« Back | Home » Ask Lynn. Boilermaker Apprenticeship

Dear Stacey

Thank you for your question regarding boilermaking apprenticeships in Cape Town. Finding an apprenticeship is a very similar process to job hunting; it requires dedication, perseverance and a multi-pronged approach:

Your boyfriend needs to create a good CV and an apprenticeship hunting plan. There are a number of job hunting books in your local public library which may be of assistance. For example:

• The 2008 edition of “What color is your parachute?” By R N Bolles;
• “Job hunting : Everything you need to know” by A. H. Gort,.;
• “Online job hunting : great answers to tough questions” by Martin Yate;
• “Hot tips on job hunting” by C Goldschagg;
• “Job hunting for the retrenched and others” by T Marr;
• “Job hunting made easy: a step by step guide” by J. Bramham
• “Successful job hunting” by I. Ural.

He should also register as a work-seeker with your nearest Labour Centre of the Department of Labour. See the “How to Register as a Work-seeker” document on the Department of Labour website located at http://www.labour.gov.za/legislation/acts/how-tos/skill-development/how-to-register-as-a-work-seeker.

He should contact Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) for information about potential apprenticeships and how to go about registering as an apprentice. For example:

• Manufacturing Engineering and Related Services Sector Education Training Authority (MERSETA: http://www.merseta.org.za/)
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority (FoodBev Seta: http://www.foodbev.co.za/ )
• Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA: www.ceta.co.za)
• Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA: http://www.chieta.org.za/AppLearnerships/appLearn_index.html)
• Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA: www.mqa.org.za).

For a full list of SETA names and contact details consult the Department of Labour website http://www.labour.gov.za/documents/useful-documents/skills-development/ and access the “Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs)” guide.

He also needs to browse through the “career” or “situations vacant” section of local and national daily and weekend newspapers and trade magazines like “Engineering News” on a daily/weekly basis. Your local library should have copies of at least the local papers. Look for companies who seek qualified boilermakers. If you contact them they may have apprenticeship vacancies or they may be able to suggest other companies you could contact.

Register with employment or recruitment agencies. He can use the local newspapers and Yellow Pages to help him develop a list of possible agencies in the area. The local library should have a copy of the Yellow Pages and the local papers. He may be able to get temporary welding and metal fabrication work which will provide some work experience. Some of the companies he gets temporary jobs with may be able to help him identify possible apprenticeship opportunities in the industry.

Your boyfriend could also approach the Student Support Service and the lecturers at the college where he studied to find out if they have contacts in industry that may be able to give you information about apprenticeships.

Look for opportunities with companies involved in metal fabrication, sheet metal working and welding, shipbuilding/repair, maintenance, shut-down and manufacturing work. Watch their websites for job adverts. He could even contact them to ask them if they could suggest any company he could contact for boilermaking apprenticeships. For example:

• Ship repair and construction companies and steel fabricators: Dormac (http://www.dormac.net/default.asp) , DCD-Dorbyl Marine (http://www.dcd-dorbyl.com/Marine/services/shipRepairs.htm); Virtuoso Designs in Montague Gardens - http://www.virtuoso.co.za/). Use the Yellow Pages website (http://www.yellowpages.co.za/) to find more ship repairers and metal and steel fabricators.
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing companies and Oil, Gas and Chemical Manufacturing Companies like Metal Box, Chevron and Saldhana Steel, may also need apprentice boilermakers. Use the yellow pages to identify companies to contact.
• Look at industry association websites for possible leads. For example, the Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association (Sassda: http://www.sassda.co.za/) indicated the food and beverage manufacturing industry uses boilermakers.

As your boyfriend works through all these suggested processes, he will gather a lot of information about the industries which employ boilermakers and may even have developed a network of contacts which may come in handy when he is looking for a boilermaking job one day.

We hope this information will help your boyfriend in his quest for an apprenticeship.

The Career Planet Team