Kevin got a job (back in June)

Hello sports fans and welcome to our show. Thought I would catch you up on my work situation. While Kari and I were in Paris (back in June) I got a call about a job, which I accepted and started the day after we got back from Paris. It is working as an electrician rewiring high speed trains The job is at Brush Traction in Loughborough (get out your maps), which is about 14 miles door to door, so my commute is only 30 minutes or so. The job is Monday to Friday alternating shifts; one week 6am to 2pm (1/2 hr lunch) Mon - Thurs, and 6am to 1pm (no lunch) on Friday for 37 hrs; and the next week 1pm to 930pm (1/2 hr lunch) Mon - Thurs and 1230pm to 530pm (no lunch) on Friday for 37 hours. You can work 2 hrs of OT each day as well as Saturday, BUT THERE IS NO OVERTIME RATE. Yes, they apparently do not have an OT law over here, the hours and pay and OT rates are determined job to job. I work an extra 3 hours (sometimes) a week to get 40, but if you don't pay, I don't play.

The job is a factory setting in a huge warehouse next to the Loughborough train station. They bring in the train, take out the old motor, radiator, alternator, and control wiring, and put new ones back in, as well as doing some body work and painting. Of course we are talking a BIG diesel motor, a BIG radiator (aka the Cooler Group), a BIG alternator, and all the control wires terminate at a Cubicle (BIG box with lots of contactors, no solid state boards). It is VERY dirty (a BIG motor means LOTS of oil and grease), but it is fairly interesting and the lads (you say lads here, not guys or dudes) are friendly.

The jobs involves pulling wire, lots of terminating (they crimp lugs on the wire, high press and hand crimps, which all terminate to studs. I had to actually to do about 60 before I was allowed to crimp anything on the train), some conduit bending (they do not apparently know about foot benders).

What, you want to know what I don't like about the job? Well to start, if I need one coupling (for example) and I cannot scrounge one, I have to fill out a form with the part number (you are screwed if you don't have the part number, which are on the drawings which no one seems to have a full set of), go to the office where someone looks it up on the computer and then signs the card, take the card to the Stores department, and have that person get me the one coupling. This is NOT an exaggeration. They put kits which are supposed to contain the parts needed to complete a project on the train on racks next to the train. But because the kits do not contain ALL the parts, or if someone ROBS PETER TO PAY PAUL, you have to fill out a card to get a $%##@$ 50 cent part.

Overall though the job is okay, and since I cannot seem to find work in construction, it will have to do for now. I received my JIB card in the mail a couple of weeks ago so perhaps that will help. What is a JIB card you ask? Well let me tell you this story...

So, I get over here and I talk to an electrician my cousin knows to find out what I have to do to work as an electrician. He says I need to get 16th Edition approved (their NEC) and then get graded, which involves taking a site safety test (which my cousin had told me about). Fair enough, I sign up for one at a nearby college (220 pounds), do two days in class, study quite a bit, take a computer-based test and pass (at this writing I have completely forgotten it all). Then I take the site safety test (35 pounds). Upon intensive reading of the grading application form I discover I have to have my apprenticeship standards compared to the English standards. So I mail copies of my apprenticeship certificates (fortunately I brought that stuff) and 35pounds to another company who mail me a form saying okay. More intensive reading reveals that i have to have my employer sign the form stating that I am qualified. I call the JIB and say I don't have an employer, I have to get graded before I can get a job. "Yes, you are in a sort of vicious circle". What do I do? "Well you will have to get a job as an electrical laborer (which pays shit) and then maybe they will sign the form." $$%#@&*^%$#&*(!!!!!! FORTUNATELY, we found a work around. So I mail this all in with 25 pounds. After a couple of months I get a card with my picture on it saying I am a JIB graded electrician. Fat lot of good it does me know, because I got a job working on trains. A job where they did not care that I had never worked on trains before, but a job the recruiter did not submit me for initially because he said that my resume was too professional looking for an electrician, too which I replied and I quote "Well, I can send you another one written in crayon if you would like". He submitted me and I got the job w/in 3 weeks or so.

How did I find this job? Oh, this is my favorite part about finding work here in the UK. Apparently companies do not like to hire people directly because it is difficult to get rid of them. So they hire through job agencies (think ManPower). You go online and look at lists of jobs, and submit your resume, what they call a CV over here (which is Latin for Written In Crayon). Then a recruiter calls you or sends you an email saying they got your email and you never hear from them again. No wait, I did hear from one guy, for work in prisons (yes prisons). Yeah, not interested.

Well why didn't you go to the union hall to look for work? Oh, this is good. First of all they do not have construction unions like we do. No IBEW, no carpenters, tinknockers, plumbers union etc. They have a union that seems to cover all of the trade crafts (AMICUS, I think) but they do not help you to find work (no hiring hall). I called them, once, and was told that once I find work I can then join. Apprenticeships are done through the colleges but from what I have heard, not the best. Apprenticeship programs were apparently gutted by Maggie Thatcher. And now, they apparently have a shortage of skilled tradesmen (well, except for electriians I guess).