Time off?

I only started here at Kearl in the last week of January but I have to admit that I am getting a little burned out. With potential layoffs on the horizon I am thinking about taking an extra week or two off. I think I need it to re-set the old energy levels. I also think a little extra time with my wife would be good. So hopefully I get a layoff and hopefully it will be soon! The temporary nature of the construction business actually suits me well. I tend to get bored easily and most jobs here are 18 months or less. So about the time you are getting bored you get either laid-off or transferred. Both options work for me. I do believe that a change is as good as a rest (assuming the new job doesn't suck). That said, my wife has summers off so a little break now would mean more quality time with her. That would be nice! An interesting fact about our business is the way jobs are secured and the implication of this process. When you finish a job you call into the hall and get a number. This number represents your seniority for applying for jobs on the tape. You can also bid on jobs at a higher pay level on the grid and if no one else applies then you may get it. So as a 1st year apprentice I could apply for a 2nd year spot. If I get that job I would be dispatched as a 2nd year and would be paid 2nd year rate for the duration of that job. This does not mean that I would then actually be a 2nd year apprentice as that can only be changed by a combination of schooling and hours and is established into fact by the government bureau in charge of apprenticeships. Usually, even with the right amount of hours and the schooling in place they will still wait for the anniversary date of your registration with them to move you up unless of course you have been at that level for more than a year. There are several types of apprenticeships in our hall. They prefer that you start as a pre-apprentice which usually means starting with the two week introductary course which I took. This course introduces you to the occupation and let's you earn your first few tickets like your fall arrest and your automated lift tickets. It also means that you will for sure be put right onto a job should you pass it. You then start at $20/hr and stay there for 3-6 months. At the end of the allotted time (determined by hours worked) you go up to first year rate and level. When the pre-apprentice course is ending you go register with the apprenticeship board from the provincial government. Although you can get a welding apprenticeship through our hall they will only let you if you first have your journeyman ticket in ironworking. Ironworking has roughly 3 apprenticeships. They are for Rodmen (rebar guys) which is a 2 year apprenticeship, a Structural/ornamental Ironworker (3 years) and a generalist (4 years). In each case the courses at the end of the first year (6 weeks) are the same. The difference between the 3 and the 4 year apprenticeship is that the 3 year does not have the rebar component but for all other aspects it is the exact same course. What this means is that the generalist in second year takes the same course as the rebar guys where the structural guy moves right to what would be the 3rd year course for the generalist. Naturally a journeyman Rodman does not get paid the same as the journeyman generalist. It is a good and thorough program with each component of the official apprenticeship taught at NAIT. That is a technical college staffed by experienced Ironworkers. So far I have found the program to be excellent and am learning a lot. I am looking forward to doing my first year courses. The courses (assuming you pass) are paid for by the hall and because you need 1,500 hours in the field to take them you collect EI while you are doing them so you avoid the financial burden of University and other college programs. It works out to be a good career. Voice.