18th Amdt 2 exam.

I n amongst other things last Tuesday I got up at 6.20 am, got sorted out and drove to a job getting there at 8.50 am and left at 5.00 pm having done a days work and completing all I had to do.

The two guys in their thirties who were supposed to be there with me came at 11.00 am and left at 1.00 pm, having been there for two hours, at least thy got more done than they had in the previous two days they had been there.

That is one of the reasons I am not convinced that the younger guys who should be coming through and replacing those of us who are due to retire are up to the job.

To be honest I have found that if you can get four years out of working for a firm as a subbie with an established group of tradesmen you are doing well.

Out of all the people I have worked with over the last four years as a subbie, which is over getting on for a couple of hundred people working for two different firms, but with many moving from the one to the other, the only one I have had any contact with in the last week is a manager from the original firm who hired me in the first place, but four years later we’re both working for the other firm, between us we have seen all the other people come and go, the original firm is on its third set of management since the guy I’m still working with left.

Over my working life I have seen firms build themselves up, then I seen them tumble back down again, usually because they try to take on more work than they can actually find enough skilled people to complete and with the current skills shortage I can see some firms that are on the point of tumbling, particularly with a recession looming.