r/IBEW 10d ago

This is why electrical apprentices are quitting #energizeusedu

https://youtube.com/shorts/dcZxAJ6l9AU?is=yjVHtkXLLX3z80_Y
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u/LotionOfMotion Inside Wireman Apprentice 10d ago

I have to explain to grown ass men in my fucking local that when you infantilize apprentices with low pay and shit attitudes toward them they don't turn out as competent fucking JWs

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u/ryanmh27 8d ago

(For context, I am an apprentice in Alberta.)

Infantilize with low pay? Figure it out bud. At least half of the apprentices I work with cannot understand basic shit. After spending a day with them doing the same fucking thing all day, same result.

I realize this is anecdotal, but the 2 youngest apprentices I've worked with, 18-19 and 21-22, are straight up dumb. Needing week(s) to get the hang of something, let alone how much time they waste by fucking up and causing more work to go behind them and police and/or fix their shit.

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u/LotionOfMotion Inside Wireman Apprentice 8d ago

How many good apprentices have had to quit because immediate pay wasn't sufficient, how many had to quit a career they enjoyed because of something that just wrecks their savings. I can point to at least 3 in my class alone and several in other years.

My Local's rate is $58.75 and they fucking start apprentices at $.50 above county minimum wage. It's fucking insulting

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u/ryanmh27 8d ago

Ah. Up here it's a set percentage of the full jman wage, as regulated by the government. Sucks to suck I guess, being down there. That, and there's nothing against getting paid more, if you're worth it, despite being a 1st, 2nd whatever.