70 a day as a groundsman when starting out. If he were to get into climbing, this could be £90 or £100, rising to £120 or £130 if he's any good.

If he wanted to get into utility cutting, so working around and clearing powerlines, then he'd need at least a UA1 (basic electrical knowledge) and a CS38 (climbing and aerial rescue) alongside his 30 and 31. It does cost a fair bit, but if he's keen then employers may put him through tickets.

I did all of mine and moved on to work for a utility company directly, although as a jointer on underground cables, so go figure! I still wish I'd stayed cutting for another couple of years as it was lovely being out in the fresh air, in the middle of some beautiful countryside every day. Hope this helps, sorry it's a bit long!


budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Thank you!

Just told him that as he left for work and his eyes lit up at the word "Chainsaw"...


expensivegarms

680 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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No problem, PM me if you wanted any more information biggrin I'll do my best to help!

Crush

15,077 posts

168 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Has he considered staying within hospitality and getting on the management courses of a brewery / restaurant chain?

Glad you're not forcing him down the academic route, a lot of parents have this silly belief that a university degree is vital for jobs frown

budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Crush said:
Has he considered staying within hospitality and getting on the management courses of a brewery / restaurant chain?

Glad you're not forcing him down the academic route, a lot of parents have this silly belief that a university degree is vital for jobs frown
A good question, though he worked for Waitrose part-time and whilst he knew about their own management programme, he never seemed that interested in such a move. I will mention it again though. Thank you.

mph1977

12,467 posts

167 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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biggest problem will be training funding as he;s allready had 2 bites of the FE cherry with a levels and an apprenticeship .


budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
mph1977 said:
biggest problem will be training funding as he;s allready had 2 bites of the FE cherry with a levels and an apprenticeship .
Yes I understand there will be training costs but I'll pay them. He's an only child and he'll inherit the money one day regardless. Equally, he can pay me back one day...

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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budfox said:
Crush said:
Has he considered staying within hospitality and getting on the management courses of a brewery / restaurant chain?

Glad you're not forcing him down the academic route, a lot of parents have this silly belief that a university degree is vital for jobs frown
A good question, though he worked for Waitrose part-time and whilst he knew about their own management programme, he never seemed that interested in such a move. I will mention it again though. Thank you.
Crush's suggestion sounds good. The difference between getting into management from a chef position and one at Waitrose is that whilst the day-to-day work may be similar, due to the service being offered he may find it more interesting. My current business is in the health and fitness industry. I can happily talk about it all day in terms of the background management aspects. The same cannot be said about my previous role in B2B services.
sleep

One of my friends gets paid an absolute fortune in management for a bank. Whilst I wouldn't mind his salary, his job sounds like an utter borefest. I would have a real problem dragging my arse out of bed every morning. And then staying awake past 10am.

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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I think he should stay pushing towards becoming a better chef, but look for jobs in things like, corporate hospitality, corporate office chef, recipe development, food buyer, confectioner. I would imagine he'd like something a bit more dynamic than the usual evening service.

As a trained & time served chef he will have a vast knowledge and insight into food/ingredients and have skills that he can bring to a variety of roles.


What was his goal when he started training as a chef?

944fan

4,962 posts

184 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Does he enjoy being a chef? If he does then I would echo the other suggestions that he looks at ways of extending this, possibly with hospitality management.

Otherwise, does he have any interest in computers? There is still a big job shortage of decent people in the IT industry. I can be a little hard to get into but once you do there are plenty of jobs and the pay is very good. You don't need a degree. I don't have one.

I think though the best thing he can do is find something he enjoys. He will be doing it for over 40 years!

budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Once again, thanks to you all.

He does like being a chef, and he's pretty good. What he doesn't like is the very anti-social hours and pretty poor pay (current and potential).

Why did he train to do it? Partly because he does like his cooking, partly because he wanted to learn a new skill and not have a gaping hole on his CV and partly because of the likelihood it would bring of always find some kind of work.

He's a good lad. Honest, hardworking, considerate and polite. He's very driven when he has a goal, but he's a little lacking when there's a broader picture. For example, he'll be all over researching about the tree surgery suggestion, but he wouldn't have considered starting this thread.

(As a side-point I've found that to be common with some young people. They know Facebook etc. backwards but don't seem to know how to research things or use the internet to its full extent).

Computers? He's not technically minded. He loves science, but I don't seem him as a coder. 944fan, could I ask what you do in the IT industry that didn't need a degree?

Once again though, thanks all. I shall point him at this thread later and show him what can be found and suggested on one web page, on one forum, in one day...

R8VXF

6,788 posts

114 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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I work in Business Intelligence in the IT sector and earn a very good wage for what I do. I also do not have a degree. I work with the Microsoft SQL Server stack of BI applications and taught myself whilst working as a support monkey. Every firm is now working towards having decent BI as it can help save money by knowing what is in the massive amounts of data they hold in their databases. I certainly haven't felt the effects of the recent financial crises.

Yabu

2,052 posts

200 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
budfox said:
Once again, thanks to you all.

He does like being a chef, and he's pretty good. What he doesn't like is the very anti-social hours and pretty poor pay (current and potential).

Why did he train to do it? Partly because he does like his cooking, partly because he wanted to learn a new skill and not have a gaping hole on his CV and partly because of the likelihood it would bring of always find some kind of work.

Computers? He's not technically minded. He loves science, but I don't seem him as a coder..
Is there a Heston blumenthal restaurant he could find work in? Combine chef and science then. biglaugh

944fan

4,962 posts

184 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
budfox said:
Computers? He's not technically minded. He loves science, but I don't seem him as a coder. 944fan, could I ask what you do in the IT industry that didn't need a degree?
I started as a developer and am now IT Director. Worked in development for about 11 years, then senior and upwards. Some places will demand a degree but my view is they are not very good for something practical like IT. I have seen two many grads who have the academic IT knowledge but cannot apply it to the real world.

Networks in an area that is a but more hands on science type. Not something I know a great deal about but there a plenty of industry qualifications that can be got (CCNP, A+) which will be favoured over and above a degree.

There is also the IT Apprenticeships. Not had any experience as yet but might be taking one on in the future.

There is a big skills gap in IT but there is also a massive lack of people with a personality. A few years ago developers were locked in a room and didn't speak to anyone outside of the IT department. These days they sometimes need to be client facing and certainly need to interact with the entire workforce so having a personality can be just as important.


BoRED S2upid

19,641 posts

239 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Not all chef jobs are bad pay and long hours / late nights. Corporate hospitality, private catering, being a private cook for someone stinking rich etc...

budfox

Original Poster:

1,510 posts

128 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
944fan said:
I started as a developer and am now IT Director. Worked in development for about 11 years, then senior and upwards. Some places will demand a degree but my view is they are not very good for something practical like IT. I have seen two many grads who have the academic IT knowledge but cannot apply it to the real world.

Networks in an area that is a but more hands on science type. Not something I know a great deal about but there a plenty of industry qualifications that can be got (CCNP, A+) which will be favoured over and above a degree.

There is also the IT Apprenticeships. Not had any experience as yet but might be taking one on in the future.

There is a big skills gap in IT but there is also a massive lack of people with a personality. A few years ago developers were locked in a room and didn't speak to anyone outside of the IT department. These days they sometimes need to be client facing and certainly need to interact with the entire workforce so having a personality can be just as important.
Thanks for that. He'll read this thread later but my feeling is very much that he's not the IT sort. I know that's a bit of a sweeping statement but then again, who knows?...

mph1977

12,467 posts

167 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
BoRED S2upid said:
Not all chef jobs are bad pay and long hours / late nights. Corporate hospitality, private catering, being a private cook for someone stinking rich etc...
some ofthe chef jobs in healthcare are good from a work / life ballance point of view especially some of the roles i nthe large ( 80 + bed) residential /nursing homes for the big chains plus the possibility of going into management from that but still retaining some hands on

Pinger23

105 posts

224 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
http://www.neilson.co.uk/recruitment/summer/hotel-...

If I could go back I'd like to do a ski season - its a bit late for ski but what about summer?
I always book skiing with Neilson and the young staff are fantastic, they work really hard but look like they enjoy it.
Would he like to try working in a different environment/country but still be a chef?

DuraAce

4,240 posts

159 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Chef? Has he thought about joining the armed forces? Lots of opportunities.....