S7 E8 - Parachute

Right, we're back. This is Insight, the Stripped Back Podcast, sponsored by Robus Lighting, the world's leading LED lighting company. And also in association with Snickers Workwear Ireland and Velocity Procare. And later on this episode, we've got Wayne Ahern joining us for the special guest interview segment. He is the founder and creator of Apprentice Ireland. So very prominent stories in the news at the minute about the electrical and pretty much all apprenticeships within Ireland and the state of it right now. So really looking forward to deep diving into what Wayne has provided for those apprentices to try and make things a bit easier for them. So looking forward to that. No, a hundred percent. Really looking forward to that. But before that, me and you are going to go into a little deep dive of our own on the overload segment. Do what we do best and talk to you. Yeah, let's get into it. Let's go for it. This podcast is coming to you from the Robus headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Robus are the world's leading LED lighting company. So make sure you head over and download the My Robus app and see what they have on offer. Right, back again, another overload segment. How has your week been? Week has been busy and I'd nearly assume yours was busy as well because I haven't spoken to you since like last Thursday. So it's always a sign that we're really busy. And then just judging by the look of you and the look of me, we're very disheveled. So just shows that we're busy at work and busy on sites. I sent you a picture earlier on of myself, I was crawling across a generator in a plant room today, fitting bulkheads, above them, you can tell dust has made its way from the top of the generator onto me. So generators looking clean anyway, and I'm looking. Yeah, I looked like Casper there, the friendly ghost there when you sent me the video earlier on. But yeah, you go with great intentions not to get dirty during the day, but look, you can't help it. You gotta get done, you know what I mean? Yeah, well look, like I said even before on a few episodes, getting the attic done at home and it's some amount of respect for anybody that's doing attic work in any time of the year when it comes to insulation and the likes, but just with the extra heat this week of just absolutely melting, but got to the other end of it, attic wired up, lights in, shout out to Robus providing me with the Triumphs, brilliant, turned out well, two way lighting in the attic now, so the daughter will be going up there now for the bedroom and she'll be able to turn the lights off now from the bed, so making that just that little bit more lazy. What's the story with the Triumphs? So I know I use the Ultimals nearly on a daily basis, so obviously that's one standard of downlight that they sell, but then you've got the Triumphs, what's the main differences? Well they're obviously fire rated, so perfect for that type of install. Really slim and compact as well, so the depth on the back end that I'm going up into the void or up into the ceiling is really nice and sleek, so you can pretty much fit them into any position. Handy for I suppose energy efficiency as well, like you're not impeding on the insulation as much as with the other ones, plus you're fire rated there as well. And you get the choice then as well of the 4 watt, 6 watt, so gives you the choice of the output and CCT as well. I like most of them as well, it's probably IP rated as well, so for use with batteries, maybe not just over the shower. But even like that, basic, you know, 3K, 4K, 5K as well with it. And slim profile, white bezel I presume, is it? Yeah, so I think they can get three colour choices with them as well, so turned out well anyway with that install. What did you go for, for sockets and switchgear, did you do anything fancy or did you... No, no, nothing fancy, no. Basic for now until the paint gets done? Basic just for now until I can figure out what's needed obviously up there. Basic MK gone in, curved, yeah, that's what I said, you don't really know what the room is going to be utilised for, do you need USB and stuff like that for charging and all that type of stuff. And you don't know whether you're painting yourself, so you don't want to have noise switches at the end of your going off to paint, I know when I'm painting anyway half the switches get painted as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice cream switches. No, no, it turned out well, I'm happy enough with it, I like that, your house is a never ending project, always something else to do, but shout out to Ian Power, it's an absolutely brilliant turnaround on the attic conversion. So did he hit the deadlines, I think he would have been bar maybe one, yeah, just a couple of things out of his control, you know what I mean, and like that as well, it's something that you want your contractor to be looking out for, like so, they're getting the right guys in, looking at the job that needs to be done and spotting issues with it and then highlighting the issues to you and then offering the solution obviously at an extra cost obviously, but stuff that needs to be done and when you go up and if you have any type of trade background you can sort of gauge, yeah, he's spot on there, did you think you had enough, did you think you had that space in your attic, do you know what, it's one of those where they can be deceiving, just on the basis of when you pop your head open and you've got the attic full of crap, you know, when you've got space to fill and you use it for hard and stuff, it's a job in itself when you're crawling through boxes and all that type of stuff, do you think you're fairly enclosed in it, yeah, now obviously like there's going to be furniture to go in, a bed and a wardrobe being built and stuff, but to utilise a space like that like is, I would recommend it to anybody if they have the space to do it, you know, probably streamline the hoarding as well, you'll probably get rid of things that you haven't used in years as well, yeah, that's it, it's fairly, it's a good feeling when you're filling that skip up and you're looking at that thing that you've climbed across God knows how many times, you know what I mean, you said you'll use it again, that xbox you said that you'll use again, you know what I mean, yeah, I do a job of my own now with a lot of crap up in the attic, talk to him, yeah, we finished this one, obviously the original plan was Denise, you know, pregnant, baby due again now in October, the original plan was Zim was going to do it in October, so albeit brilliant turnaround, lads he has working for them, really good lads, come in, clean up after them, put all the protective stuff down the stairs as well, that's wipeable and cleanable, yeah, so very limited amount of dust obviously for the best of their abilities, yeah, and even though it's still your house being upended, yeah, so to think that that now is being done prior to October is such a relief, what's Ian calling himself, he's just IT power, he's on Instagram there, he's putting a lot of content up now like that's fairly straight to the point, you know, they'll show the before and afters of it, which is good as well actually, but he's doing it the opposite way, he'll show you his work first, and you'll work your way through and he'll say look, look what I've done here, and he'll show you the before at the end, yeah, so it's a different sort of concept to it, but like that, it's stuff that, you know, myself and yourself like, albeit fairly like handy, like with any type of tools, like I was showing him like I could do a bit there myself, like, but there's a point where, you know, you pay lads to do the job properly, yeah, get them in, so not fair play to them, we'll probably get them on the podcast now some day, yeah, we haven't had anyone in that's doing those conversion jobs, there's a lot in it, yeah, but other than that, how's your week been? Yeah, just trying to get from one end of the week to the other, broken up in between, couple of projects on, that's kept me on the same sort of site like for a couple of days, yeah, that's for a change, yeah, then broken up then midweek, obviously, I said to you before, there was the company I work in, Mighty, like they're always sort of trying to look out for the safety and QHSE in regards to their employees, like always looking out for them, so what they do is they do in-house training that you have to do when you first join the company anyway, which is fairly standard, like, you know what I mean, to make sure that their lads are covered in regards to use of ladders and stuff, and then they'll have everything pretty much right down to your manual handling, and then more technical stuff for any of the technicians and electricians and engineers, so they'll do a bit of LV testing training, so you're not actually doing any hands-on testing, but it's just a bit of concept of working around low voltage, and so even right down to the GOs and stuff on site, so they know when to not move further with any type of investigation, so like that, if you have like, say, a leak or anything like that in your ceiling, and it's around any type of electrical items, that they have some sort of basic concept in regards to not going any further with any type of manual investigation about the leak, potentially around electrical, so yeah, it was a good one. Did they touch on the lockout and tagout of circuits and stuff like that, like that end of it? Yeah, so you'll work through the basics, obviously, letting people know about what type of, you know, voltages you could be dealing with in low voltage, you know what I mean, and the type of injuries and stuff, first of all, as well, that electricity can cause, like, say, like your first degree burns, second degree burns, and obviously, third degree burns, and death, like, obviously, you can potentially come from that anyway, you know what I mean, so like, you know, you're looking at first degree burns, which is like skin, so it's more of your skin burn, so it won't sort of penetrate beyond your skin, so it'll take pretty much a burn off the top layer of your skin, like, which is sore enough anyway, second degree burns is bone level, so you're literally getting a burn through electricity that will actually burn right through your skin, right down to bone level, like, which is obviously horrifying, some of the pictures that we put up as well, but, and then you've got your third degree, which is pretty much through your body, and so that's, you know, entry and exit, so, you know, you've obviously seen the pictures when you're, you'll see an entry point, somebody may be potentially not wearing rubber shoes, and electricity has entered through their hand, and has left through their toe, or whatever, you know, which is obviously potential, because it'll run through your heart, and it'll probably, you know, potentially cause resistance and all of that, isn't it? But, yeah, it's sort of not bad, in a sense, working for a company of the size that I work for, to, it might feel below you, because you're qualified as an electrician, so I know this stuff, you know what I mean, but it's a refresher, just to... Yeah, well, I would have said, like, maybe, like, I don't know how many of you, I'm sure all the electricians do it at some stage, but say you just had 50 electricians, and maybe 10 of them took something away from it that they didn't know, it's a result in itself, isn't it? Yeah, and it gets you thinking, it just opens up your mind, that when you're working, you know, out on a job, and you potentially get yourself in a position where, you know, you wouldn't usually cut a corner, and it might be offered up to you on a Friday afternoon, like, to just try and get out and get home, that, by doing that, and making that decision, and cutting that corner, you potentially might not get home, you know? Yeah, yeah, no, 100%. But, the lotto, you mentioned there, obviously, the lotto, that's a major part of it, like, so, they walk you through, like, the steps of the lotto, and people might just think, you know, lotto is, I'm going to throw a lock on an MCB, and I'm just going to start working, but it doesn't, it starts even before that, like, so, it's, I think there's nine points that they go through, so the first one is, having a voltage indicator, so, a handheld voltage indicator. So, like, a voltage stick, or pen, in Italy? Yeah, so, a pen is not one that's being used, so, an indicator, screwdriver, and a volt pen are not approved, it's an actual handheld test unit, that's like your Fluke, or your Mega unit, that have two probes on them, and look, it's something that, you could have a working test unit, but you need to prove that, like, so, you need a good proving unit to go with that as well, so, have an approved proving unit, test your tester, make sure that's working, once you're happy enough, that's your fourth step, you're done, you're moving on then to the means of disconnection, so, your means of disconnection is identifying the circuit that needs to be disconnected, so, you know, Leighton stairwell circuit, breaker number 10, MCB, 10 amp, confirm it on the legend, yeah, confirm it at the point, you've isolated it, and you've confirmed the power's off, so, you've disconnected that, yeah, so, what you've done then is, you're gonna, before you drop that breaker, confirm with the client, you could be on a building site, that's all well and good, but it might be nobody working there, might be no client in, but for maintenance, with the company I work for, it's, yeah, it's more crucial, you know, I mean, you could be working in an office where, you know, people are doing sales, and by you knocking off a certain breaker, you could be losing thousands and thousands of euro worth of sales for them, so, you need to confirm with the client that, is that time okay to turn the power off, or do they need to do it out of hours, or does it have to be scheduled, so, and once you've got that confirmation, you can switch it off, and you can pretty much isolate load down to that circuit, yeah, so, yeah, you've isolated the load to the circuit, now you've got your lock, yeah, so, what you want is a lock with an individual key that is only supplied to open that lock, you can't be using any locks where multiple keys can potentially open that lock, so, if you get the right lock, lotto kit, they'll provide you with those locks that have individual keys, so, what you'll do is, you'll connect your lotto to your breaker, you will then put your lock to it, and you'll put a warning label on it as well, with information on it, do not try to turn the circuit on, and then maybe some information on it regarding, who's locked it, and maybe the details of contacts, yeah, exactly, so, you'll take the key then, and you'll keep it on your person, so, that's putting it in your pocket, keeping it secure, responsible, yeah, not handing it to anybody else, you know, and so, what you'll do then is, you've tested your voltage indicator, you've confirmed the circuit, you've got your approval from the client, exactly, and you have locked out and tagged out, and what you'll do then is, you'll go out into the field then, and you'll go to work on that circuit, if it's a light or if it's a socket, yeah, what you'll do then is, you're going to verify that the system is dead again, just to be sure, and that's getting your voltage indicator to check it, but what you'll do before you check that again, is just confirm one last time, with the proven unit, with the proven unit, that your voltage indicator is good, yeah, and because you've walked from the switch room, yeah, potentially upstairs, potentially from multiple floors even, if it's a main switch room down on the bottom floor, and you could be working on a circuit that's bouncing around in your pocket, yeah, and potentially there could be something wrong with that unit, yeah, and when you go to test, you just want to confirm that it's definitely working properly, and you definitely confirm that, yeah, or like, like, you know, mistake on your own part, maybe locked out the wrong, exactly, wrong, wrong, and by you going and just testing with that indicator on the socket, or on the light, and it shows you that it's dead, it could potentially be the wrong circuit, like you said, that you've locked out, so by putting it into the proven unit one last time, you've covered every aspect of it, and what that's done for you there then, is it's covered all points, and protected, not just the people that working with you, it's protected yourself, and you've also confirmed then as well, then obviously with the client then, that it's okay to knock off the power, so you've every single aspect of the job covered off, and no potential for any risk, yeah, and then even in terms of appliances, a product that we've, we've showcased, and will showcase when we get here in the studio, is the spur lock as well, so which could be used in conjunction with those procedures and steps, yeah, like I've, I took a few notes down, like obviously while I was doing it, just so, yeah, like I could just potentially put something together for myself in the van, yeah, like a little kit, like so, but I've actually got there behind you, like for anybody that's watching on the, the visuals on YouTube, or on Spotify, it's a lockout tag out kit, yeah, so everything within that kit now is kept in the one, so you've got your, your lockout tag outs for all types of MCBs, you've got your three phase ones, you've got your single phase ones, and everything is in the one bag ready to go, so literally whatever you've taken down there, you've got like proven unit, tester, tags, red locks, unique keys, you've got clamps, and pens, so it means that when you rock into any switch room, yeah, you're not looking for a pen, you're not looking for anything, you know what I mean, you're not stuck ranting them, because when you go to have to start searching for items, yeah, you're, you're gonna skip a step, or you're gonna forget to do something, you know what I mean, yeah, so look, it's just something that obviously prominent now, we're in August, and it's rolling up to September, which our good friend Richard Cochrane, he, you know, pushes safe of September, yeah, and there's a lot of guys, they'll be going around doing the trade shows, and in the UK, and potentially at BPACs here in Ireland as well, where and potentially people will promote that type of, not just the step-by-step safety aspect of it, but it's just to get people aware, and it's good for us to share here, because you know, when people are listening to a podcast, they might have more than, yeah, you know, like, what are we on for half an hour, but when they're at the shows, they might not have that time to maybe stop at a stand for that long, at least, you know, prepare them going into the shows, and you know, potentially what they're going to be picking up, and as I said, we'll have the, the Spurlock kit in our possession in the next couple of weeks, so we will do a review on that, and show the applications where that's going to be, you know, it's going to be beneficial for everybody, so. Yeah, so look, I, you know, certain aspects of these little courses, like obviously just raise awareness to you, and they get you thinking, and like that as well, like it's just something where you'll leave then, and you'll say to yourself, little aspects of it, where risk and health and safety comes into it, is so important in your day-to-day work, like especially like when you're working on live sites, like our live buildings that I'd be predominantly in, you know what I mean, especially where, you know, potentially making one wrong move, like could be fatal, a lot of guys that might be listening, I don't know, they could be starting off their apprenticeship, they'd be working on sites, like where they'll potentially spend a lot of their first half of their apprenticeship doing force fixing, and don't actually realise the concept of the maintenance aspect of our going in and actually having to shut down our systems and stuff, and one wrong move like could be fatal, you know, and very costly, yeah, like that, they're saying like it's, you know, all different types of effects, the risks and dangers, the shocks, you have the burns, you know, we've all had a shock here and there, like, I think burns are obviously the more serious aspect of it, like where you're going to be in hospital, there's going to be a lot of recovery time, there's going to be a lot of time out of work, potentially unpaid, depending on whose fault it was, obviously that's one of the steps that obviously you've been trained in. And then there's the more higher risk where you're putting a lot more numbers in danger, where there's certain decisions that you can make on site that could potentially cause fires, just the other aspect of it, I know we spoke about it before, like the importance of knowing about your ratings on breakers and stuff like that as well, you rock into a site and customers giving out, like saying sockets are tripping out, nuisance tripping all the time, you go in and you'll see, like, I've come across it before myself, like, you know what I mean, where you'll have like a row of, you know, 20 amp B-type breakers and all of a sudden then, like, you'll see like a 25 amp D-type or something, something random in there, like a C-type breaker in there and it's still just a general services circuit, you know, and you're starting to think to yourself, has somebody altered the makeup of this circuit? A load issue or something. Yeah, what you've done is you've actually altered the installation. Yeah, a corrective installation as well, where it's probably tripping for a reason due to overload or overload on that circuit. Like at the end of the day, what we were saying earlier was that breaker has been put there to protect that cable. So in the case of the 20 amp, it's protecting a 2.5 cable. When you're upgrading that to 25 amp breaker, you should really, if that's the issue, you should be upgrading the installation of the cable to a four square or above, like, you know. So the complete installation from point of exit of that board, like out to the last known unit, it needs a full upgrade. So like, yeah, you've literally like altered the circuit, which obviously then creates the danger then of potential overload issues, then burning, near risk, which then is putting everyone in danger then within that building. Environment, yeah, 100%. Right down to depending on where that circuit actually runs through, you know what I mean? Does it run through storage rooms that could potentially have explosive items in it? Yeah. So, you know, there's a lot to think about there, like when it comes to it, but does it open up your mind? Like, I mean, right down to the basics, you know, you know, your RCDs and knowing your RCDs and what they're protecting and. Trip times. Trip times and everything like that. Like, it's, I think it's something that a lot of companies should do maybe on a, maybe an annual basis with their staff. It was a 50 multiple choice questionnaire at the end of mine, just to say that you were listening and. Yeah. You know, you took everything in and you pass at the end, but what it does then it just gets your mind thinking and like that for me to be able to then like take a few notes down, literally just to maybe potentially put online if somebody asks a question or, you know, if you see something and you can share it through the podcast or share it through Instagram or TikTok, if you see a conversation going. Yeah. I've got, I've always been a man for notes, like, you know what I mean? It's just something I learned visually. What do you tell me every week when we're talking about ink and paper? That's it. My manager has always said to me, paper doesn't refuse ink. And literally like that, that's for me now to be able to write something down, it stays in my brain. Yeah. Not that I wouldn't have known it before, but it's just a concept. Nice reference point there. Yeah. Your brain has a certain amount of storage space in it. And the more stuff that you're doing week to week. It'll delete the other stuff. So, you know, the fact that you're writing that down there, then it's just create a new file in the brain, then it's just for a little while now, it'll be prominent there. Yeah. You can always return to it on the page. It might save your life as well. You know what I mean? Or somebody else's life by just making the right decision. Yeah. Um, but yeah, look, I just think it's, uh, it comes down to then, you know, the whole pyramid end of it as well and safe work plans and stuff like that, like, but you then having a process like the lotto process then creates then that, that lotto process now has created a safe plan of action because you've actually created a plan of action there. Like, and then that then links into the overall job, like, which then creates the job to not just be more safe, it's more professional for anybody looking then that comes in. Then if the client is coming in or if it's any individual that's an employee of the customer that you're working for is passing and they see that, you know, you've got a safe work plan and you're following it, it's going to make everybody feel a lot more safe and that that company is doing what they're supposed to do. Yeah. And it even applies to us on a domestic level as well, because where, you know, we're powering up sites and, you know, maybe kitchens haven't gone in or and bathrooms aren't finished. And like, generally what I'll do is I'll lock out, I'll lock out the whole board, I'll lock off the mains. I know I've often got messages from builders, you know, taking a picture of the lock and saying like, what's the crack here? I need, I need power here, I need power there. And I always just, I'll always stand firm on that and say, look, we're not, you're not getting powered up until we say so, like, you know what I mean? Officially. So, um, not a great, great deal to have. And, um, yeah, the more you use them, the better, isn't it really? Yeah. Um, yeah, I guess we'll just keep rocking on with the episode now. Yeah, good chat and look if lads can take something from that. And just to know you should probably have a bag that size if you're going to be serious about it as well. We have little mini ones as well that we give out to the lads, but like, you know, maintenance and the maintenance game, any way you want to have, I don't know what you have in there, probably about 10 or 15. Yeah. You don't know what you're going to come across, you know what I mean? So you're covered and like you said, you're not scrambling. Um, in the switch room, you know what I mean? So yeah, look, let's rock on with the episode and, uh, I'll get talking to you in the next hour or so, I guess. Gladly. This is Insight, the Stripped Back Podcast sponsored by Robus Lighting, the world's leading LED lighting company. And also brought to you in association with Snickers Workwear Ireland and Velocity ProGear. Wayne, thanks for joining myself and Keith on the podcast. Prominent, uh, discussion to be had over apprenticeships right now. It's something that's, uh, at the forefront of, um, the news and everything else at the minute, but you've set up a platform that is going to at least try to make things a little bit easier for the lads that are in the game right now, but to come on here and put yourself in front of the camera and talk to us, it's a pleasure to have you. Thanks for having me lads. No, it's great. Um, and even going through the platform and, um, like even in the sense of being a business owner, I'll always push the lads towards your platform because it does have the, like the options of if you need grinds or need a bit of information, it's there on the platform. Just makes it easy. It's a good one-stop shop going to go to if you're, if you're needing anything in terms of apprenticeships. Yeah. Well, look, what we usually do is with most of our guests is try to give people a bit of an idea of who they are and what sort of led them up to, um, doing what they're doing now or doing what they're promoting now. And, uh, if you'd like to give our listeners a bit of a, an idea of, uh, who you are and what, um, area you grew up in, in Ireland or Dublin and, um, what got you into doing what you're doing now? Yeah. Well, I am from Seán MacDermott Street, which is a Dublin city centre. Yeah. I've lived there all my life. Um, I went to school, my secondary school was Larkin. Um, I say like most tradesmen, we all hated school. Despised it. Loved the sports, sports aspects of it, it was amazing. Yeah. It was a boy's school. Really bad at English. I'm hard of dyslexic. So, um, we struggled big with English and a lot of teachers would make you stand up and read everything from the table and you know yourself, it just knocks you. Yeah. Yeah. Confidence. You just don't want to go to school then, you know, so did that. I always knew I wanted to be a mechanic. Um, got the fifth year, told them what I was leaving school, didn't go down well. She absolutely told me she doesn't want her son out on the dole, which obviously had no interest in going on the dole. So had many an arguments with her. Eventually I got left school. Within the day I left school on a Friday, I was in the FOSS centre on a Monday. And with that, I hated that because the little lad sitting there smoking weed, nothing that I actually wanted to do. So the following day on Tuesday, I got a job in, um, Eastwall. With a panel beater. So the panel beater, I probably got to work for him for a couple of months, which was Stewart's. The place is gone now, it was full of apartment blocks. Well, Stewart's put me on to my garage, which was Carney Morrison on Orange Strand. And I served my time there. Great place, great lads, and really good. I have an apprentice. It's mechanic apprenticeship. Mechanic apprenticeship. Yeah. So they were great. They were a great help. Lots of abuse. Very naive, you know? Um, so I was so naive. I left school to get away from the college part of it. Didn't want to be in college. Did not know coming into an apprenticeship, you have to go back to college. That's how naive I was when I left. So I did that for a couple of years. I did Saturday 2008, finished in 2012-ish. Went to Australia for a bit. Loved it. Um, come back, I sent my arse. I got very lazy for about six months. It was knocked. It was like, I'm back from the high from Australia. I was on a low, drinking a little bit, wasn't great. Um, I met my current girlfriend, um, Niamh, and I wanted to better myself. That was the main thing because who wants to be over a waster basically, you know? Right. So Niamh helped me get back on my feet. Went back to being a mechanic for six months and I found, I fell out all over. I couldn't stand that anymore. The long hours, the hard work, it was filthy. Um, after that, I decided I wanted to be an electrician because I worked through the whole recession, which was great. The whole recession, and then as soon as everybody started making money, sites passed me instantly. People are back on site and making twice as much money, half the work. I'm not knocking lads on site, but just being a mechanic is hard work, you know? So I decided I was going to be an electrician. Big leap of faith. Went for it. Landed on my feet. Jumped in a couple of crowds. Many places were all industrial work. So industrial work was really good. Um, did that for, I don't know, probably four years, obviously five years to get qualified because of the backlogs. And then I fell into the rail. So we're in the rail, global rail then. And as I was still working with the rail, I decided to go do an engineering degree. So I did an industrial engineering degree in Talley University. Did that for two years. Um, kind of liked it. I'd like to know more about it. I'm not knocking the course, but it didn't satisfy me. I didn't come out any more knowledgeable than I went in, you know? So I haven't progressed into that field, engineering field yet. Still trying. But did that. After that, did a couple of other things. Did some finance management and project management. Still in the rail, left global. Currently with Irish Rail. And I'm finishing up in the 8th of September. I start my new job at Altrum, which is where I'll be working on the new Darclos, building the new Darclos for Dublin and of course Ireland. So that is my work background. It's mad to think though, you know, for somebody who had a, uh, a focus on getting out of the school system, but couldn't help yourself constantly repeating back into it later in your career based. But it's the differences of having a focus on a certain um, sector or subject that's actually going to better yourself and something you enjoy rather than, you know, being in a full setting, not getting probably the correct type of schooling or teaching based on, um, say learning difficulties or whatever, you know? So basically when we were in school, it, nobody, most people don't like school. It's in a class, talk about subjects, you're not really interested in it. You go to your trades, like depending on the trade you do, the more you lean into it because you kind of, something you want to do, you know. I think I found about the trades was that every time I finished my trade, I kind of felt down. Like, I know it's a silly thing to say, it was an achievement. Achievement was over. It was like, what do I do now? I've spent all these years, I got to me high and then the high was over. That was a big thing for me, especially in the mechanics thing, because I felt a big low after I qualified. I was like, I have to get to do this for the rest of my life. Nobody told me I could change. Nobody needs to tell me that, but in my own mind, I was like, no one told me, most people get traded, that's it. You do it the rest of your life and then, or start a business and that, but that was it. I was like, and then something clicked. It was like, why don't I just change a job? You know? So once I did that, it led on to that anything is possible. So the mechanics, I failed my physics twice. And I say, I got to skin of my teeth on the tour to try. And I said, he probably gave it to me. He says, let him try. Just let him, say sick of seeing him. Yeah, he was back again, let him through. But then when it fell onto electrical, then I stood me brains up. I passed everything, I got stations and everything. It worked hard because it wasn't, you know, it's just, it's different in that sense. But yeah, I really enjoyed it. The electrical side of it is, it's decent, you know? For us, it's great to put a face to the platform and a face, I know you were mentioning earlier on, you haven't done a lot of like being behind the camera and all that kind of stuff. But I think it'll instill a lot of confidence in any young lad or young one looking to go on the platform and receive a bit of help. Because as you've said there, like, you know, not only did you do one apprenticeship scheme, you did two. And then you've got jumped into the engineering, you're on global, you've worked for global rail, you're on the rail line now as well. So you might as well say you've been in four, or three or four different, you know, industries. So to put your face to it and tell your story, it just gives a bit more confidence in everyone to go to the platform and say, like, this lad that actually has lived it, do you know what I mean? And like, as I said, the grinds and all, you might have availed the grinds and all yourself, and you've probably seen a gap there where if we can get a bit of information up for people, it'd be just a nice little hope for apprentices to go to and get a bit of help, you know? At the grinds part of it, what I'd love to do is, obviously, I do enjoy doing the grinds, but what I'd love to do is eventually have the grinds for free. So if I got something behind me, or even depending on your job, if I had another job, I'd probably do the grinds for free. Obviously, a couple of lads together, do one day a week, get as many people on and stuff like that. Even down to the accommodation at the moment, I charge people, I don't charge apprentices, everything's free, other than the grinds at the moment, because it's taking up your own time, but everything else is free for an apprentice. Even, I think, the accommodation, I think I'm just going to make it free going forward, lean on it more, just gets more people in, I get more people from around the country, and then it's not like, oh, what if I can't get there, and what if, like, there's still some places I haven't covered yet, Cork is one of them, many people text me, I just don't have anywhere. But if I lean more on the free aspect of it, I should draw more people in. That's why I'm leaning more that to now, and then, all I have to cover by the end of the year is the site, the cost to run the site, which is not a whole lot of money. I've no interest, I've no problem doing that, once I'm walking away, you know, and that side of it. So that's where I'm going to lean more, more now, hopefully in the future. Not yet, but it's what I want to do, you know. Yeah, yeah. Have you had any feedback from the lads on the ground, regarding the page, and its potential? Not really, see, it's still quite slow at the moment. Like, the Facebook page is quite big, it's 26, gone probably 27,000 before Christmas, which is great. So I haven't got much feedback in that side of it, but the lads in the group are amazing. I used to answer loads of questions at the start, now the platform runs itself, you know, everybody's yapping to everybody, it's great, you can do that, you can't do that. It's obviously, some lads taking the piss, like I always say, it's like being on site, some lads can't say some things. You know, you have to marry, you know, sometimes you have to leave the comment, you can't be saying stuff like that, you know, you can't be racist, you can't be sexist. It's something like, obviously, very prominent, like I mentioned at the start of the interview there, that the apprenticeship system, the electrical one, a lot of people have probably been scaremongered now, like through certain pages online that are not reputable, lads putting comments up about apprenticeships being cancelled and, you know, putting fear into people and the likes of your page, like with your community that's there, like, and you being able to post maybe some a bit more realistic information on there is definitely something that I think people need right now, because it's somewhere that people can get legitimate information from. Is that something that you saw yourself having to do, like when you set up the page, like you didn't actually have to start putting out fires? So how I thought the page was going to go, all I set the page up was for, so I seen a gap in systems. The gap in the system was, I found out that other colleges were issued digital, say, notes, and I'd ring up someone who goes, you're not going through the notes, and some issued books, Grange Gorman issued our books, the books were amazing, especially for the electrical side, read through all the books, and he's like, do you not get books? And lads in the country were like, I don't get books, we just take notes. What do you mean you don't take, what do you mean you just take notes? Yeah, we just take notes. I was like, do you not get any books? He was like, no, we don't give books for, obviously, phase four and six, it's who you get your start with books, four and six, it's all handwritten. So I go, give me your email, at the time it was in Grange Gorman, I think it was phase six at the time, give me your email, I'll send you, we can download it, I'll send it to you. So I sent it all down, I was like, this is amazing, you just look out, sure, it was all categories, this is amazing. And I was like, yeah, it's good, and then I just kind of clicked, I was like, why isn't this everywhere? So I started with that and started sharing notes, share notes, and Solace didn't approve that recently, so we stopped sharing notes and questions, which is fine, they asked me to stop, so I stopped. They tried to sue me, so I just held my hands up, so yeah, it's no problem, I'm sharing information, that's totally fine. What's in the books, or is it because it's personal notes? I think because it was theirs, like so. Oh, sorry, yeah. So it was their information I was sharing, I wasn't trying to copyright anything, everything was just legit copy, and someone sent me something, I passed it on, I was like, this could help that person. So if you had time, we had something similar with a fella in the UK that we're fairly friends with, and he's been on the podcast, like Ricky Barnley, he's taken notes through training providers in the UK, and similar to yourself, like got a bit of backlash from the training providers where he was trying to work around it then, where he'd have to take the notes, rewrite them in his own form, and then put them back out there. Is that something you could do, probably through chatGBT? I could, that's 100% a way you could go, but then it's Sullis, you know, it's the government, so it's probably, it's funded by the government, they're going up against the big fish. Somebody that you want, probably, as your page has grown, to be at least supporting you, so to work with them now maybe, and maybe get a bit of a conversation going maybe. I'd love to work with Sullis, if they want to reach out to me, I'm totally fine, like if there's some stuff that being posted on the page that's not. say, up to their level, or they don't want stuff like that, probably just talk to me, and I'm here. Like, the only reason I'm doing it is to help other people. And if I can help other people through the page, which is great, but Solis didn't like sharing that information. That's fine. I've stopped that. But then after that, so that was recently. But the reason that I started sharing out, and then I just thought people were giving out about accommodation. Sorry, not accommodation. Getting sent all over the country. So I did about, I was lucky enough. So I got Dublin for all my, so somewhere in Dublin, which was great for mechanics and electrical. I knew someone in there for mechanics, and then when I went to electrical, it was just like I had to turn it down once, but he got back to me within a month and get me somewhere in Dublin, which was great. But then we have lads that, especially now, renting, and then being shipped down to pay a second rent. And you still have a family. Some people have families. Family at home that still have to eat and feed, and pay, I'm not sure what renters should move now. Bills, electricity, whatever else. Everything, everything's gone through the roof. So you're paying double rent. And I know you get an extra 70 quid off Solis. It's not going to cover. Wouldn't cover your diesel down, no. You know, and that's around driving down an extra 70, 80 quid on top of that to get your digs, and then the fuel for the week, and then you're paying two homes. So another thing came to this, why don't I just put up swaps? So I put up, started putting up swaps on the page, and it was just diabolical. I said, swaps available. And you had every trade from the phase. Comment on it, two, four, six, you, and it was just a disaster. And I was like, all right, that's not going to work. So I had to come up with a different way. So I started sectioning them off with trades, so your carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and then I'd break it down to phases. Make sure you note that you're phase two, phase four, phase six. And that's what I do now with the page as well. So you click onto the page and give your apprenticeship, pick the apprenticeship, they'll bring you back to our Facebook page. Just makes it easier again. Yeah. Throw in your details, and hopefully someone can contact you, and you can work out a swap between the two of yourselves. But that was the thing, and hopefully save money. Save a ball of money. Yeah, a ball of money. Especially this driver. It's nuts though, because you think about the way the whole industry's gone now, and everybody is utilizing social media, and utilizing the community on social media to learn and better themselves, and even grow themselves professionally. And the fact you've got the biggest, probably, learning provider in the country, not utilizing, or not being forward thinking, and to see that they've got somebody here doing the hard work for them, and they can utilize it, you know? Yeah, any complaints about the swaps? Not directly to me, anyway. No, because it's kind of beneficial for them as well, in terms of funding. Obviously, the apprentice, or I've heard a lot of feedback of people giving out, whether it's training advisors have to contact other training advisors, swap details, leave them all walking their end. Gotta love them, yeah. In Ireland, some of the training advisors don't even pick up their phone, from what I'm told. I've no experience in that, but my training advisor is actually great. Lucky enough. Sure, Solace would be happy enough with it, though, you know, as in terms of paying out travel, and stuff like that, if they can. I went to Solace back in, I went to somebody head up in Solace, back in 2018, when I started an electoral apprenticeship. Yeah. And I built a folder, and I had a picking system. So, you give me your apprentice number, if they're all in dates, you give me your apprentice number. I could start with that, give me your trade, give me three locations where you prefer to go. Obviously, the best one you want, the second closest one, and then obviously, Tordham being the furthest away. And I offered it all up, thought it was a great idea, and I just got a thanks. I was like, well done for coming up with an idea. And the figures I had at the time was probably saving. So, I was going with, I think it was 20,000 apprentices in Ireland at that time, 2019. If half of them, because half my class at the time were in digs. So, I put it down to half, over four years, and I went up to like 8.5 million, what would have been saved on just digs alone. Boy, now I know probably at that time it was more, maybe electricians, and I probably wouldn't walk in certain areas, but at some stage, I probably would have saved at least a bit. At least a bit of money. And stop all the swapping. You know, probably quite a majority of the swapping going from here to there. Where I just got a, thanks for thinking of ideas while you're doing an apprenticeship. And that's what knocked me back until a couple of years to start the Facebook page, and I was like, all right, that's it, it's the end of that. But the Facebook page kicked off, and it's quite well now, going quite well. That's a deadly thing, isn't it? Definitely is. It's definitely something that I think, even when we were doing our apprenticeship, I was similar to yourself. I got lucky and got Dublin. But talking to other lads, when you're back on site, and they're saying they're heading off across the country, and they try to big it up, and they say they had the great time, it was party, central, and all that. You know what I mean? Because you don't want to really, maybe let you know like that. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare, you know what I mean? Stuck in a box on your own for, depending on six months, or 10 weeks, or 11 weeks. Yeah. I went down, walked down south for a month. I was in a box room on my own. I hate it. We'd go to pubs, start drinking all day. I was like, they're all drinking. Yeah. You know, and some lads do like it, some lads don't. You know, it wasn't for me. Especially when you're from Dublin as well, there's a lot more to do in Dublin than there is, you know, out on the sticks. Yeah. Would you have like a batch of, obviously you have the page down on Facebook, and obviously the numbers speak for themselves, like with the community that's on there. But then obviously you'll pop in and you'll be able to jump into conversations and be able to see what's going on because you're moderating it. But do they work like a testimonial for yourself, like to be able to maybe package stuff together if you are gonna potentially step in front of one of these like training providers and say, look, this is what I potentially have here. I've got the community of people here with this information of what's really happening out there in the field. They can either turn a blind eye to it. They probably know what's going on, but to see it out there, the likes of, you know, this podcast, potentially newspapers, radio stations, I've seen you posting there, obviously Red FM looking for people to come on. The likes of your voice on there, would that be something that you'd like to do and actually get out and advocate for people? I wouldn't mind it. As I said, this is a big thing. This is me stepping out in front of the camera is a big thing. I don't do it at home. I'm gonna try to do more. It's just, it's a big thing. As you said, seeing you doing a podcast, it's your step, putting yourself out there, you know? Yeah. Whether it's good or bad, you still put yourself out there. Some of the issues aren't great for Prince. A lot of the issues aren't great for Prince. And like there's unions out there are trying to do, you know, I'm not knocking any unions. They're all trying to do their bit. Well, more needs to be done, especially the price of everything I want. Yeah. You know, the cost of living. There's a lad, I think, I was reading one today or yesterday, about a lad on six euro an hour. And he was complaining, which is understandable. Six euro an hour. I can't remember how much rate he was on, but six euro an hour. He's doing 40 hours a week. He's coming out with, I think it was 200 something. He's posted. Yeah, he's just. He says, I can get more for staying with O. Yeah. And it's not a nice thing to say. Now, the whole reason of the cheap labor for an apprentice is get the employer in, you know, pick an apprentice because it's cheap labor. And like I did it, you did it, it's part of it. But the cost of living is through the roof at the moment. And I've heard that the unions are working on some trying to get the minimum wage, but whether that's going to be across just all the big companies. Yeah. It's going to be hard for the domestic lads. Yeah. If I keep up with 12, 13 euro an hour for lads who are not woken up to it in your standard, you know. Yeah. In any trade, like it'll kill anybody, you know. I don't know what, something has to be done. And like, even now to that 40 million that was apparently given back now to Solace or given to Solace to start the issue in the next month or two. The funding is not there anymore. Yeah. That's money given back that probably should have already been pumped in. They gave it a kind of a burst there at one stage, but then like- That followed then, wouldn't it? Yeah. Like then it just kept up that pace. You know what I mean? It solved a whole lot of problems. Like, you know, we're kind of just falling back into the same old habits or tricks. Be grand, you know. Be grand, yeah. Like just in terms of day-to-day with us, like it's the difference between getting a date for your apprentice and not getting a date, you know. Like a couple of months ago, we were able to get nearly the exact day they were going in and now it's undisclosed. You're not, you can't get the date anymore. So- Keeping lads in the apprenticeship as well. Like, you know what I mean? It's disheartening for somebody that's registered with a business and waiting to take that next step like in their journey as an apprentice. And next minute they're being told like, you know, delay, delay, delay. At what point did he turn around and say, you know what, screw this. It's someone's life. Like it's time, like everyone says, there's always plenty of time. But it's only so many years. And your apprentice was meant to be four. Like I know five is touching, but it's time. It's an extra year here or working in Dublin or other counties or holding back a lad that wants to go foreign to try something new. Now, I see a lot of people commenting like, I'm waiting. Like, I want to live. Yeah. And you're stuck in that. And then it falls into like, we all fail exams. Don't let failure hold you back. I've failed, you know what I mean? And I've pushed through it, you know? And when you fail, are you going to be thrown back to the next batch? Yeah, where are you in the line then again? Are you going to drop down to the bottom of that line because you failed? And some lads now I've talked to got lucky and jumped straight back in where they should have been. Other lads probably missed the boat, you know? And there's other things then as well, like in terms of if you're in your phase two and like you do well in your phase two and then you've too much of a gap between that and going back into phase four, you're going to be with that academic mindset as well. It's a big step, like going from phase two, tick the box, to going into writing questions. Like, you know what I mean? It's like you do your junior or you're leaving serious. There's no tick the box at all, you know? You have to write it down what the answer is. Like I went to phase two in Bowdoin and I looked at it and I go, oh, that sounds like it. Because once you read it, you go like, that's- You get a bit of it, yeah. Yeah, it comes to you. Yeah. But when you're sitting in an exam with just a blank piece of paper and you're like, oh no. Yeah, you have to articulate what the answer is, yeah. So, and some people fall under pressure, you know? Yeah, yeah. So, that's another thing as well. No, I look back and I think you're verbally well prepared, I think, to put yourself out there in front of the camera. You're definitely onto something that has the potential to be not just something that's great for apprentices. And I know you're looking and you want to make it free and you want to build that community, but there's potential there for this to be something that can- The employers can go to you. The employers, that can start generating revenue which will help the page grow and potentially like give you something that will reward you for the hard work that you're putting into it down the line if you see that, you know, and you want it, you know? But, you know, from having employers obviously jumping on and looking for apprentices, having guys jumping on and looking for grinds, even, you know, giving apprentices help, like maybe even getting, you know, lessons with driving lessons and everything because lads want to get on the road, like, you know what I mean? The potential there is endless, I think. It is endless. Like it's all trials, whether it's tools, you can fall into tools, you can fall into insurance, you can fall into home insurance because people are advertising their homes on it. It could be anything, you know? So there's major possibilities there, you know? Just being willing to grab them and move forward with them. Right timing as well, isn't it? It's just every time- Getting the acceptance from the higher powers to be as well, like, it's only a platform, like, you know what I mean? It's only trying to help everybody. So I don't see, you know, the problem, if you know what I mean? I'm not trying to undermine the solace or anybody. It's far from it, yeah. Like, I'm not out to hang anybody or say that they're not doing their job right or he's not doing his job right. I'm there to help, to try to help, you know? That's all it was, especially with the notes. Yeah. There was lads texting me for months and I just had to keep texting them, like, I said, I can't give you anything. If, like, they're all deleted. So if it was to start again, I'd have to start from scratch and then everyone's feed me again, they're all in, like, everything's deleted. I even got lads who I walked with and they were like, can you send me this? I said, I can't send you anything, I don't have it. I said, and if I was to send it, I said, put yourself at risk. I can't do that, you know? For the sake of health, I know, I want the help. I said, I'll help you, come to me, I'll- I'll go trail with you, yeah. Yeah, if you're struggling, I'll help, but anyway, I can't. Well, I don't have anything to send you. I said, if I did, I wouldn't. I said, because if somehow it fell back, I said, I'll get sued. It's bad though, isn't it? It's like, it's the book or nothing. Do you know what I mean? And like we've always said, like people learn in different ways. Like, you know what I mean? Notes are the backbone of it. Like, I still revisit my notes from years ago as well. Like, cause it's, you know, it's in highlighter and it's the things that I specifically need for domestic or whatever, but- But it's just- It's annoying, isn't it? It's putting it down to maybe an ignorance on the part of the individuals not actually understanding what you're trying to do. And it's the likes of this, and like what I said, putting yourself out there, getting the conversation going and actually putting it to the people in power to just listen. All you have to do is listen to a 30 to 40 minute podcast episode and actually hear about the guy behind it and what your goals are for it. And then it becomes a bit more of an open conversation and a bit of trust. That guy is actually well-spoken. He's got- He's trying to do us. Yeah, he's not trying to do us. He's got apprentices in mind and he's got the system in mind and all he wants is a well-oiled machine, excuse the pun of the mechanics, but that's what you're looking for. You know what I mean? And fair play to you. I think it's something that I think myself and Keith will want to help you with, back you. And if you've anything that you want to come on here at any time down the line, share, update, or push through our platform. We're going to start getting the notes now, aren't we? Yeah. They're deleted, they're deleted. Another thing. Someone sent me an ETB. ETB have their own section of notes now, which I've got. Okay. And then another section is, so can I like, this is the worrying thing now. So if I share this, am I exposing myself to get into trouble? Well, you can share a link, can't you? But can I? Like I'm putting. Don't ask me. But that's it, you're putting the question now too, at least. Yeah, somebody to listen out. If I can share a link or like, I know the ETBs, if someone sent me an ETB link and you can go on to it and you can find some questions or books, mechanics. Well, there you go. Look right for this conversation right now, right? You can look down the lens. This is going to be tagging Sullis ETBs. It's going to go up on LinkedIn. It's going to go up on all social media platforms. Wayne Ahern, Apprentice Ireland, you are looking to support the apprentices and ETBs have made notes available through their platform. And all Wayne is looking to understand. And I think every apprentice would like to know, can links to notes be shared across social media platforms? Otherwise, what are they up there for? Yeah, 100%. I'd throw it to the webpage just if, cause you throw it in and some of our socials can get lost, especially the group. Just to have there and point someone in the direction. I can tell every person, but you only reach so many. So 10,000 would say, but the other 10 won't. You know, like, you know yourself, social media, you'll hit. You're not going to stand outside like ETBs and start telling people about it, you know what I mean? You have a social media platform and it has a higher reach. That's what it's for. It's a landing page. Yeah. Yeah. That was a difficult question. That was a difficult one, yeah. Yeah. It seems like the other bits were a bit more difficult, but we have a Spotify playlist for this season. What would your song of choice, what are you listening to at the moment? I have, it's an old song. And I'm always, I'm terrible at names. I've saved it. And it is called, is it Kalo? Way Down We Go. Way Down We Go, yeah. It's got it, yeah? Yeah, yeah. Nobody's put it on, so I'll definitely put it on there, yeah. Yeah, go for that. Yeah. Sound. Enjoy it. Really appreciate you coming in. Yeah, thanks for the time. I really enjoyed it. Appreciate it. Enjoy it, you know. It's important. Yeah, toilet and things, and that's what we want to do here, so. Yeah. Fair play to you, man. Yeah, thanks. Cheers. Right, season seven, episode eight, in the can. What an episode. Yeah, really enjoyed it. We've been talking to our special guest, Wayne, for quite a while now, and been looking to get him in. As he said himself, it's probably one of his first outings in front of the camera. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In front of the camera, so we're more than privileged to have him on. He's providing, as we were saying, a much-needed platform for apprentices, for information, groins, accommodation, and any kind of information relating to their apprenticeship, so just want to thank him for jumping on with us, and as you said, we'll back him to the hilt, and fair play to him. Yeah, and look, it's always good sitting down with yourself, having a chat, chatting shit, as you said, and look, a lot of important information put out there, stuff that we've heard before, and obviously we've recycled before on probably other episodes, but it's important stuff that could potentially save your life or save somebody else's life and get them home at the end of the day, so. Yeah, no, 100%, and like we were talking during the week, and you mentioned that you were going on the course, and I think it's very progressive what the company are doing for you is to, you know, just refresh the safety aspect of your job, because I know it's big fish you're playing with, it's not a one-bed apartment, it's a, you know, big company, so. Yeah, no, look, I enjoy it, and hopefully we'll get a chance to do more of it throughout this season and beyond, but look, like we always say, I want to thank our sponsor, Robus Lighting, the world's leading LED lighting company for their continued support. And a special mention to Snickers Workwear Ireland and Velocity Pro Gear for their continued support also. Yeah, and if you liked what you heard, make sure you head over to wherever you get your podcasts, give us a follow to be notified when the next one drops. Take it easy. Talk to you next week.