Job Hunting

[GafferTapeKing]

I have been jumping around as an IT contractor for the last, erm, eleven years and ran out of contract in early April.
The planets may have aligned for a follow on but it has been a rubbish time to find any sort of new job.

Is it just me, failing to keep up on training or has the job market flown into the side of a mountain ?

 

[Moose McAlpine]

It's all gone to s**t mate. I've been applying for jobs and getting nowhere. Looks like i'll be waiting until i've got my HGV licence before i can get one.

 

[TechnicAl]

On the radio today....not sure if it was Radio2 or Radio Sheffield......anyway they were saying that we need 60,000 lorry drivers........unfortunately the Stobarts of this world have diluted the market with EEs so the money is crap.........better money stacking shelves in Asda........one guy said his overnight allowance hadnt gone up in 25 years....

 

[pedrobedro]

On the radio today....not sure if it was Radio2 or Radio Sheffield......anyway they were saying that we need 60,000 lorry drivers........unfortunately the Stobarts of this world have diluted the market with EEs so the money is crap.........better money stacking shelves in Asda........one guy said his overnight allowance hadnt gone up in 25 years....

Friend of mine was offered a HGV driving job paying £11 an hour, only about £1 more than shelf stacking in Aldi which doesn't sound like any incentive to me.

 

[Moose McAlpine]

On the radio today....not sure if it was Radio2 or Radio Sheffield......anyway they were saying that we need 60,000 lorry drivers........unfortunately the Stobarts of this world have diluted the market with EEs so the money is crap.........better money stacking shelves in Asda........one guy said his overnight allowance hadnt gone up in 25 years....

They say that about every trade. HGV drivers, mechanics, welders, tree surgeons, IT engineers, etc.

The jobs cost a lot to get into in training (and the horrendous wages for apprentices) and then doesn't pay enough to appeal to anyone.

My HGV Class 1 will cost £2,900 with the CPC.

When i was doing tree surgery it was going to cost ~5k for training + required equipment. I was offered a job at £9/h pre-qualified and £10-11/h after.

Friend of mine was offered a HGV driving job paying £11 an hour, only about £1 more than shelf stacking in Aldi which doesn't sound like any incentive to me.

Yep, sounds familiar. I've looked at loads of job adverts lately and the money on offer is shocking.

 

[TechnicAl]

Hopefully it will change........I dont mind paying a bit more to have my parcel delivered.......Im sure most think the same......I dont like to see people on subsistence wages
Maybe the fat cats earning millions in charge of these companies can be a bit more realistic

 

[GafferTapeKing]

Hopefully it will change.
The new method of taxing temporary workers includes a 0.5% deduction to fund "apprenticeships" or something similar so people embarking on a career will get some sort of help.
I have three children that will be heading out to the real world in a few years, hopefully this deduction will work in their favour somewhere down the line.

 

[gaz1]

I will give you a good idea on the jobs situation come july

they will be many out of work and alot worried if they still have jobs then

go back to work many might have new contracts to sign and possibly less wages dont like it we will find someone else

the job market is going to be so saturated with the unemployed trying to find a job

 

[toddy]

if your still looking for work, my place is allways looking for people
it isnt the best paying but you get some good benefits, and just down the road from you.
https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/careers/vacancies/

 

[Guest 10992]

I believe work is a lottery at the moment. It depends on what work you do and how much you are prepared to accept. The company I work for is booming at the moment since Brexit. People are reluctant to order from abroad because of importing issues. So our order book is the best it's been for 20 years. Although I voted against Brexit, one of the problems with the influx of workers from abroad was that they were willing to accept lesser wages than their British counterparts. The knock on effect being that it has driven wages down in some sectors. Now many of those same workers have returned home, we have a labour shortage in many sectors as people are unwilling to work for low wages and who can blame them. Many companies are unable or unwilling to pay what should be the going rate and are struggling to fill skilled jobs. To redress the balance the only option as I see it will mean price increases in the shops.

 

[Brad93]

if your still looking for work, my place is allways looking for people
it isnt the best paying but you get some good benefits, and just down the road from you.
https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/careers/vacancies/

Don't want a lot from a mechanical technician do they? "General workshop tasks such turning, milling..." Well that would be the job of a machinist/turner, not a fitter.

 

[Brad93]

I mean hats off to them, i know guys with a degree in engineering who are accomplished machinists, fitters and fabricators. They're gonna want a lot more than that job is offering. Some companies need to get realistic. If someone has a tonne of mechanical knowledge or hands on skills, likelihood is, they're not going to have a degree. If they're from the south east likelihood is they might not even be apprenticed, as that industry just does not exist down here. Me and @mtt.tr are both the same age, do you think we got told about engineering opportunities at school? The only place we ever heard about near us was e2v, but you need a degree to work there and i think me and matt wanted to go out and actually earn a living not spend 3-4 years at university. I was dead bored of school when I left sixth form. Now I would like to do a degree or complete an apprenticeship but financially I couldn't justify it. I have bills to pay.

 

[Munkul]

Don't want a lot from a mechanical technician do they? "General workshop tasks such turning, milling..." Well that would be the job of a machinist/turner, not a fitter.

They're asking for a really decent all-round chargehand, and offering pretty middling rates for a mechie fitter. Crap money for shift work, too, unless they get a bonus/extra rate for it.
That's comparing to wages around here, which are way lower than down south.

I fancy a crack at the "thermal hydraulic expert" position, except I know nothing about thermal hydraulics beyond A level physics

 

[Mikes]

I did my two weeks 'work experience' from school at e2V in Chelmsford in about 1979 when Chelmsford still had plenty of industry. I got sent there as the dicks in the career office knew that I was interested in engineering. Whilst it was a very interesting place with amazing technology, it just wasn't my kind of engineering. The careers office was somewhat taken aback when I presented them my views after the two weeks. Needless to say, that was my last contact with the careers office and I went out into the big wide world and fended for myself. Unfortunately the majority have no idea of the huge variety of engineering disciplines and lump them all under one title.

 

[Mikes]

They're asking for a really decent all-round chargehand, and offering pretty middling rates for a mechie fitter. Crap money for shift work, too, unless they get a bonus/extra rate for it.
That's comparing to wages around here, which are way lower than down south.

I fancy a crack at the "thermal hydraulic expert" position, except I know nothing about thermal hydraulics beyond A level physics

Just blag it, what could possibly go wrong! As an 'Expert' you would be expected to delegate so no problems.

 

[Munkul]

UKAEA must be on crack... who on earth has demonstrated experience in thermal hydraulic CFD analysis, and wants to work for a max of £35k?

Compare that to the Procurement Partner... Essential requirements are very fuzzy, no technical competence required, and max salary £51k?? I've seen some procurement managers who couldn't procure their way out of a cardboard box!

 

[Munkul]

Just blag it, what could possibly go wrong! As an 'Expert' you would be expected to delegate so no problems.

I bet that's what most of the applicants will do anyway.

 

[James1979]

I mean hats off to them, i know guys with a degree in engineering who are accomplished machinists, fitters and fabricators. They're gonna want a lot more than that job is offering. Some companies need to get realistic. If someone has a tonne of mechanical knowledge or hands on skills, likelihood is, they're not going to have a degree. If they're from the south east likelihood is they might not even be apprenticed, as that industry just does not exist down here. Me and @mtt.tr are both the same age, do you think we got told about engineering opportunities at school? The only place we ever heard about near us was e2v, but you need a degree to work there and i think me and matt wanted to go out and actually earn a living not spend 3-4 years at university. I was dead bored of school when I left sixth form. Now I would like to do a degree or complete an apprenticeship but financially I couldn't justify it. I have bills to pay.

Ditto and I’m older than you I think

I was of the age in school where if you didn’t get a degree you’d be worthless. I didn’t want to go to uni so they didn’t know what to do with me. The careers office, for what it was, just tried to push you to uni unless you were deemed ‘thick’ then it was assumed you’d go into farming or factory work.

I just left and made my own way really. Couldn’t get an apprenticeship. I started with a guy who tried really hard to get accredited for me (worked for him while I was at school) but he would have to spend to much so that was a non starter and I moved on. Apprenticeships didn’t really exist then. I was between the old ‘proper’ ones and the new ‘modern apprenticeship’ - some of which were very good.

 

[skotl]

I have been jumping around as an IT contractor for the last, erm, eleven years and ran out of contract in early April.
The planets may have aligned for a follow on but it has been a rubbish time to find any sort of new job.

Is it just me, failing to keep up on training or has the job market flown into the side of a mountain ?

The IT sector is definitely picking up now - people who paused hiring when youknowwhat hit have now started hiring again.
That is for permanent roles, mind you - IR35 seems to have scared employers and contractors alike away from contracting for now.

Problem from an applicant's perspective is that there is a lot of competition with people losing jobs or looking to move on after 18 months of stagnation.

So you may have hit the nail on the head if your training hasn't been kept up, as you might be competing with people who have more relevant skills. If it's general IT that you have experience in then anything to do with AWS, Azure, devops, containers (especially kubernetes) is hot right now so I'd suggest looking at some courses that offer hands on labs, like Pluralsight.

 

[Mr Fro]

I mean hats off to them, i know guys with a degree in engineering who are accomplished machinists, fitters and fabricators. They're gonna want a lot more than that job is offering. Some companies need to get realistic. If someone has a tonne of mechanical knowledge or hands on skills, likelihood is, they're not going to have a degree. If they're from the south east likelihood is they might not even be apprenticed, as that industry just does not exist down here. Me and @mtt.tr are both the same age, do you think we got told about engineering opportunities at school? The only place we ever heard about near us was e2v, but you need a degree to work there and i think me and matt wanted to go out and actually earn a living not spend 3-4 years at university. I was dead bored of school when I left sixth form. Now I would like to do a degree or complete an apprenticeship but financially I couldn't justify it. I have bills to pay.

Never say never mate.

I've just completed an Engineering degree - it's taken 5 years part time while I continued working. I put in the effort and got a good first then was offered a nice engineering job within a fortnight of the final exam.

It does cheese me off that literally no-one would consider me for anything until I had the degree (believe me, I tried). Bear in mind that in my current field I hold a senior position that usually requires a post-doc. I just worked my way up over 15 years or so.

Essentially, I'm the same bloke, same experience, same passion and drive. Just now I have an expensive piece of paper.