Ok... lets see how many "Scaffolders" i can upset here.
(PERFECT scenario, lol)
Not sure about where you live Jase but here is how it seems to work round here.
Kid, hey baw bag, gie us a job.
Me, Fook off.
Kid, Gie us a job, I'm brilliant, fit, strong, work for fun and I have a licence.
Me, ok numbnuts, be at my yard in the morning, if you can stand up a long you get a seat in the truck.
Kid turns up and crumples like a cheap suit but gets a seat anyway. He also gets a pre-employment medical questionnaire and a quick induction. He is issued with reams and reams of paperwork explaining our anti bullying policy, equality, diversity and inclusion policy, employment pack including terms and conditions and so many others my head is starting to nip just thinking about it.
He then is suited and booted head to foot in decent ppe, none of your cheap guff but fit for purpose ppe. Once ready for site, he sits his wee backside in the truck or van and settles down for a nap as he gets chauffeured to the site where another induction will be waiting for him. He will be lucky to shift 50 boards the first day.
A couple of weeks graft (use the term lightly) and he is signed up to the apprentice scheme where the recommended wage is £3.45 an hour for 39 hours. That's poor, we more than double that before sending them to a training centre for their main induction for 2 weeks where they learn how to lift and handle material safely.
You know the rest and how it goes, but I can assure you, it is a long way from how I or anyone else my age started in this game, admittedly rightly so.
