[BITList] Poles

[franka]

Hugh
That sounds about on a par with our set up, I found that the new 
generation of tradesmen/women can manufacture and assemble ok but if it 
dosnt work they don't seem to have the basic hands on skills to work out 
why, The Japanese have the same problems, we found that we could run 
rings around them maintaining their own equipment again because most of 
it was built by robots with no tradesmen involved other than to program 
the robots
frank

On 8/2/2011 3:11 PM, HUGH wrote:
> Frank,
>
> You asked if UK apprenticeships have gone the way of those in Oz.  I know
> nothing about the Oz situation - over here, unless I'm very much mistaken,
> the old system is dead and buried.  Now we have "modern apprenticeships".  A
> dozen or so people pose  for a photo wearing yellow jackets and hard hats
> (no doubt also heavy gloves, earplugs and boots with steel toecaps). Ages
> range from late teens to the 30s. These are billed as a new intakeof
> apprentices.  They serve 3 years, much of which can be taken up with off the
> job study.  I recall reading that the system I was trained under is
> outmoded.  Had I only known, I'd have spent more time at evening classes and
> less at work.
>
> What is the effect of all this?  BAE Systems in Glasgow have just "launched"
> a bit of an aircraft carrier onto a barge for transport to Rosyth.  I'd say
> it's around a 5th of an aircraft carrier. They seem to have been designing
> and building it for years.  Too many Dayglo jackets and photo opportunities
> and not enough hard arsed engineers.
>
> Hugh.
>
>