trainee/apprentice opportunities?

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Sorry kev, I had to give you response a like!
I really appreciate all of the information and insights everyone has offered. I'll keep you updated of how I get on, if I'm not too busy apprentice-ing!
 
I say go for it, if you don't you'll only regret it when your older. Just like me studying engineering at bucks college - High Wycombe.🤣🤣🤣
I've had several possible opportunities to apprentice to firms had I had the nerve to take them, and had the work I'm currently doing not been fulfilling...
 
Sorry kev, I had to give you response a like!
I really appreciate all of the information and insights everyone has offered. I'll keep you updated of how I get on, if I'm not too busy apprentice-ing!
If it helps I did exactly as Peter said a fair few years ago. (Apologies Peter, I did a course with John Lloyd, it was closer to home) then went and visited a few local companies, offered my services for free, which after a short period became paid, learnt a hell of a lot and now have a small workshop of my own
 
My perspective on this, as someone who was very fortunate to get an apprenticeship in furniture making to retrain as a 35 yr old..
you are probably fairly unlikely to be offered an apprenticeship. I got mine through my father in law opening a business, and was very fortunate. The issue is pay, the first year they have to pay you something like £4 ph, full time, including the time you are at college (which for me was 2 days per week) the “full time course” at our college which was a similar programme of study, was paid out of your own pocket at something like1.5k per year, and was at most two days of education in college a week, and you could work part time in your other days. The problem with the apprenticeship is the second year, they have to pay you minimum wage, which for a 17 year old is still very low, but. For someone over 25 is something like £10 ph. This includes paying you for the time you are at college.
I would also say you have to be fairly robust and strong from an ego perspective - I came in from a project management job after working my way up in another field, and was very confident and the go to guy for lots of important things. To contrast this - as an older guy, I was all of a sudden very bad at something, which at the least is incredibly humbling.
If you can’t find an apprenticeship, I would say try to afford a “full time” course in a college, and either take a low paid (but minimum wage) entry level job in a furnituremakers workshop (as even sweeping up three days a week you will be around experienced people, have to give them a hand handling materials) gaining valuable experience, or work part time in. Your old profession which might be a better hourly rate. I did the full time apprenticeship, worked delivering pizzas for domino’s, was lucky I could do freelance work relatively well paid in my old job some weekends or by booking holiday, and doing small private fitted furniture jobs as my toolkit and skill set grew.
 
Good luck.

I'm having trouble getting registered as a qualified carpenter and joiner in Denmark at the moment, even though I have both master craft certificates from the City and Guilds Institute, which is NVQ III plus 10 years experience minimum for each one, plus other qualifications in construction and conservation.

It's a proper minefield, so the full set of NVQ's and a good amount of experience is really the way forward if you want to be seen as qualified. As mentioned above, your age is against you for finding an apprenticeship, so you may have to fund it yourself.

Don't be put off though as it's a good trade to be in.
 
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Forgot to mention - there is another option if you have considerable financial backing and that is a truly full time course, from the likes of waters and Ackland, rycotewood etc etc. the stuff they turn out is incredible, and you will be working with very motivated students, and no doubt brilliant tutors.. one of my frustrations with my own college education was that I was super keen in a class of mainly young people, who many of (like me at their age) were stoned, late, not bothered etc, and used up more tutor time as a result.
I imagine the real fancy furniture schools mentioned above cost upwards of £20k a year (this is a total guess), and you would need to find cheap digs nearby, not to mention not being able to work during weekdays to support yourself. So obviously it’s only an option for a select few, but what is not in doubt is the amount of hands on tutor time, the high level of focus of your contemporary’s, and the quality of the work they put out. I expect you would get the most out of a course like that if you had already put some significant work into the basics of hand working though, to then go and refine and re learn your technique there..
ta
 
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