20 year old advanced scaffolder!

I have met a few young scaffs over the years who lived and breathed the job from a very early age. Dad or Uncle would be a scaff or more than likely both who would make sure they were ahead of the game so I would say it was more than acceptable to be advanced at that age for some. It's not rocket science.
 
thats with a strong kin or gang aom,the majority of these kids get it for free on a training scheme ,as long as they turn up and dont get caught scrappin or wankin they end up with a advanced card in some cases,ive seen it with my own eyes at a certain training centre lol
 
They are not long found out though, plenty good young guys still coming into the trade.
 
not round here theirs not,are their any places left in Narnia for a well travelled stubborn just above average scaff mate :D
 
haha, maybe I am sheltered from a lot of the strife's others face, but I just call it as I see it. I have met a few poor ones as well but the question was asked about the good ones.
 
you stick to your guns mate and dont let life jade you as it has me,your a good bloke aom,just like darth vader who worked for the darkside yet came good in the end ;)
 
We have a 23yr old on this platform and he comes from a family of scaffs he is one of the best i have seen in 27yr in the game
 
I'll tell you why a lot of the young lads with 5 to 8 yrs experience are quite good. IT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE FULL FUNCTION OF THEIR BACKS AND NO SCIATICA. That is all :thumbup:
 
good on him mate,ask him if its the training at the training centres or what he learned off his family and mates that made him,whats his take on how he would better his or others training :wondering:
 
I come from a very strong scaffolding background was doing weekends and school holidays at the age of 12 on site with my old man and the lads , i loved it made me feel like i was a man and still love it to this day 32 years later , i never had any training at any collage , but done the advanced assessed route 7 years or so ago .
I was running jobs at the age of 21 the first was a 14 floor steel erected job at Tower Hill , my biggest problem was getting respect from the lads as most of them where twice my age , my youngest son hs been around scaffolding as long as he could walk , he loved
being around the yard and in the lorry always talking of when he is a scaffolder , he is now 19 and been full time since 16 , his knowledge is very good for a young man ( when his social life aint getting in the way LOL ) and i would have thought he could pass a advanced course if he put his mind to it , but me being me i believe in learning the game hands on up on the scaffold , so he is only going on his part 1 this year , so god help my little firm when he gets that done.

My point is like AOM says that some lads cant help but become good as they are around it all their life from a young age , and iam a strong believer in experience makes the scaffolder not the ticket as we have all seen their are plenty idiots with tickets
 
which is why we need old heads as advanced mate,got no problems with ability at whatever age but that kind of way to the experience is gone,

replaced by political correctness,h & s and money orientated training programs,2 years at twenty years of age with an instructor and training provider who are just churning them out for profit is putting blokes lives at risk,

im 35 phil and have been brought and taught old school blokes yet love new ways,best of both worlds for me and i can see experience is getting written off for profit !
 
I agree Joe you cant learn scaffolding from a book , it is by nature a very dangerous job and you gotta learn how to look after yourself at height , i always akin it to learning to drive , you can pass your test at 17 ( or used to be able to ) but it takes a few knocks and years of experience on the road until you become a confident safe driver .
 
I have watched this thread grow and find it interesting.
I did a few things I thought I was capable of when I was younger and in honesty thought I was the dog’s danglers when I did them.
That said I now have a 30 year old son who is quite a big powerful guy, I have watched him grow and do the things I had previously done and it was only whilst watching him grow that I realised his strength, power and ability were only above his age peers. (He was very strong and very good by comparison to the other young gun’s) but not by comparison to the older fully developed more experienced people around him. I have since reflected that I was in the same position.
Whilst I am more than satisfied that a 20 year old has the mental capacity to carry an advanced card I would wonder if he has the experience or mental attitude to be an advanced scaffolder. It’s fine to be a big lump that can carry ten boards or stand up two longun’s it’s being long enough in the game to develop technique that make you an Advance Scaffolder.
 
what do you think of the training alan,do you think its equiping lads with the skills and knowledge necessary,the thread heading is obviously a point to attract attention and obviously lads whos kin or freaks lol shall we say who have access to growing up with scaffolding are likely to have the skills and knowledge needed,,,,,

but as a basic premise dont you think its flawed,its even more prevellent on the part 2 courses where young unemployed lads are being given full funding ,turn up and at the end of the course are being churned out 15 at a time with their competent scaffolder cards,

purely because the training centres have a blank cheque and no checks or quality control on who they give the cards to,then going out inspecting these substandard scaffolders and pulling faults on substandard work,

its mind boggling to me,if it was say roofing training as its only really a leak you would have to worry about then it wouldnt be that worrying as business is business,but as all our job is, is creating a safe working enviroment for other people to work on,

i find it morally and wish it was legally wrong for these training centres not to have comeback on their substandard training that they have the cheek to say is up to speed on what they need to teach,

where is their responsibility and all this would be aimed at the people making the regulations but for one thing

,certain training providers get paid to inspect the scaffolders they have trained once they are put out into the real world,,,,,thats a massive conflict of interest and is breeding i believe corruption of the training industry!
 
minimum 5 years experience should be required for someone to sit the advanced in my opinion , but the industry is so geared towards making money , once again i make the point of the cant drop being taken off p2 and put on advanced course , hence a part 2 has no experience in hangers and cant drops for offshore , but whos offshore , P2's , there should be a clear structure of the progression , 1yr labour then P1 , 1yr P1 then P2 , 5 yr P2 then advanced , this would ensure people dont buy a career in scaffolding(like i just have) , and also that you dont have 22 yr old advanced scaffs offshore
 
agreed mate,5 years is what should be mandatory,in the long run it would also up the money and give the cards more respect!
 
philliosmaximus said:
I agree Joe you cant learn scaffolding from a book , it is by nature a very dangerous job and you gotta learn how to look after yourself at height , i always akin it to learning to drive , you can pass your test at 17 ( or used to be able to ) but it takes a few knocks and years of experience on the road until you become a confident safe driver .
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if youve come from a industrial back ground then you learnt most of the advanced work at the begining of your career as this is what was wanted from most powerstation jobs. most work in a station was either hanging or canterlivered you learnt to use your brain as most of the work was at high level off beams and out of no where places think most lads today think coz they can do a independent a tower and a birdcage with a cisrs ticket there qualified you cant beat exsperience and never will the same if someones been in a building site for 5 years put them in a industrial job they may struggle the same as if you put a industrial scaffolder in to a street job they may struggle exsperience is the only way forward if these trainning centres want the money then fine but cut the courses down for the exsperienced man to say a few days or a week without the long drawn portfollio cr!p
 
dont you think by leaving it for 5 years though dico it gives you more chance to get more strings to your bow,and responsibilty for terrible jobs should be levelled at the training centres door aswell as the scaffs involved if trained and advanced carded at 20 ?
 
joebag said:
what do you think of the training alan,do you think its equiping lads with the skills and knowledge necessary,the thread heading is obviously a point to attract attention and obviously lads whos kin or freaks lol shall we say who have access to growing up with scaffolding are likely to have the skills and knowledge needed,,,,,

but as a basic premise dont you think its flawed,its even more prevellent on the part 2 courses where young unemployed lads are being given full funding ,turn up and at the end of the course are being churned out 15 at a time with their competent scaffolder cards,

purely because the training centres have a blank cheque and no checks or quality control on who they give the cards to,then going out inspecting these substandard scaffolders and pulling faults on substandard work,

its mind boggling to me,if it was say roofing training as its only really a leak you would have to worry about then it wouldnt be that worrying as business is business,but as all our job is, is creating a safe working enviroment for other people to work on,

i find it morally and wish it was legally wrong for these training centres not to have comeback on their substandard training that they have the cheek to say is up to speed on what they need to teach,

where is their responsibility and all this would be aimed at the people making the regulations but for one thing

,certain training providers get paid to inspect the scaffolders they have trained once they are put out into the real world,,,,,thats a massive conflict of interest and is breeding i believe corruption of the training industry!
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I think there will always be the odd one or two very good young scaffs who could have all the paperwork and a bit of ability but in general time in is how you learn your trade.

Trainers etc thats another story amd I have commented on it numerous times.
 
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